(Jay's POV)
I sat on the hard hospital chair, staring at the tiny bundle of joy named Amara Fernandez.
My eyes felt like someone had rubbed sand into them. It was the morning after the wildest night of our lives. My demonic brother aka freshly father Angelo was sitting on the edge of Ion's bed, looking like a zombie that had been run over by a tractor.
Ion was sitting up, looking exhausted but very happy. Keifer, being too handsome for the early morning , stood by the window, looking completely fresh and fine, as if he had not just driven a car over three speed bumps at ninety miles per hour.
Suddenly, a strange, sour smell filled the bright hospital room. It did not smell like flowers. It did not smell like Swiss chocolate. It smelled like pure trouble.
Ion looked down at the baby in her arms. Her face twisted into a frown. She smelled the air, then looked straight at Angelo with a heavy gaze.
"Angelo," Ion said, her voice dropping an octave. "Your daughter has made a big mess. Change her diaper right now."
Angelo jumped up like a soldier who had just heard a bomb go off. His face turned pale white. He looked at the baby, then looked at the plastic bag of diapers on the table, and then looked at his own hands as if they were made of glass. He was terrified. This was the same guy who wanted to name his child after a duty-free chocolate shop, so clear thinking was not his strong point.
"Me?" Angelo squeaked. "But Ion, she is so small! What if I break her? What if she shoots poop at my face? I do not know how to use the sticky tape! I cannot do this!"
"Angelo!" Ion warned, and her eyes flashed with that scary look from last night, the one where she threatened to eat him alive.
Angelo scrambled backward. He looked around the room for a shield, and his eyes landed on Keifer. Angelo grabbed Keifer by the shoulders, his eyes wide and begging.
"Keifer, my brother in law , my best student , the guy who drives like a hero!" Angelo yelled in a loud whisper. "Please help me! Pass this work to you. You do it. You have big strong hands. And I am your boss. You can save my life again!"
I rolled my eyes so hard I almost saw the back of my brain. "Angelo, do not be a baby," I said. "He does not know how to change a baby either! We have never done this before."
But Keifer did not look scared at all. He actually smiled. He looked at Angelo, shrugged his shoulders, and walked over to the baby bed.
"Move over, amateur," Keifer said with a calm laugh.
I watched in total shock as Keifer rolled up his sleeves. He looked like a master chef getting ready to cook a five-star meal, except the meal was a dirty diaper. He gently picked up little Amara from Ion's arms. He laid her down on the soft changing pad. He did not shake. He did not look grossed out.
Angelo and I stood side by side, our mouths wide open. I was sure Keifer was going to put the diaper on her head or use the tape upside down.
Instead, Keifer moved with the speed and skill of a ninja. With his left hand, he gently lifted Amara's tiny legs up by the ankles. With his right hand, he wiped her clean using exactly three baby wipes. He did it so fast it looked like a magic trick. He pulled a fresh diaper out of the bag, slipped it under her bottom, and zipped the sticky tabs across her waist with two perfect snaps. He even lifted the little leg ruffles so there would be no leaks. He did the whole thing in less than thirty seconds.
Amara did not even cry. She actually looked happy, as if she had just left a luxury spa.
Keifer picked her up, kissed her little forehead, and placed her back into Ion's arms. Ion looked amazed. Angelo looked like he had just seen a ghost perform a dance.
My jaw was practically hitting the hospital floor. I stared at my fiancé, "Keifer," I gasped. "How on earth did you do that? You looked like a professional baby doctor! Where did you learn to do that?"
Angelo nodded his head so fast I thought it might fall off. "Yes! You are a wizard! Did you take secret baby classes behind my back?"
Keifer looked at the two of us, completely relaxed. He leaned back against the wall, folded his arms, and let out a soft laugh.
"It is just experience, guys," Keifer said, shaking his head at our shocked faces. "When I was young, monster didn't come home and my mom worked long hours. I had to take care of Keiren, all the time. He was a poop machine. I changed about a thousand diapers before I turned twelve years old. This is nothing to me."
