Chapter Seven:
“Serena does sound pretty,” Maria mumbled out loud as she read through one of the books of baby names as she sat on her throne. Her daughter was do in less than a week and she still couldn’t think of a good name for her. “Except I will think of a ditzy blond crybaby when ever I think of it.” She shook her head. It was a good name and one of the best tennis players in the world had it, but thanks to the company who dubbed Sailor Moon, all she could think of was the title character. “Serena and Venus Williams are my favorite tennis players too. Wait a second I just noticed that. Serena and Venus? They do seem like sisters in the anime and manga.”
“What’s an anime?” Bowser Junior asked from where he was stretched out on the floor with a stack of drawing paper and a box of markers. “What’s a manga?”
“Anime is a term for an animated series made in a country in my world called Japan,” Maria explained as she flipped through the book, seeking the other dub names from the show. “Manga is a type of comic also from Japan. They usually are black in white, except for the cover and they look like watercolor paintings. They are so pretty.”
“Do you have any?” Junior asked.
“I have a stack in our bedroom,” Maria set the book down and started to get up.
“No,” Junior jumped to his feet. “I’ll get it.”
“Why not later?” Maria was curious about what the young Koopa was drawing. “You keep drawing.” She went back to the book.
“I hope you find a pretty name,” Junior said. “Dru thinks you should name the baby Bethany.”
“After my cousin,” Maria chuckled. Why was she not surprised? “I’ll let her name her daughter that, or her daughter might name her cousin that. More than one Bethany can be a bit confusing. That is why I’m not naming the baby Angela, cause my aunt named her daughter that.”
“That is pretty,” Junior reached for a green marker. “Sounds like Angel.”
“It does mean angel,” Maria ran her fingers down her abdomen. “She will be our little angel. Angelica? No that’s the same name as that brat from Rugrats, Angelina? No, can’t stand that actress.”
“Maybe after a type of angel?” Junior removed the cap from the marker and started to draw.
“Lets see there are the Seraphim, the Cherubs and the Archangels, and the archangels all have names. There is Michael, Raphael, Uriel, Gabriel, and a few others who I can’t remember the names of now, but my favorite is Gabriel.”
“Can you name the baby Gabriel?” Junior furrowed his forehead.
“Not for a girl,” Maria laughed. “But Gabrielle is a good name for a girl.”
“Gabrielle is a pretty name,” Junior said.
“Yeah it is,” Maria felt her stomach growl. “Should be close to dinner.” She felt another sensation in her stomach as she stood up.
“Mama Maria, do you need any help?” Junior asked as he placed his markers in the box.
“No,” Maria said as the weird sensation came back, only it was a bit more painful.
“Are you okay?” Junior asked.
“Yeah,” Maria said and waddled away from the throne until the pain grew worse. She clutched her belly and grimaced.
“You need a doctor,” Junior leapt to his feet.
Maria nodded. “Tell everyone it is time.”
-
Mario stared at the paper bag in his claws. He wished he didn’t feel like a pansy walking around with something covered in pink stripes. There was nothing wrong with the color. Roy had a pink shell and head, even if he kept trying to convince everyone it was light red. He shouldn’t care so much about the decoration of the bag. It was what was in the store and in the bag that counted.
“Nice bag,” Luigi commented. He was leaning with his back against the wall. “What frou frou place did you go too?”
“It’s a very nice candy store,” Peach glared at Luigi. She was holding onto the stuffed Yoshi she had purchased at a gift shop at the border.
“Yeah,” Mario gave his brother a look. “They make a lot of chocolate dipped fruit treats.” He held up the bag. “I got strawberries, raspberries, orange slices, and pineapple rings in here. “You might want to think about going to it for Wendy.”
“I’m pretty sure you will want to visit there all the time,” Luigi poked him in the stomach.
“Luigi,” Peach narrowed her eyes and would have slapped his hand if Luigi hadn’t pulled away. “How could you?”
“How could I what?” Luigi tried look innocent. “He’s used to the fat and short jokes from me.
“It still isn’t nice,” Peach shook her head.
“What is this?” Luigi raised his eyebrows. “Big bad General Mario can’t fight his own battles now? He has to get his woman to do it for him?”
“Knock it off,” Mario raised his hand and pointed his claws down. “Less you want some slashes in the belly.”
“What is with you today?” Peach asked.
“Trying to assert my masculinity,” Luigi held up his hand. “After my baby sister nearly twisted my wrist and hand off.”
“Why would she do that?” Mario asked.
“Was she holding your hand when she went through a contraction?” Peach asked.
Luigi nodded. “She held both mine and Bowser’s hands. She didn’t cause any damages to him.”
“You can’t understand the pain she is going through,” Peach said. “Giving birth is the second most painful thing that can occur to a woman, at least according to what my grandmother told me.”
“What is the first?” Mario asked.
“Passing a kidney stone.”
Mario shuddered. There was a possibility he might get such a stone in the future.
“The pain must really be bad,” Luigi said. “She’s gotten kind of scary. We are still waiting for that jackass doctor to arrive and give her an-“ he paused as he tried to think of the word. “Episode, no that can’t be right, an epiphany, no that isn’t it either. Wait it’s epi something.”
