"Hell yes," Peyton moaned as she stepped into the steaming water of the hot tub and sank to her chin. Her eyes closed briefly as she enjoyed the warmth of the bubbles.
For our spa day, we were chauffeured down the road to a little building overlooking the ocean. After slathering our faces in blue clay and grabbing our complimentary glasses of wine, we turned to the hot tub on the deck to enjoy our numbered hours for which we had no responsibility.
"I miss Tommy," Polly mumbled beneath the humming of the jets.
"Polly, please, no talking about the babies." Peach's hands lifted out of the water to press onto her scalp. "Just thinking about them gives me a headache. Why won't they stop crying? Our little Chicago never stops. No matter how much we feed her, change her diaper, and cuddle her, it's like her system is malfunctioning."
Peyton nodded with exhaustion. "I know I said I was looking forward to kids... I take it back, just a little bit. I am so excited to be a mom, but this is so much work... and these are just robots! Maybe I'm not ready to be a mom just yet."
I nodded and lifted my glass into the air. "You said it, babe."
"Watching Maddie with her baby is so funny," Polly giggled across the hot tub. "You and Charlie both look like you've never held a baby before."
"I actually haven't held a baby before. Ever," I revealed.
"What?" Peyton found this shocking. "How? You've just never been around kids your entire life?"
I shook my head. "Not babies. I'm an only child, all my cousins are older than me, and I never babysat. The only thing I know about kids is from a few biology classes and a lot of movies."
Peyton giggled and shook her head. "Gosh, please do more research than watching a movie!"
"I don't know... before I have a kid, I think I'll just watch the movie 'What to Expect When You're Expecting' and take it from there. I'm sure it'll be useful enough," I joked.
"God," Peach laughed, letting her head slap the water in defeat. "I know you're joking, but that so sounds like something Charlie would do."
"You'll probably have kids before I do, Peach. Just invite me over to babysit, and I'll have a test run," I laughed.
Peach playfully rolled her eyes. "Only if you agree to do more research than a Cameron Diaz movie."
"Hey, put some respect on Princess Fiona's name!" I demanded.
"What do you think the boys are doing without us?" Polly asked, looking dreamily up at the sky.
"Having a relay race. I'll be shocked if I come back to Marley in one piece," I said. "I feel like Charlie's the type to go all out to try and win it, even if it means our robot becomes an amputee."
Polly held a shocked hand to cover her mouth. "You think they're being that rough? Not Lucas, I know he wouldn't do anything to poor Tommy." She thought about it for a moment, letting a soft silence smudge the air around us. "Oh my god, he better not be hurting our baby!"
Peach hummed at the thought, comparing her own situation. "I'd like to think Gray would be more careful. Just because he knows that I'm already attached to this damn thing."
"Yup," Peyton nodded. "Fully agreed. And Anthony's an elementary school teacher, I'm pretty sure our baby will be fully intact, with zero points missing."
Bottles of nail polish were brought out. With dozens to select from, I went with a soft pink that covered my entire nail in a single coat. The glossy finish collected droplets of steam as I fanned my hand through the air.
"Purple looks really good on you, Peach," Peyton complimented.
"Thank you!" Peach smiled and admired the color of her nails. "It used to be my favorite color. But now I have like, twenty."
"Twenty favorites?" I giggled. "Girl, what?"
"I just can't decide anymore," Peach smiled. "I mean, there are some days when blue is just the most beautiful color. It's calming and reminds me of the ocean. But then green is just so amazing sometimes, and it's very grounding. But pink is so cute!"
Peyton laughed. "Your favorite color's the rainbow, then."
"Ha. I guess it is," Peach said proudly.
Chocolate-covered strawberries were delivered next, already de-stemmed, and halved for our consumption. I picked up my small white plate, held it over the water, and crunched down on the hard-shelled treats.
"Mmm," I hummed, licking the chocolate off of my lips. "I could eat these every day."
Polly nodded as she stuffed her face with the candy fruits. "Agreed, Maddie. Can we ask to take the whole tray home?" she giggled and continued popping the berries into her mouth. A soft silence lulled between us and Polly smacked her lips. "The final four, huh? I'm just glad I'm with my OG girls."
"OG?" Peyton questioned. "I don't think I count."
"You came in with Noah, right? That was the third day, that's pretty damn close," I laughed.