Then, Keifer turned his eyes toward me. A very slow, handsome smirk grew across his face. He stepped closer to me, looked right into my eyes, and gave me a playful wink.
"You see, Jay?" Keifer murmured, his voice full of fun. "Our future kids will be very lucky to have a dad like me. I can handle the night shift with my eyes closed."
My heart did a little flip, but my face went completely red. I slapped his arm playfully, trying to hide my massive smile. "Don't get ahead of yourself, race car driver," I teased, though inside, I was thinking he was absolutely right. Angelo just stood there, looking jealous that his younger sister had found a guy who could drive fast and clean poop without crying.
Bringing Amara Home
The ride back home was just as crazy as the ride to the hospital, except this time Keifer drove at five miles per hour while Angelo screamed at every bicycle that got within ten feet of the SUV.
When we finally arrived at the house, Keifer carried the baby car seat inside like it held a million dollars in gold. Angelo walked right behind him holding a big can of bug spray and a kitchen broom, looking ready to fight off any stray dust or loud neighbors that dared to breathe near his new daughter.
As soon as we stepped inside, Ion looked at all of us and announced that the house must stay completely quiet so the baby could sleep. That beautiful dream lasted for exactly four minutes. Tita came walking into the kitchen and immediately dropped a heavy metal frying pan onto the hard floor, making a sound like a bomb.
She then shouted a very loud bad word that woke up every dog in a three-mile radius, and little Amara started screaming at the top of her lungs.
While Ion tried to calm the baby down, our fat orange cat, Tiger, walked into the room. He saw the new baby bed, decided it was a luxury cat bed built just for him, and spent the next three hours trying to sneak inside it. Keifer had to build a big fortress out of plastic kitchen chairs around the crib just to keep the heavy cat from jumping on the baby.
The cat was brought up to home by Ella because she couldn't stay without her cat and by this way the cat became a new family member of ours.
By midnight, the house was a total mess and Angelo was completely out of his mind from lack of sleep. He was so tired that he walked into the kitchen, picked up the kettle, and tried to pour boiling water directly into his own left shoe instead of a coffee mug. When I stopped him, he started to cry softly, complaining that the baby was looking at him with judgment in her eyes and that she clearly knew he was a bad cook.
The real disaster happened at three o'clock in the morning when Amara started crying for another diaper change. Angelo decided he wanted to prove his manhood, so he refused to call Keifer for help. He tried to do it all by himself in the dark, but he completely forgot to use the baby wipes. Instead, he accidentally glued a strong sticky diaper tab directly to his own very hairy arm. He started yelling in pain, which woke up the baby even more, and Keifer had to run into the room with scissors to cut Angelo free while Ion slept through the whole loud mess.
By Sunday night, we were all dirty, tired, and full of coffee, realizing that Amara was now the official queen of the house and we were just her messy servants.
Baby drama
By Monday afternoon, the true colors of our new boss, baby Amara, really began to show. The living room was packed with the whole family.
Lola was sitting in her favorite rocking chair by the window, chewing on her favorite snack. Tita Gemma was busy folding baby blankets on the couch, while Ion and Angelo sat together on the big rug, looking like two people who had not slept since the year 2010.
The funny thing was, Amara was not in her mother's arms, nor was she in her father's arms. She was sitting right on my lap.
I was holding her carefully, bouncing my knees up and down very gently. Amara was staring up at me with huge, dark, sparkling eyes. Every time I patted her tummy, she let out a tiny, high-pitched giggle that sounded like little silver bells.
Right next to me, Keifer was sitting on the floor. He was completely dedicated to his new job as the baby entertainer. He put his thumbs in his ears, wiggled his fingers, stuck out his tongue, and crossed his eyes. Then he made a funny popping sound with his lips.
Amara absolutely loved it. She kicked her tiny feet in the air, clapped her small hands together, and let out a huge, bubbly laugh. Her whole face lit up with pure joy whenever Keifer made a new ugly face. She was completely under his spell.
Angelo sat just a few feet away, watching this whole show. His face began to twist into a look of pure sadness and defeat. He looked at Amara, then he looked at Keifer, and then he looked over at Lola, who was watching everything with a quiet smile.