“I’m sure you will think of it,” Peach said as they continued their way to the birthing room. “As long as you don’t dwell on it too much. It will pop into your head.”
“Yeah, I can smell the wood burning.” Mario said.
The crack of a hammer striking against a slab of raw meat echoed through the hall a second before Bowser came tumbling, head over heels, out of the room and landed back first against the wall with enough force to cause cracks.
“GET ME MY EPIDURAL!” Maria’s voice shouted from the room.
“That’s the word,” Luigi snapped his fingers.
“Bowser, are you all right?” Peach asked.
Bowser shook his head. “Yeah,” he wiped away the blood that was trickling down from his split lip. “That is why I married her.”
Mario peered into the room to see the Shyguy doctor as he stuck the needled into a sweaty and red faced Maria. His sister screamed and grabbed the doctor by the throat.
“Easy sis,” Luigi ran into the room and pried her fingers of off Dr. Condo’s throat. “He’s giving you the epidural right now.”
“I don’t think you want to be too close to her right now,” the nurse advised.
“He can be as close as he wants,” Maria glared at the nurse before she curled her fingers into a fist. “He can watch me rip of this stupid mask.”
“Maria I’m here,” Mario ran into the room. “Peach is here too.” He held up the paper bag. “I brought you some chocolate covered fruit.”
“Is there a chocolate covered epidural in there?” Maria asked through clenched teeth.
“You just got your epidural,” Dr. Condo said. “Although a chocolate coating might have helped get it down, but the fact that it would be in your stomach means it would have taken a little bit longer for the effect to take place. That would also mean we would have to endure your brand new charming personality for a minute or two longer.”
“Listen you,” Bowser picked the doctor up. “You are very lucky you still have a job here.”
“You are quite lucky she did not knock out a tooth,” Dr. Condo pointed at his mouth. “It’s obvious someone got plenty of iron and folic acid in their diet.”
“And it’s obvious you have a big mouth,” Bowser dropped him onto the floor. “Now do your job and I better not hear anything out of your trap.”
“He has to speak,” the nurse said. “He has to give some direction.”
“Bowser,” Maria had her eyes closed and was panting. “Let him do his job.”
“Just medical jargon that I don’t understand,” Bowser pointed to the doctor.
“How long till this epidural kicks in?” Luigi asked.
“A few more minutes,” the doctor said as he stared at his watch.
“I’m sorry your in pain,” Mario rubbed his sister’s arm. “We sent Toad to Brooklyn. He’s going to tell mom, dad, and Pauline the good news.”
“Mom and daddy,” Maria said and breathed deeply. “It’s kind of funny. They tried to protect me all these years. The last thing they had thought was me discovering this place, not only am I here, but I’m married to the reptile who did this to me.” She closed her eyes again. “Pain is weakening, but still there.”
“I’ll go wait outside,” Mario said. “Let mom and dad know where you are and I’ll put your treat in the fridge.”
“Where would you like this?” Peach asked as she held up the plushie.
“Leave it on a chair,” Maria said. “Hey doc, how far am I open?”
The doctor examined the opposite end of her. “You went from three and a half centimeters to four.”
“When can I push?”
“When you are at-“ the doctor stepped back.
“What happened?” Bowser asked.
“Nothing serious, her water just broke,” The doctor said and turned to Maria. “You can push when you reach ten centimeters.”
“If you need anything,” Mario held Maria’s hand. “You crave a burger, or want to listen to a certain CD, you tell me, or Peach, or Luigi and we will get it for you.”
“Thank you,” Maria said.
“Anything for my little sis,” Mario said before he kissed the side of her head.
-
Mario had no idea how long he had been asleep, and he did not know when had drifted off. He remembered sitting down on one of the chairs outside. He also remembered the conversations he had with Peach. They talked about the future and mentioning their future children. He wanted to propose to her right then and now, but he felt the timing wasn’t right. He also wanted to make sure there was a ring in his hand. Afterword they read newspapers and magazines and drank some coffee, but the caffeine still wasn’t enough to keep Mario awake.
“Son,” an accented voice nudged him awake. “It’s me your father.”
“Dad,” Mario sat up. “Oh man. I can’t believe I fell asleep. I was supposed to be awake to greet you and tell Maria you and mom have arrived. Wait, where is mom?”
“She’s with Maria and Pauline and Peach in the delivery room,” his father was wearing a crisp blue polo and a pair of khaki shorts. “Luigi went to get some food for us.”
“Mom okay?” Did he just said it like that? If both his mothers were there they would be sure to correct his grammar. “I meant is mom okay?”
“She’s fine,” father took a seat next to Mario. “Are you excited about being an uncle?”
“You bet,” Mario sat upright. “I can’t wait to make silly faces to get her to laugh, to play soccer with her, and to take her to the zoo.”
“Already planning on spoiling her I see,” the older man laughed.
“Yeah, what about you?”