"Yeah, that definitely counts as OG!" Peach agreed. "Only Charlie and Lucas are OG boys, though."
I squinted my eyes in an attempt to remember previous Islanders. "When did Gray come in? Was it with a girl?"
"No...?" Peyton immediately second-guessed herself.
"No, he came in with Leo, remember? He was only here for two days," Polly sulked. "I still feel bad. He was pretty cute..." she thought for a moment. "Do you think Giselle would still be here if she'd picked Leo?"
Peach frowned and shook her head. "I don't know... I don't want to think about that."
"Do you guys remember Michael and Katrina?" I asked.
"How can we forget?" Peach smiled. "I'm shocked they got voted out so early. Well... I guess Katrina got voted out. Michael left. Still, they were the strongest couple... I wonder what they think of this season."
"Hopefully all good things," I shrugged.
Peyton looked down at the bubbling water, deep in thought. "Who else went home kinda early? Oh, Eli! God, I miss him."
"I do too," Polly sighed. "He was such a big sweetheart.
"And Giselle," I said. Her absence was still a fresh wound as all the girls showed physical harm from my words.
Peyton nodded. "And Giselle."
"A toast!" Peach picked up her glass from one of the hot tub's many cup-holders and held it toward the center of the water. The rest of us grabbed our own glasses in preparation. "To... all the Islanders then and now. To our fallen friends, I wish nothing but the best for them. I hope they're all home, watching this right now snuggled up on a couch with someone they love. I hope they've found pure happiness, wherever they are. And to my beautiful friends in this hot tub right now, I'm so proud of you all. We've shown each other what love looks like in its many forms. It's messy, frustrating, and complicated. But in the end... god, it's so worth it." She grinned and thrust her glass toward us. "Cheers!"
-
We returned to the villa before dinner with our hair braided, nails freshly painted, and bodies filled with wine. We waltzed through the villa doors, looking around for our couples until we found the four boys in the garden, surrounding the robotic babies.
"Hey," I sang into the air to announce our arrival. The boys turned around nervously. Lucas had visible beads of sweat ready to drip off of his forehead.
"Thank god they've had wine," Anthony whispered.
"What's going on?" Polly asked as we approached. She peeked her head through the circle of boys and gasped at the babies on the table. Little Tommy had scratches all over his body. Mia's eyes had been broken, and her right eyelid was forever trapped in a half-wink. Chicago was missing a leg. I looked over and found Marley, surprisingly, without a scratch. Shock and disturbance immediately sobered the girls.
"What happened?" I asked, shocked that our make-believe child wasn't the most damaged of them all.
"We had that baby race," Gray scratched the back of his head nervously. "Some of us were more competitive than others."
"Inside, now!" Peyton frowned. She picked up her damaged baby and followed Anthony inside.
Peach nodded at this and held Chicago in her arms. She picked up the amputated leg off of the table and carefully stuck it back together. "Come on." She waved Gray over to the loungers for his discipline. Polly and Lucas were giggling as they tended to their simulation.
I looked down at Marley, sleeping peacefully in her stroller. "She's... not busted."
"You told me to be careful," Charlie smiled. He could see in my eyes I wanted more of an explanation. "This might sound stupid but uh... after a while, it almost felt real, ya know? And the baby looks weirdly like you, with the skin tone and the hair..." I leaned down and took Marley into my arms, staring into her plastic eyes. "I didn't want to weird you out... but I kind of want to start taking this challenge seriously."
After a minute, I realized I'd been swaying with the baby in my arms innately. "Okay," I said softly, looking down at Marley. Her eyes began to part as I tilted her slightly in my arms to adjust my grip. "Let's do this, then." We sat down with Marley in my lap, holding her accessories in case she started crying. "How was it today without the mother of the house?"
"Grueling," Charlie laughed. "I will brag that I took it better than others. Lucas tried his best, but Anthony practically ignored every cry. How was the spa?"
"Really nice," I said, almost feeling guilty that I'd enjoyed myself so much. "Do you like my nails?" I shoved my fingers into his face.
"Oh my gosh, Maddie! Those are totes cute," Charlie imitated with a smug smile. "It's a nice color, though. And I like your braid."