"Lola!" Angelo complained loudly, throwing his hands up in the air like a dramatic actor. "Look at this! This is totally unfair! I am the one who went through the midnight panic. I am the one who almost broke my back running down the hallway. But my own daughter is doing clear favoritism! She is ignoring her own real parents!"
Lola just let out a loud, cracked laugh that shook her shoulders. She shook her head at Angelo and did not say a word, which only made Angelo feel worse.
"I am serious, Lola!" Angelo continued to whine, pointing a finger at Keifer. "Look at her! When Ion holds her, Amara just stares at the ceiling like she is bored out of her mind. When I try to sing her a beautiful song, she starts to cry as if I am hurting her ears. But look at Jay and Keifer! She looks at them like they are movie stars. She does not even know they are just the aunt and uncle. She is treating us like we are strangers who just live in her house!"
Ion sighed, leaning her heavy head against Angelo's shoulder. "Angelo is right, Lola," Ion murmured with a tired pout. "She looks so happy with them. It is like she thinks they are her real parents and we are just the hired staff who clean up the messes."
I could not help but laugh out loud as Amara grabbed my thumb with her tiny, warm hand. Keifer made another funny elephant sound, and Amara gasped with delight, her little legs kicking even faster.
We really did look like a perfect little family sitting there.Tita Gemma stopped folding her blankets for a moment. She looked over at Keifer and me, and her eyes turned soft and warm. A giant smile spread across her face.
"Oh, look at them," Tita Gemma whispered loudly to Lola, pointing her finger at us. "They look so perfect together, like real parents already. Keifer is so good with her, and Jay looks so natural holding a baby. It is just beautiful!"
Keifer looked up at me and gave me another one of his famous, confident smirks. I felt my cheeks get warm, but I just smiled back at him, continuing to rock the happy baby in my arms.
Suddenly, Ion stood up from the floor, rubbing her tired eyes. "Well, favoritism or not, it is time for her milk," Ion said, walking over to my chair. "Give Amara to me, Jay. I am the Milk lady. Let see if she remembers who actually feeds her around here."
"Sure," I said, standing up very carefully so I would not upset the baby. I held Amara close to my chest and took two steps toward Ion.
Amara was still smiling and gurgling happily while she was close to me. But the very second I stretched my arms out and handed her over to Ion, the magic completely stopped.
As soon as Ion's hands touched the baby, Amara's face went bright red. Her little eyebrows pulled together into a deep, angry frown. She opened her tiny mouth and started crying out loud. It was not just a small cry; it was a giant, glass-shattering scream that echoed through the entire house.
She kicked her legs wildly and tried to turn her body back toward me, her tiny hands reaching out into the empty air.
Ion looked completely shocked and hurt. "Oh, come on, Amara!" Ion pleaded, bouncing the screaming baby up and down. "I have the milk! I am your mother! Why are you screaming at me?"
The crying only got louder. Angelo jumped up to help, waving a pink rattle in front of the baby's face. "Look here, sweetie! Look at Daddy's funny face!" he yelled over the noise. But Amara did not care about the rattle at all. She screamed even harder, her face turning a deep shade of purple.
Ion shook her head in total defeat. She turned back around and looked at me with begging eyes. "Jay, please take her back for a second. My ears are going to explode."
I smiled and immediately stepped forward. I reached out and took the screaming baby back into my arms, pulling her close against my shoulder.
The change was instant. It was like someone had flipped a magic switch.
The very second Amara was back in my arms, her loud screams cut off completely. The room went totally silent. Amara let out a long, shaky breath, sniffled twice, and then looked up at my face. Suddenly, a giant, toothless smile broke across her tiny face, and she let out a loud, happy laugh, completely forgetting that she had just been throwing a massive fit.
Angelo dropped his pink rattle onto the floor. His eyes were wide, and his jaw was practically touching the carpet. He looked like he wanted to cry himself.
"See?!" Angelo shouted, pointing at the laughing baby. "What did I tell you? It is a conspiracy! She is totally playing tricks on us!"
