Chapter Text
“I wanted him to sleep longer,” Carina mumbled into their quiet bedroom, the faint sound of little footsteps carrying along the hallway outside their room.
“But I missed him,” Maya said, already moving to lean over the edge of the bed ready to scoop him up as soon as he burst through the door.
Since meeting Carina, and falling in love, 24-hour shifts had felt long. Arduous separation that, had she not loved her job, would have felt pointless. Then Mateo came along and they felt impossible. Start to finish her heart aching for them. Face time calls and pictures of them were not enough. Her wife and her son were like air, she needed them after a minute of being apart. After 1440 of them, Maya felt like she was suffocating as she made her way home, needing to breathe them in to survive.
And she always did, she wrapped her arms around Carina and kiss her silly, wondering how they ever used to tolerate more than a day apart. Then she’d rush up the stairs and peek into Mateo’s room and crouch down by the bed, sad she had missed yet another bedtime. But just being in his proximity, was enough to hold her over until morning. Until this moment.
“Mamma, Mamma, mi sono svegliato-” Mateo stopped in his tracks, as his eyes fell on Maya and her outstretched arms. He changed his course for her shouting, “Mommy! Sei tornata, sei qui!”
[... I woke up... you’re back, you’re here.]
“Hi my baby boy, hi my baby potato,” Maya said, just as excited, raising him into the air the second he was close enough. He kicked his legs excitedly, his hands reaching out for her.
Maya rolled onto her back and cuddled him close, running her fingers through his dark curls. “I missed you, my Tato.”
“Missed you, Mommy,” he said nuzzling in even closer, his little legs wriggling until they were tucked under the duvet by Mamma.
“Hai dormito bene, Patatino?” Carina asked, shifting so she was sharing the pillow with Maya. She pressed a kiss into her shoulder, as Mateo nodded.
[Did you sleep well, little potato?]
“Sì, dormito bene! Mamma?”
[Yes, I slept great!]
“Sì, amore mio, ho dormito come un ghiro.”
[Yes, my love, I slept like a dormouse]
“Mommy?”
“Yes, I slept good, I like being home with you and Mamma when I sleep.”
“Mi sei mancato,” Mateo sighed happily, patting his hand on her ribs, “mancato.”
[I missed you]
“I missed you too, I always do!”
“What are we gonna do?”
“Today?” Maya clarified.
“Yeah,” he said, sucking his thumb, curling his other hand around her top.
“A lot of fun things, Mamma’s gonna bake and then we’ll have yummy food and then today is special because we’ll get to toast in the New Year. Tomorrow it’s going to be 2029. So we’ll stay up late and toast the New Year!”
“Okay! Can we have pancakes?”
“Of course!”
“Mommy, will Santa come again?”
“No, Christmas is all done, he’ll come next year, after my birthday and your birthday and Mamma’s birthday has been then it will be Christmas.”
“Okay,” he said again and yawned softly. Maya felt him get heavier as he lay there, the little wriggles giving way to sleep. She wasn’t surprised when her wife’s breathing grew synchronously deeper too, evening out. Both of her babies asleep on her, she was sure there wasn’t a better way to begin the last day of the year. Except maybe if there was a baby cuddled up somewhere too. They had been trying since Mateo’s birthday, with no luck so far. Whilst it was still early, Maya could see the journey starting to echo their one with Mateo. The low hormones, the miscarriage. The expensive tests that say there’s nothing wrong and yet her wife still wasn’t pregnant.
“It’s fun being boring on New Year’s isn’t it?” Maya voiced aloud, as she watched Mateo wiz around the room on his new scooter. So far it had been too wet and rainy to take it outside, but that hadn’t stopped Mateo from propelling himself around. After a skid, a bumped head and some cuddles from Mommy, as Mamma iced it, he was now sporting his dinosaur helmet inside the house.
“So fun,” Carina said, her head resting on Maya’s shoulder. “Do you have any fun New Year’s Eve stories?”
“Well, I got invited to President Obama’s white house New Year’s honours party after I won gold. I suppose that’s a fun story.”
“You did?” Carina asked, sitting up and staring at her wife.
“Yeah, I was the first American woman to get gold in that event since something like 1924. So I was popular. Plus, I had done a lot of press, per my dad’s plan. We hadn’t kind of announced my retirement either because we were still getting opinions.” Maya said and where there would have been bitterness years ago, her voice was humoured and sarcastic.
“So yeah Whitehouse New Year party,” she shrugged.