"Thanks, this woman did them." I reached behind my head and pulled my braid over my shoulder to display the small flowers that had been woven in. "She did each of our heads in like... five minutes! She's a master at it."
Charlie nodded, admiring the braid until Marley began crying. Her voice box emitted soft wails and her eyes shut. He handed me her bottle and I shifted Marley into my arm to begin feeding her the fake liquid. Soft clicks signaled her swallowing.
"This is kinda creepy," I whispered.
"I'm just glad we don't have to spend the night with them... imagine these things in the dark."
I shivered at that and continued holding the bottle until Marley's clicking had stopped. "What a good girl!" I stopped myself. "You're not a dog, sorry. Nice... job... sweetie?"
"You'll get there," he comforted.
"Maternity is not my instinct, it's something I'll have to work on." I passed back the bottle and held her in my arms. I turned to Charlie. "Do I... Do I have to burp her?" I asked.
Charlie tilted his head and pressed his lips together. "I don't know... none of the guys did it..."
"I guess I'll try." I brought Marley up to my chest and began delivering gentle pats to her back, waiting for a soft burp to be muffled through her speaker. The burp finally came in a long string of belching. "Jesus." I almost tossed her into Charlie's lap to get her away from me. "That was gross." I opted to gently hand her to Charlie instead. "Here, go see your father."
"Her father?" Charlie repeated, obviously amused. "You would want our kids to call me their father?"
"What else did you have in mind?" I asked.
"I don't know... daddy?"
I shook my head. "I'm sorry, that's been ruined. Daddy is off the table."
"I guess just plain old dad then," Charlie smiled and lifted Marley to his face. "Get ready for a life of dad jokes, Marley." He put the baby down with an embarrassed smile. "Oops, forgot it wasn't real for a quick sec."
I smiled and shook my head. "Thankfully not. But maybe someday." He smiled down at me, then placed Marley back in her stroller.
-
When we returned our babies, some were more emotional than others. Charlie and I sent Marley away with a supportive wave, while Polly teared up as she kissed Tommy on the forehead and wished him well. Lucas was there to support her, though he admittedly wasn't quite sure what she was so sad about.
After the return, our results were texted to us individually and in order.
Peyton's phone went off first. "We did the worst?" She sounded devastated as her eyes skimmed the rest of the text. "We got a 30%. We missed six feedings and we lost so many points for rough handling!" She glared at her couple and folded her arms over her chest.
Peach's phone chimed next. "Oof. 50%. Our care score was good but there was rough handling." She stopped and reread the text. "Shaken baby?! You shook our child?"
"Um." Gray had immediate guilt on his face. "If it makes you feel better, I didn't actually shake her, the stroller went over some rough terrain... also I think the torn-off leg may contribute to that..."
"Aw," Polly said as she was texted. "52%. Rough handling, I'm shocked." She rolled her eyes playfully. "You didn't support his neck a single time."
Lucas scratched the back of his head. "I didn't really understand how to do that."
Finally, my phone dinged in my hand. "70%? Our baby cried a lot..."
"But I didn't compete in the race," Charlie pointed out.
I grinned up at him. "You didn't! Awesome!"
Peach laughed as we celebrated our victory. "I love how the two people in this entire villa least excited for children got the best score."
"It's poetic," I commented. Charlie reached down and gave my temple a soft kiss.
"I kinda miss Mia... c'mon Peyton, let's go make another baby," Anthony joked.
"Ew," Peyton cringed. "I'm good, thanks."
As Islanders slowly began trickling inside to get ready for dinner, I pulled Charlie aside for a quick chat in the kitchen. He filled our water bottles in the fridge while I sat on a barstool across from him.
"I'm really proud of us," I said. I rested my chin in the palm of my hand. "I'm really happy with how we got here."
Charlie looked up with a genuine smile. "Yeah, me too. What are the odds I'd meet the girl of my dreams in a villa with a dozen people?" he shook his head and filled up the last water bottle, screwing the lid on tight.
I took a deep breath and smiled as I watched him. His brown hair was extra curly after a day in the pool. His blue eyes reflected the kitchen lights and made them glimmer as he looked over at me. As we made eye contact, his thin lips stretched into a wide smile, and his dimple made a reappearance.
"I love you," I whispered across the kitchen.
His smile grew wider and he walked over, kissing me from across the counter. As he pulled away, he said it back. "I love you, too."