Ion just stood there with her hands on her hips, looking completely amazed and a little bit jealous, while Lola let out another big, rolling laugh from her rocking chair.
Keifer stood up from the floor, dusting off his jeans. He walked over to my side, placed a warm hand on my shoulder, and looked down at the giggling baby girl in my arms. He looked over at Angelo and Ion with a big, playful grin.
"Don't worry about it, guys," Keifer said with a happy laugh, giving Amara a little high-five on her tiny foot. "It is not your fault. It is just that Jay and I are officially the coolest aunt and uncle in the world, and Amara already knows good style when she sees it!"
Competition begins
I sat on the living room rug, rubbing my sore eyes. The afternoon sun was shining brightly through the windows, but inside our house, a serious war was about to begin.
The great baby drama had reached a boiling point, and my demonic brother Angelo was the one who had finally snapped.
Amara was now only two weeks old, but she was already an absolute medical mystery. She had surprisingly started to crawl way too soon. Normal babies just lay there like little potatoes at two weeks, but not Amara.
She was like a little, chubby tank on hands and knees, moving across the floor with surprising speed. The only problem was her direction. She still flatly refused to look at her own father. Every time Angelo walked into the room, Amara would turn her head away like a rich lady ignoring a poor beggar.
"This is it!" Angelo yelled, slamming his hand down on the dining table. "I cannot take this disrespect anymore! Today, we are going to settle this once and for all. We are going to find out who the true favorite of this house is!"
"Angelo, please, she is only a two-week-old newborn baby," Ion said, holding a bottle of milk and looking very tired.
"No, Ion! She is not a normal newborn. She is a tiny mastermind who is playing with my feelings!" Angelo shouted, dramatically pointing a finger at Keifer, who was sitting on the couch eating a bowl of chips. "Look at him! Keifer does not even try, and she smiles at him like he gave her a million dollars. Today, we hold the Ultimate Family Crawling Contest!"
Within ten minutes, the entire living room was cleared out. The big rug was empty, creating a long, open lane. At one far end of the room, little two-week-old Amara was sitting on a soft pillow, wearing a pink outfit. She looked around at all of us with a very calm, cool expression, as if she knew she was the queen and we were just her loyal subjects waiting for her command.
At the other end of the rug, Angelo forced every single member of the house to sit down side by side in a straight line. The lineup was set. First was Tita Gemma, looking very competitive and fixing her hair. Next to her was Lola, sitting cross-legged on a small cushion, chewing her favorite candy and looking completely relaxed. Then came Angelo, who was sweating through his shirt and looking like a runner before an Olympic race. Next to him was Ion, then myself, and finally Keifer at the very end of the line, still holding his bowl of chips.
"Okay, listen to the rules!" Angelo commanded, pointing his finger at all of us. "We all sit in this exact line. Nobody is allowed to cross the line. We can only use hand gestures and our voices to call her. No food bribes! No toys! Let Amara's heart make the choice. When I say go, the calling begins!"
We all nodded. The air in the room grew heavy with excitement and nerves. I looked at Keifer, and he gave me a quick wink. My heart did a happy little dance.
"Three... two... one... GO!" Angelo yelled.
Immediately, the living room exploded into total chaos. The calling never stopped. Everyone started waving their hands and shouting at the top of their lungs.
"Amara! Come to Tita! I will buy you a beautiful dress!" Tita Gemma screamed, waving her arms in giant circles like a windmill.
"Come here, my sweet little baby! Come to Mommy!" Ion called out, clapping her hands gently and making soft kissing noises.
"Amara! Look at Uncle Keifer! Come get a chip!" Keifer laughed, waving a single potato chip in the air, completely breaking Angelo's no-food rule within five seconds.
But Angelo was the loudest of all. He threw his body forward, his face turning bright red. "Amara! Look at Daddy! Come to Daddy! I am your father! I gave you life! Choose me, please!" he begged, his voice cracking as he waved his hands like a wild man trying to stop a runaway train.