“Oh, so casual bella,” Carina chuckled, “I can’t believe I never knew this about you, what was it like?”
Maya leaned back against the couch, a smirk playing on her lips as she thought back. “It was... intense. First of all, my ankle was still a mess. I mean, it wasn’t swollen anymore, but wearing heels for hours? Let’s just say I spent half the night figuring out how to lean against things without looking like I was in pain.”
“Maya Bishop, enduring heels for fashion and politics,” Carina teased, grinning.
“Hey, it was the White House,” Maya said, laughing. “I couldn’t exactly show up in sneakers. Anyway, when I got there, it was surreal. The place was lit up, and everyone was dressed to the nines. I met President Obama first; he shook my hand, congratulated me. I remember he said something like ‘Michelle and I watched with our daughters’ and then lots of praise. I remember he was very gently spoken, yet commanding. It was-” Maya trailed off lost in the memory of the grandeur of the Whitehouse.
“I can only imagine; did you meet the first lady?”
“Yeah, that was- honestly it was one of the first times I think I understood the gravity of what I did. She shook my hand and I remember exactly what she said because it’s stayed with me forever.”
“What did she say?”
“‘I watched your race with my daughters. They were eleven and fourteen and that is the age children begin to drop out of sport. When we watched you race there was a joy on their faces that I wish I could have captured forever. And I know my children, my girls, were not the only ones to feel that way. Your determination and grit were amazing to witness and something you should be proud of, congratulations.’“
“Wow, bambina.”
“Yeah, I don’t think I realised that there were probably girls who watched me win and thought ‘I could do that’, just like when I watched Gail Devers win gold in 1992. She was from Seattle too and I was so inspired, even at four years old. I hadn’t realised what I’d done could be so impactful until someone told me. Until the first lady told me. It was overwhelming. I think I just stuttered out a thank you.”
“Well, for the record, she was right, you are amazing.” Carina said, tilting Maya’s face with her chin so they could kiss. Mateo skidded to a stop next to them, narrowly avoiding running Maya’s foot over.
“Mwah for Tato?” He asked, puckering his lips.
Maya chuckled and leaned forward kissing him, “I’ll always have a kiss for you my Matato-potato.”
“E Mamma?”
Carina did the same as Maya, fixing his helmet. As fast as he came he was gone, skidding around the coffee table on his way again.
“So after you finished freaking out, did you go and party? What’s a party like that like?”
“Well, once the speeches and toasts were done, it turned into a full-blown party. There was dancing, champagne, and even some karaoke in one of the back rooms. I wasn’t brave enough to sing, though.”
“That doesn’t surprise me, you won’t even sing in Joe’s.” Carina chuckled.
“exactly! It was amazing, and they were so attentive. Actually, there was this staffer, I think she worked in PR or something and she got me the good champagne, like freaking Dom Pérignon shi-z,” Maya glanced over at Mateo, relieved to see he hadn’t heard her slip up. “What else... oh, found me a quiet spot to sit when she realised my ankle started hurting, brought me flats out of nowhere, and yeah, made me dance and stuff.”
Carina stared at her wife for a moment before rolling her eyes. “You slept with her didn’t you.”
Maya gasped, “Carina- how dare you?”
“Oh come on. ‘She was attentive, she got me the good champagne, she made me dance’. Bambina, you were 24...”
“I can’t believe you’d insinuate such a- yeah okay, I did.”
“In the Whitehouse?”
“No- well actually- I was kissing her in restrooms near the East Room as the New Year rang in. Then we went our separate ways and then she found me again and I went home with her. So not hook up in the Whitehouse, but making out... maybe a hickey... yeah.”
Carina rolled her eyes, but she was smiling. “Of course you did. And then what? You left the next morning like nothing happened?”
“Pretty much,” Maya admitted, “That’s what I did. You are just about the only person I didn’t do that to. I think she slipped me her number, but I never called. But, hey, I was young, single, and trying to distract myself from my whole ‘Olympic champion with a career ending injury’ vibe.”
Carina leaned closer, a playful glint in her eye. “Do you even remember her name?”
“Uh... Zoë? Zara? Something with a ‘z,’” Maya said, wincing slightly, “but I didn’t really remember anyone’s name during my self-care Wednesdays.”
Carina laughed, shaking her head. “You’re terrible.”
“I know,” Maya said, pulling Carina closer. “But I’ve grown up since then. I remembered your name, I called you back. Now, I only have eyes for you.”
“Good answer,” Carina said, her laughter softening as she kissed Maya.