“We’ll probably wont spoil her, but we will make sure she will get he most out of he visits,” he paused to chuckle. “That is he best thing about being a grandparent. You get to make sure hey are fed and go to bed at the right time, you get to play and spend time with them, and then they go back to their parents, before they can cause trouble.”
“How do you know Maria’s daughter will cause trouble?” Mario asked.
“Because I put the curse on Maria when she was a little girl,” father smirked.
“You put a curse on her?” Mario stared at his father in shock. How could a loving father do that to their child. “What kind of curse?”
“I told her that any child she will have would be just as bad as them. I got it from Bill Cosby.”
Mario had no idea who that was. “So, Maria was a trouble maker as a kid?” They never mentioned that before when he visited his parents as humans.
“Not so much a trouble maker as she was a prankster. In school she took pride on being a class clown. She played pranks on her cousins and me. One time she filled my pipe with bubble mix.”
“Maybe she thought it was a bubble pipe,” Mario once had mistaken a smoking pipe for a bubble one and was about to put the bubble mix in it, until he was stopped by his adoptive mother.
“She knew full well what she was doing,” father shook his head and smiled at the memory. “She wanted me to stop smoking.”
“Oh,” Mario could understand the reasoning about that. “You don’t still smoke do you?”
Father shook his head. “Gave up that habit years ago.”
“I’ve played some pranks on my brother. I’ve glued a few coins on his side of the room and I watched him try to pick it up. Our adoptive mother finally gave him some solvent to melt the glue, but it was hilarious. I short sheeted his bead once, and when he was asleep I put whip cream in his hand and ticked his nose.”
“I know that one,” father chuckled. “Although you were supposed to use shaving cream instead.”
“Oh,” Mario blinked. “That was before we were old enough to shave. We used whip cream for other pranks to. Like we once filled plastic cup with them, stuck them under the doors of Kamek and then stomped on the ends and shot the whip cream inside. We all used them on mud pies and tried to sell them. I told this story to Peach. When Mama Kammy found out she made us give back all the money and eat those pies.”
“Good for her,” father nodded in improvement. “So Luigi is also a bit of a prankster?”
Mario nodded. “He once replaced the sugar in the sugar bowl with salt, and when he was a teenager he once rearranged all the potions in Kamek’s study.”
His father continued to laugh. “So you have told Peach. I take it that you two are pretty close.”
Mario felt his cheeks heat up. “I well, where did you get that idea?”
“When your mother and I have arrived you two were pretty much sleeping in the same chair.”
“Oh,” Maria rubbed the top of his head and blushed even harder. “Yeah we are close. I love her. I love her with all my heart and soul and I hope she feels the same about me.”
“Have you asked her out?”
“Several times,” Mario nodded. “And she has asked me out.”
“Do you see yourself spending the rest of your life with her?”
Mario nodded. “I want to ask her to be my wife its just-“
“The part about you being a Koopa?” father shook his head. “If she loves you as much as you claim she does then she doesn’t care what you are. When I was about sixteen and still living in Pizza Kingdom I used to experiment with a certain herbal weed. One time a friend bought a batch from a guy we never bought from before. We decided to try it in a cup cake mix. What we put in that mix wasn’t the herbal weed.”
“What was it?” Mario asked.
“Ever hear of Dratuga leaves?”
Mario nodded. “You were a Koopa for a while?”
“For little over a month actually until we were able to get the true form mushrooms. During the time when I was a reptile I was afraid my girlfriend a the time would leave me. She loved me for me, not what I was and stuck by through the whole time.”
“Oh,” Mario rubbed his head. “I wasn’t about to blame it on the fact we are two different species. It’s just want to make sure it is perfect. After a nice date and I have a ring, then I’ll propose.”
“Good plan,” father nodded.
“Dad,” Luigi ran up to them. “Mario. Maria is delivering the baby.”
“She has been for a while,” Mario stared at his brother. “Wait she can push?”
“She is pushing,” Luigi nodded. “Come on.”
-
Mario paced outside the door along with Luigi while he continued to removed and replace his spiked bands. He had no idea what his niece was going to look like, nor what name Maria was going to give her.
“Hey folks,” the nurse stepped out of the room. “You can go in now, and yes it is a girl.”
Mario was the last to enter along with Peach, and he stepped inside while holding her hand.
Maria was sitting up in the bed with a small bundle held close to her chest and making sucking sounds. Bowser stood beside her and was staring down at his wife and new child with a mixture of pride and love.
“Gabrielle,” Maria whispered to her baby. “Do you want to see your grandparents and uncles?”
Mario waited until his parents and Luigi and Peach got a good look before he stared at little Gabrielle. The baby was pink in color with a few wisps of bright red hair on her head. She had a human jaw line and ears, but her nose was that of a Koopa.
“She’s beautiful,” Mario said.
“Of course she is,” Bowser never stopped smiling. “She looks like her mother.”
“Yeah, she does,” Mario said before he turned to Peach. After the leave the room he was going to ask her out to a nice dinner and propose to her. He knew Wendy will be eighteen soon and then Luigi can propose to her, maybe they will get married at the same time, have their own children. Hopefully things will be peaceful in both kingdoms so they can enjoy their happiness.