Amara sat on her pillow for a few seconds, looking at the shouting line of adults as if we were all completely crazy. Then, shocking us all for a two-week-old, she dropped down onto her hands and knees. She shook her little bottom, took a deep breath, and started crawling forward.
Everyone became incredibly excited and nervous at the exact same time. The shouting got twice as loud."Yes! She is moving!" Angelo gasped.
At first, Amara started crawling directly toward the middle of the line. Her tiny eyes were locked straight onto Angelo. She was moving fast, her little knees thumping against the rug. Angelo's face lit up with pure, golden joy. He looked like he had just won the lottery.
"She is coming to me! Look at her! She loves me!" Angelo rejoiced, tears of happiness actually forming in his eyes. He stretched his arms out as far as they could go, ready to pull his daughter into a giant hug. Amara grew closer and closer. She was only two feet away from his hands. Angelo closed his eyes, leaning forward to grab her.
But suddenly, Amara stopped dead in her tracks.
She stared at Angelo's face for one cold second. Then, with a smooth, sharp turn that belonged in a racing movie, she completely shifted her body away from him. She did a total side-step, crawled right past his outstretched hands, and moved straight toward me. She did not even look back at him. It was a totally savage move, completely mocking Angelo in front of the whole family.
Before I could even process what happened, Amara climbed right up onto my legs and plopped herself straight into my lap, letting out a loud, proud giggle.
I became officially the winner!!!
The room went dead silent for a split second, and then Lola let out a giant, roaring laugh that made her cushion shake. Tita Gemma clapped her hands over her mouth, trying not to laugh, while Ion just shook her head in amazement.
Angelo stayed frozen in his reaching position, staring at the empty rug in front of him. He looked like a statue of a broken man. "She... she tricked me," he whispered, his voice trembling. "She looked me in the eyes and then she chose my sister. This is a nightmare."
I laughed out loud, lifting Amara up into the air. She was smiling from ear to ear, looking very proud of her trick. I stood up with her in my arms and looked down the line at everyone.
"Well, well, well," I said, putting my hand on my hip and letting out a playful laugh. "Now that I am the official winner of the whole thing, get ready for round two! Back to your places, everyone! Let see if she can do it again."
Angelo scrambled back into his spot, slapping his own cheeks to wake himself up. "That was a fluke! A mistake! Put her back, Jay. This time, she will choose her father!"
I carried Amara back to her far pillow and sat her down again. She looked even more amused this time, her little feet kicking back and forth. I ran back to my spot in the line next to Keifer.
"Round two... GO!" Angelo shouted.
Once again, the shouting and waving began. Tita Gemma started singing a loud song, Lola started snapping her fingers, and Ion waved a soft baby blanket. Angelo went double as hard, leaning so far forward his nose was almost touching the rug.
"Amara! Daddy is right here! Don't do me dirty again! Come to Daddy!"
Amara did not wait this time. She immediately dropped down and started crawling with extreme speed. And just like before, she started moving directly toward Angelo.
"Yes! Yes! She is coming back to correct her mistake!" Angelo cheered, his hope rising up high again. "Come to Papa, my sweet angel!"
But halfway across the rug, Amara stopped. She looked at Angelo, let out a tiny bubble from her mouth, and took another sharp, sudden turn to the right.
In that exact moment, I literally saw the final speck of hope inside Angelo vanish. His face went completely blank as Amara bypassed him entirely. She crawled straight past Ion, straight past me, and landed straight into Keifer's open arms.
Keifer did not hesitate. He dropped his bowl of chips, reached down, and picked her up gently. The second she was in his arms, Amara wrapped her tiny, chubby arms right around Keifer's neck and gave him a big, tight hug, burying her face against his shoulder.
I watched this beautiful scene happen right in front of me, and my heart melted into pure liquid. Keifer looked so natural holding her. He was smiling so softly, patting her little back with his big, strong hand, making sure she felt safe and warm.
Looking at them, a wonderful feeling washed over me. I could see it so clearly in my mind—Keifer was going to be an absolutely perfect dad in the future. He had the patience, the gentle hands, and the magic touch that babies loved.
