Videos for this chapter:
Sister Sledge - 'We Are Family'
Kam's POV
The first thing I saw walking towards the patio was the dining room decorations.
The kitchen was loaded with food everywhere.
My dad helped me walk through a pink and blue balloon arch. Then, we walked down the steps of our deck.
All of my family was here. It was overwhelming to the point that tears were falling. Janiyah, Graeme, Niko, and Tati are here from Cali. Lauren, Marylyn, and Laurence are here too. Noeli, Marco, and Marco Jr.
Griffin and Sophia came from Chicago. Layla, Ryan, and the kids are here. Austin and Kimmie.
Bliss, Shane, Adrian, Brently, Julian, Carly, Andrea, and Mason.
Jake, Marissa, and Andre are here. Wow, Sal and Tamia came too.
"Grandma Luana and Grandpa Mano?!!" They must be my special guests. I stopped walking and cried into my dad's shirt. My grandparents rarely leave Hawaii, so this is definitely special. My Uncle Keoni and Koa came too.
"Nonna Giorgia and Nonno Lorenzo, it is good to see you." They must be my other special guests. I will never forget the day they defended me when Cris and I came to Italy.
I see Cocoa, Cam, and the kids are here, along with Daddy Dominic, Daddy Val, Alyshea, and their kids. My legs became wobbly suddenly when everyone gave me a round of applause.
Bliss came over and placed a crown on my head. Cris and my dad then traded places, and we walked to a pair of blue and pink covered thrones. I totally forgot that I was even eating.
"I'm sorry but when I saw my grandparents, as well as Cris' Nonna and Nonno, I lost it. Both of our grandparents traveled from Hawaii and Italy to be here today. That means the world to me. Thank you so much for coming."
"To my dad, Antonio, and Isabela thank you all for being a rock in my life. You all are always there to help us with the kids when we need it the most. And, Isabela for being my mom. Noeli, Layla, and Bliss, my sisters and best friends, thank you for having my back and letting me blow up your phones when I felt down and needed someone to talk to. And, for this amazing party."
"Día, Rocco, Devin, Isabella, and Kekoa, my precious kids, mommy loves you all very much and will always do what I can to protect you." They all came over and sat with me and Cris.
"I'm sure everyone is hungry, so I won't talk too long. To Cris, my Mr. Irreplaceable - thank you for the best three years of my life. I thought I lost you forever last year. Thankfully, you pulled through. I love you very much and please don't ever leave me."
"Thank you to everybody for your support, love, phone calls, text messages, visits, and friendship. Gabriella and Angelo thank you too because they just kicked me. Thank you for this amazing shower. Please help yourselves to the food."
"Just a quick announcement. Throughout the rest of the evening, we will be playing the Clothes pen game. Please put on the clothespin bow ties that the kids passed out at the front door," Bliss says to everyone.
"Layla and I have a prize for the winner. We have two other games as well for later. Please enjoy the food that was prepared. Kam and Cris, here are your plates. And, we will take care of the kids." Shane and Marco then came over with plates for us.
"Thank you, Bliss, Shane, and Marco."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After we ate, Cris, my dad, grandpa, and several of the guys disappeared. Even Devin, Rocco, and Logan.
"Ladies and gents, we have a few surprises and treats in store for you," Bliss suddenly announced. From the house came my grandpa, dad, Uncle Koa, Keoni, Cris, Antonio, Shane, Ryan, Julian, Marco, Devin, Rocco, and even Logan. They were dressed to dance - Hawaiian style. This absolutely is a treat. Even Graeme and Niko joined them.
Cris and Shane are the biggest surprises because they always complain about dancing with me and Bliss. After the dance was over, "Cristiano Amadore Fiore and Shane Carson Landes, come over here now!"
Everybody was shocked. I even heard Shane and Cris mumble, "What did we do this time?"
But, I sure did surprise them.
"I know how much you both dislike dancing, but this tonight was special, and I will never forget it. Now, you both know I am not the tallest person, so bend down some." I kissed Shane on his cheek and a hug. "Thank you, Shane."
"You're welcome, Kam."
I gave Cris a public worthy kiss and a hug. "Thank you too, Mr. Irreplaceable. I love you."
"You're welcome, love. And, I love you too. The ladies are going to change for their dance."
"Aww, I don't have a hula skirt. I want to dance too."
"Now Kam, you know we couldn't forget you. Come on."
"Thanks, Bliss."
We went inside the house to change. Hula dancing is calming. I love it. Isabella had her little hula skirt too. Once everyone was changed we went back outside. This will be my first time dancing with my makuahine (Hawaiian for grandma).
