Clouds and Rain

her eyes.
    “I can‟t. He‟s so small. What if I, I don‟t know, drop him?” Calley laughed and stopped almost immediately, holding her belly. “If there‟s anyone I trust him with, it‟s you, darling. I saw you with the colts. You‟re so careful with everything, I‟m sure you can manage. Help him, Gabe.”
    “They‟re a bit more helpless than a colt, Calley,” Flynn replied.
    He couldn‟t keep his eyes off Gable, though, as Gable carefully picked the little boy out of his crib and handed him to Flynn. He then cleared the way so Flynn could sit down in the chair next to Calley‟s bed.
    Flynn was barely seated when he heard the other baby cry, but he couldn‟t keep his eyes off the child in his arms. The boy was looking up at him, his eyes still a little unfocused but searching anyway.
    “Hey, baby,” Flynn said, feeling a little silly. When he touched the boy‟s cheek, the baby turned toward his finger and tried to suck it.
    “You hungry?” Flynn had the feeling the baby liked his voice, so he continued talking in hushed, animated tones. “I‟m sure Mommy will feed you soon. You‟re not crying, though, so it can‟t be that bad, right?
    You‟re nice and warm, got a clean diaper, and you like it when we talk to you, don‟t you?”
    The baby seemed to doze off and Flynn looked up at Calley. His eyes wandered to Gable, who was sitting on the bed next to Calley holding the baby girl. She was quietly sleeping on Gable‟s shoulder.
    Seeing Gable sitting there, quite comfortably holding the baby, brought it home to him again how much he regretted not being able to have children with his lover. They‟d closed the subject, though. This was as close as they would get, and if Calley kept her word, they‟d get a chance to babysit and they‟d see them grow up. He looked back at the baby boy and tried to see Gable in him. He recognized the beginning of a dimpled chin, just like Gable had, but other than that, he didn‟t really look like Gable, Flynn thought.
    “So what are you going to name them, Calley?” Gable asked.

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    Zahra Owens

    “Since both our fathers share the same name, I thought I‟d name the boy Andrew,” Calley said. “And the girl looks like a Vicky.”
    “Calley, you don‟t have to,” Gable whispered.
    Flynn looked up at his lover, whose face was rife with emotion, and then at Calley, who was smiling compassionately.
    “I like the name,” Calley said smugly. “And I think it suits her.” Gable kept looking at the little girl, his callused finger caressing her brow. Flynn looked from Gable to the little boy in his own arms and hoped fervently they‟d see these children grow up.
    Gable got up from where he was sitting. “Will you be okay, Calley? I think it‟s time for us to go.”
    Calley nodded and smiled. Gable kissed her on the forehead after he put her daughter back in the crib and Flynn saw her whisper something to him that made him smile. When Flynn placed the boy next to his sister, he saw they seemed quite content packed closely together in one crib. He kissed Calley on the cheek and then walked out with Gable.
    “Vicky was your mom‟s name?” Flynn asked in the corridor outside Calley‟s room.
    “Yes.” Gable nodded. He didn‟t elaborate, though.
    “That was thoughtful of her,” Flynn continued, hoping to find out why Gable wasn‟t happy with Calley‟s choice of name.
    On the way home, Gable remained silent, as if he needed time to process everything on his own. Despite the fact Flynn really wanted to talk, he knew it was better to give Gable some space. He‟d hoped Gable would be happy to see the babies, but he also understood that it was a mixed feeling. Gable had never wanted to just be the donor and now he was. Flynn‟s one hope was that he could break the silent treatment before they went to bed and maybe entice Gable to talk about his feelings before they went to sleep.
    Gable tried Flynn‟s patience, though. When Flynn walked in from the bathroom, Gable already seemed to be sleeping, so Flynn crawled under the covers quietly and tried to fall asleep himself. But his mind was racing too much.

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    Clouds and Rain

    “Gable? Gabe?”
    With a soft moan, Gable acknowledged that he was awake.
    “Are you okay?”
    “Why wouldn‟t I be?” Gable asked gruffly. When he turned to face Flynn, though, he looked more hurt than angry.
    “I just figured it was a really emotional day and that you might want to talk about it.”
    Although it