Keifer looked over Amara's shoulder at Angelo and Ion, giving them a huge, triumphant grin. "Well, guys," Keifer said with a laugh. "I think this completely proves the point. Jay and I are officially the most important people to Amara in this world. Aunt and uncle power!"
"I want a DNA test," Angelo muttered, face-planting directly into the living room carpet. "There is no way she carries my blood. She is an undercover spy sent to destroy my mind."
"Oh, stop being a big baby, Angelo," Ion laughed, though she looked a little jealous too. "Let do round three! I want to see what happens."
We set Amara back on her pillow for round three. This time, when the calling started, Amara did not even look at the young people. She crawled straight as an arrow, completely ignoring everyone else, and landed right on Lola's lap. Lola absolutely won round three, letting out a proud chuckle and feeding Amara a tiny piece of soft fruit. Angelo just sat there, sighing heavily because he had been beaten by a grandmother.
For round four, we set the lineup again. This time, Tita Gemma went into full performance mode. She started dancing while sitting down, shaking her shoulders and making funny bird noises. Amara found this absolutely hilarious.
She crawled over as fast as her little limbs could take her, laughing out loud, and grabbed Tita Gemma's sparkly necklace. Tita Gemma cheered loudly, declaring herself the queen of the house, while Angelo looked like he was about to pack his bags and move to another country.
"This is rigged," Angelo whined, resting his chin on his knees. "Everyone has won a round except me. Even the cat has a better chance with her than I do."
"Alright, let do one last round," Ion said, feeling bad for her husband. "Round five. Put her back on the pillow, Jay."
I carried Amara back for the final time. By now, the baby was thoroughly enjoying her game. She looked at us like she was a queen deciding which servant to reward next.
"Go!" I called out.Everyone started shouting for the final time. Ion clapped her hands loudly, calling her name over and over. Amara took off like a little rocket ship. She crawled straight toward the line, made a quick loop around me, and then landed straight into Ion's lap. Ion let out a massive scream of victory, hugging her daughter tightly. "Yes! Finally! Mommy wins!" Ion cheered.
This final victory left Angelo so incredibly sad. He was the only person in the entire house who had not won a single round. He sat there on the rug, his shoulders slumped down, his lip trembling. He looked so genuinely heartbroken that he was actually about to cry real tears. He covered his face with his hands, letting out a small, sad sniffle. "My own daughter hates me," he whispered into his hands. "I am a total failure as a dad."
Amara, who was still sitting in Ion's lap, stopped laughing. She looked over at her dad. Her big eyes blinked once, twice, as if she was studying his sad face.
Suddenly, she squirmed out of Ion's arms and dropped back down onto the rug. She crawled the short distance over to Angelo. She reached out her tiny hand and patted his knee.
Angelo slowly uncovered his face, looking down through watery eyes.
Amara looked up at him, let out a sweet, gentle gurgle, and then pulled herself up onto his chest. She wrapped her tiny arms around his neck and hugged him as tightly as she could, resting her warm little cheek right against his jaw.
Angelo's eyes went completely wide. In a fraction of a second, all his sadness completely melted away. His face lit up with a massive, emotional smile, and he wrapped his arms around his daughter, holding her close like she was the most precious thing in the universe. "Oh, my sweet little angel!" Angelo wept happily, kissing her head a hundred times. "You do love me! You were just playing a game with Daddy!"
Amara just giggled against his neck, looking over his shoulder at the rest of us with a very knowing, mischievous look in her eyes.Tita Gemma shook her head, crossing her arms as a huge smile broke out on her face. "Oh, look at that," Tita Gemma laughed loudly, pointing a finger at the baby. "I told you all! Amara is a true mastermind. She knew exactly what she was doing the whole time. She broke his heart just so she could make the final hug feel like a movie ending!"
Lola chuckled from her corner, and Keifer put his arm around my waist, pulling me close. We all laughed together, watching Angelo hold his daughter tightly. Our house was always a complete madhouse, full of wild panics and loud screaming, but looking at my crazy family, I knew we would not change a single thing. Amara was the boss, and we were all perfectly happy to follow her rules...