Dancing with my grandma was me, Bliss, Noeli, Día, Braelyn, Layla, Andrea, Janiyah, Tatianna, Isabela, Kimmie, and Sophia. They practiced with my grandma, but I knew what dance she did. I hope this is being videoed because I can't wait to watch it.
The guys gave us a round of applause as we came down from the stage.
Bliss' POV
"Okay, everyone can participate in this game. Ladies, go get your purse and hand it to your husband." I gave Shane mine and he looked at me like I was crazy. I just laughed.
Once the guys had their wives' bags, I explained the game. "In my hand is a list of items. Guys, I want you to see if your wife has these items in their purses as I call them off."
Then, I called off each item and the points amount. "Who is the winner of this game?"
Ryan raised his hand. "Layla has everything but the screwdriver. Logan loves throwing rocks in Layla's bag."
"Layla, help yourself to a prize."
"Okay ladies, please don't get mad when I ask this. But, why in the world do women carry all that stuff in your bags? No wonder Bliss's purse weighs a ton. Underwear? Seriously?" Shane had the nerve to ask.
Niko added, "I have been meaning to ask the same thing. Tati's is loaded."
Tati smacked Niko's arm and I smacked Shane's arm. "My bag does not weigh a ton. There are kids here so I will not answer the underwear part. You're the reason why I do carry it. Layla will take charge for the next game."
"Yes, for the sake of everyone's ears, do not answer why underwear is in your bag, Bliss," Kalani says while everyone chuckles.
Layla's POV
"Shane, wait until the babies come for you and Bliss. Her bag will be heavier than you think it is now. Ryan says the same thing about mine."
"My hubby and Austin are passing out the next game. Kam is going to give the answers. We will award the winner a prize for the most answers. There will be multiple winners for this game."
"Layla, I'll be taking your bowtie."
Dang. I took my tie off and gave it to Shane.
Austin and Ryan passed a pen and sheet with the questions. "You will have 15 minutes to answer the questions." I had a timer set for fifteen minutes.
"Go!"
Bliss and I didn't participate because we knew all of the answers.
Kam's POV
I told Cris, Layla, and Bliss everything on the list, so they didn't participate. Noeli and my dad didn't participate either.
Everyone should know number 8. Cris glanced at me when he looked at that question. We both laughed.
After 15 minutes, Layla rang a bell, signaling for everyone to stop guessing.
"Everyone can give themselves 2 points for number 8."
Immediately everyone erupted in laughter.
"Here are the answers."
Layla's POV
"How many guessed all of the questions right?" I glanced around the yard and no one raised their hands.
"How many guessed 9 questions right?" Again, no one raised their hands.
"Okay, how about 8 answers?" Cocoa, Andrea, and Tatianna raised their hands.
"Ladies, come over to Braelyn and get your prize." They came on the stage and Braelyn handed them each a gift bag.
"Okay, next we will have poems read, so I suggest everyone grab a tissue or napkins. First up, we have Marco with Devin, Día, Rocco, Isabella, and Kekoa."
Marco and the kids came up on stage. And, Rocco started reading first.
Rocco's POV
"Uncle Marco helped us with the poem, Mommy."
Día's POV
"Thank you for calling me your 'princess.'"
Devin's POV
"Thank you for loving me."
Marco's POV
There was not a dry eye in the yard. After Día, Rocco, and Devin read the poem, they grabbed each other's hands, and said,
"We love you, mommy."
We walked down the stage, and over to Kam. Devin handed Kam the poem, and she gave each one of them a kiss.
"Next up, we have Braelyn, Logan, and Natasha. They will be accompanied by Austin and Ryan."
Braelyn's POV
"I have a poem for you, Aunt Kam. It's from me, Logan, and Natasha. My daddy helped me."
Austin's POV
Braelyn then started reading the poem. I helped her say a few words, but she did a great job reading it.
Braelyn then passed the mic to Ryan. In kid language, Logan said, "I uv you." Then he started giggling.
Again, not a dry eye in the yard. I had tears myself.
"Next, we have the Toscano and Calabro kids. They are accompanied by Mr. Dominic Calabro."
Dominic's POV
Each of the kids had a bouquet of flowers. We walked over to where Kamea was sitting.
"Remember what we practiced?"
"Yes, Nonno," Giuliana says.
In unison, the kids said, "We love you, Ms. Kam."
One by one they handed the bouquet of flowers to Kamea and hugged her. Surprisingly, even Emiliano and Alessandro hugged Kamea.
"Congratulations, Kamea. We wouldn't have missed this day for the world. Alyshea, Val, Cocoa, Cam, and I are proud of you." I hugged her too.
"Thank you all so much for coming. And thank you for the flowers."
"You're welcome. Up next is Noel."
Noeli's POV
I brought Marco Junior on the stage with me.
"This is my poem for you."
"Congratulations, Kami. I am so proud of you and all that you have accomplished and have done for me. You and Cris deserve this day, and I couldn't wait to plan it with Layla and Bliss. Marco Junior wants to say something too."
In kid language, he said the same thing as Logan, "I uv you." We then walked to Kam and gave her my poem.
"Up next is Layla and Bliss."
Layla's POV
Bliss and I walked on the stage.
"I am so grateful that I met Marco and Noeli in Milan. Thanks to them, we have our friendship back. And now, we added Bliss to our friendship. According to Cris, Shane, and Ryan, we are troublemakers when together. But that is okay because the love we have for each other is special. I am an only child. We may not be fleshly sisters, but you and Bliss are always there for me. So, you are my sisters - always and forever. And, I love you both very much."
Bliss' POV
"Layla is right. Our relationship goes beyond friendship. We are like three peas in a pod - sisters forever. Meeting Cris back in 2018 was one of the best days of my life. 2018 was a special year period. I met Shane and he was the first guy that I ever dated. And, look at us now - happily married. And, you and I instantly bonded over a video chat before Kekoa and Isabella's baby shower. I really do love you very much. With Kalani adopting me, Julian, and Andrea, we really are sisters. I love you, Kam. Layla and I have a poem for you too."
Layla and I both shed tears as we read the poem. Both Layla and Kam have been there for me through some dark days. I couldn't have done it without them. We walked over to Kam, hugged her, and gave her our poem.
"I love you both too. Our bond is strong, never, ever to be broken."
"Next poem will be read by Kalani."
Kalani's POV
I brought tissues with me because I have not stopped shedding tears since the kids read their poems.
My voice was shaky as I read the poem.
"Your mom would be so proud of the woman you are today. I am extremely proud of you. You have been through so much the past three years and survived it. Stay strong, sweetheart. I will always be there for you. Always. Aloha au iāʻoe, kuʻu mea nui. (I love you, my precious one.)"
"A, aloha au iāʻoe, e ka makua. (And, I love you too, daddy.)"
I went to give Kamea a hug, kiss, and the poem.
"And, last but not least, Cris has a poem for you."
Cris' POV
I walked on the stage and immediately started reading my poem.
"Thank you, Tamia, for persuading Kamea to come to my club in San Fran. I knew Kamea was the one for me that day. The instant bond you formed with Dia and Rocco was very special to me. And, now look at our family - Dia, Rocco, Devin, Isabella, and Kekoa. And, in two weeks, Gabriella and Angelo will be here. Ti amo così tanto, Kamea - sempre e per sempre. (I love you so much, Kamea. Always and forever.)"
"Ti voglio tanto bene, Cris, sempre e per sempre. (I love you so much too, Cris - always and forever.)"
I walked off the stage and went to my queen, perched on her throne. I gave Kamea a long hug and kiss, then handed her the mic and my poem. She cried into my chest for a few minutes, then composed herself.
Kam's POV
"That was an absolute treat. I loved every minute of it. Each poem was heartfelt and special. I am going to frame each one and put them in the twins' rooms and share this day with them when they grow up. I love you all too. I love everyone here tonight. You all mean the world to me. And, thank you for coming to the party. Now, me, Gabby, and Angelo want some cake before we all dance. And, I know the perfect song. Hey, Layla and Bliss? Do you guys have.......?"
It may be an old-school song, but that's what I love listening to as well.
When the song came on, everyone got up to sing and dance.
"We are family!" Even my grandparents, Shane, and Cris danced.
We had a blast. Best baby shower ever!!
**********************************
Narrator's POV
Everyone had a great time. No one was ready to leave, so they partied all through the night.
Kam and Cris waited until the next day to open the gifts because they had so many. The gifts filled up both bedrooms for the twins. So, Kam, Dia, and even Isabella opened the gifts for Gabriella. Cris, Devin, and Rocco opened the gifts for the boys.
The next two weeks went by fast.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Saturday, June 19th, 2021
Kam's POV
2:00 am
I woke up to go to the bathroom. After washing my hands, my water broke. I took a really quick shower, then got dressed.
Then, I walked briskly over to a sleeping Cris.
"Cris! It's time for Gabby and Angelo to make their debut! Let's go!" Thankfully my dad stayed with us, so I went to wake him up too.
"DAD!!! Can you watch the kids? Gabby and Angelo are ready to be born. Cris is taking me to the hospital."
He shot up off the bed. "Go ahead. I can handle the kids."
Oh boy, this pain is off the charts. I clutched my belly as I made my way downstairs. My bag and the twins' bags were already in my Range Rover. I might as well go sit in it now. So, I grabbed the keys and went to sit in my truck.
About 10 minutes later, Cris finally came and joined me. Then, we pulled off to the hospital. Here's hoping for a smoother delivery this time.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
4:00 am
This time, I know what to do. So, I had stripped out of my clothes and put the hospital gown on. Then I laid down on the bed. And, I was much calmer, didn't snap at Cris one time.
I did my breathing techniques, and that calmed some of the pain. I'm not 10 centimeters yet. I wish it would hurry up.
"Sweetheart, my mom is on her way. She will be here shortly. I told her what room we are in. Bliss and Shane are going to help Kalani with the kids."
Between deep breaths, I answered, "Okay."
Within 15 minutes, Isabella and Antonio entered the room.
"Sorry. We ran into a little traffic. Go figure this early in the morning. Cris, is there an extra gown?" Isabella asked.
"I'll go get one." Cris left the room.
"I'll go to the waiting room." Antonikissed mess on my forehead. Then, he left the room.
"You're doing great, Kamea. How many centimeters are you?"
"The....last time......I was........7 and 1/2 centimeters. Where is that dang epidural?!" The doctor entered the room.
"Let's see how many centimeters you are now." She checked and said, "You are now at 8 centimeters. The nurse will administer the epidural now."
Yes! The doctor left my room, and shortly after a nurse entered the room. I positioned myself so the nurse could administer the epidural into my spine.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
10:00 am
"It's time! Someone go and tell Mrs. Fiore's family that we are taking her to the delivery room."
Here come my kiddos. I hope they are not stubborn like Isabella.
Kalani's POV
"Excuse me, I am looking for Mrs. Fiore's family. She is being wheeled to the delivery room as we speak."
"Thank you."
I am about to be a grandpa again. I really wish Jayde was here to see this. Noeli has Marco Jr. Kami has Isabella, Kekoa, Gabby, and Angelo. And, I can't forget Dia, Rocco, and Devin.
"Thank you, Bliss and Shane, for helping with the kids."
"You're welcome. This is exciting. I can't wait for this time to come for us," Bliss answered.
"Your time is coming soon. I guarantee it." Shane held Isabella as she fell asleep. I held Kekoa who was wide awake. I really am glad Bliss and Shane are happy and back together. If I ever see that Grayson character, he better watch out.
2:00 pm
"Ladies and gentlemen, Gabriella Aaliyah and Angelo Santo Fiore have arrived at 1:45 pm. And, Kamea is okay. No scares like what happened the last time with Isabella and Kekoa. The nurse took them to be cleaned and given a checkup. Grandpa, would you like to go in to visit? I'll take Kekoa."
"I sure would. Thanks, Cris."
"Kamea's room number is 2468." I gave Cris Kekoa, then made my way to see Kami.
I knocked on her door first, then entered. Kami looked worn out, so I won't stay too long. "Hi, princess I'm glad you and the babies are okay."
"Thanks, daddy. Me too. I'm relieved that they are finally here."
"Get some rest, Kami." Two nurses then entered the room with the twins.
"This is my dad. I'm going to close my eyes for a little bit." Sure enough, Kami went to sleep. One of the nurses came over to me. And, the other one walked over to Isabela.
"Grandpa, meet Gabriella." The nurse handed me Gabby.
"Hi there, pretty girl, we are so glad that you, Angelo, and Kami are okay. Your big brothers and sisters can't wait to meet you."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wednesday, June 23rd, 2021
Kam's POV
We get to take our babies home today. They are just the cutest little ones. I'm not going to breastfeed them. They will be bottle-fed babies.
I am holding Gabby, and Bliss is holding Angelo.
"Thanks for coming, Bliss."
"You're welcome, Kam."
Cris and Shane entered the room. "Ready to go home, Kamea?"
"Yes indeed. Let's get you home, princess." With that, we were wheeled out of the room and out of the hospital.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thank you for reading chapter 69.
The games and opening invite are courtesy of www.postermywall.com.
The poems are from www.freepoemsonline.net.
The videos are courtesy of YouTube.
And, thank you for the votes and comments.
The Hawaiian and Italian sentences were translated by Google Translate.
The epilogue should be updated by the weekend.