“Mmm,” Maya hummed happily into the kiss, “so, my beautiful love, that is my wild New Year’s. What about yours?”
“I don’t have one.”
“Politely, eff off, Carina. I have seen you and Gabriella together; I know you do. I mean the photo albums,” Maya pointed over her shoulder at the book shelf, “I bet they’d tell me the real answer.”
“Okay,” Carina sighed shaking her head as she thought of a sufficiently wild story that she didn’t mind telling her wife. “So… oh, this is a good one... it was years ago, back when Gabriella and I were living in Rome. She calls me at work one afternoon and says, ‘I’ve packed your bag, we’re going somewhere.’ She wouldn’t tell me where, but it’s Gabri she does that kind of stuff all the time. A few hours later, we were on a plane to Paris.”
“Paris? For New Year’s Eve? On a whim?” Maya asked, intrigued.
Carina nodded, her smile widening. “Gabri can be impulsive, but she’s also very good at planning when she wants to be. She found this tiny rooftop restaurant overlooking the Eiffel Tower. I don’t know if she’d been on a date there or with someone but she knew it. Anyway, we had dinner there, champagne flowing, though probably not as fancy as yours, and at midnight, the fireworks lit up the sky behind the Eiffel Tower. It was breathtaking.”
“That sounds magical,” Maya said, her voice soft. “But,” she continued, a smirk growing on her features, “that doesn’t sound all that wild.”
“The wild part is still to come.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah, so-”
“Fuel break!” Mateo declared, “on my next lap!”
Maya chuckled and leaned forward, grabbing his water bottle and a biscotti Carina had made with him earlier on. Mateo skidded to a stop, gulping the water enthusiastically. “Woah dude, thirsty?”
“Yeah,” he said panting, “I been working hard Mommy.”
“I’ve seen, how many laps left little man?”
“My legs are still strong,” he patted his thighs like he had seen Maya do when they met her for a fuel break on her long runs, “I got a while!”
Carina chuckled, fixing his helmet again, “he’s definitely your son.”
“Oh, are you doing a marathon scoot, Tatey? Biscotti for energy then?” Maya added when he nodded.
“Yep!” He said taking it off her and stuffing most of it in his mouth.
“Oh, yes, that’s 100% Bishop,” Carina chuckled, she’d seen Maya return from a run and stuff a cookie in her face just like Mateo, one too many times.
“Hopefully the weather improves and we can go on a New Year’s Day scoot!”
“Yeah!” Mateo cheered and then he was off skidding away, foot kicked back behind him like he was a flamingo.
“So the wild part,” Maya chuckled, sitting back on the sofa, her eyes following Mateo.
“The wild part,” Carina repeated, her eyes glinting mischievously. “So, after dinner, seeing in the New Year, fireworks, we wandered around Paris, completely buzzed on champagne. Gabri decided we should find a club to dance the night away, but of course, it couldn’t be just any club. She somehow talked us into this very exclusive place near Montmartre. It was packed, everyone was beautiful, and the energy was... electric.”
Maya raised an eyebrow. “Sounds very Gabri.”
“Oh, absolutely,” Carina said, laughing. “So we’re dancing, drinking, and at some point, Gabri disappears. I figured she was chatting someone up- typical Gabri again. I was about to leave, when I bumped into this woman. Well, she bumped into me.”
“Oh a woman?” Maya said, leaning in raising an eyebrow in a smirk.
“A woman,” Carina said keeping her face straight. “She spills her drink all over my dress, and starts swearing... in French, of course. She was so... dramatic about it, I couldn’t even be mad. She kept apologising, trying to wipe me down with napkins. It was a mess.”
Maya smirked. “And let me guess: she was gorgeous?”
“Gorgeous doesn’t begin to cover it,” Carina said, her eyes glinting. “She had this short dark hair, these cheekbones that could cut glass, and this deep, husky voice. Maybe not as husky as yours but husky. Once she calmed down, she offered to buy me a drink to make up for the mess.”
“And you said yes.”
“A free drink in a bar in Paris when I was a broke doctor, of course I said yes.”
“But not because she was beautiful and just your type?”
“I- well yeah, there was that too. Anyway, so we’re talking I explain why I’m there. And then eventually we’re just kissing. Like against the wall in this members only club that Gabri got us into. Champagne drunk for sure.”
“Let me guess... you slept with her too?”
“Wouldn’t you?”
“Now no? Back then, yeah of course. I’m not judging babe, I’m impressed.”
“The next thing I know were running through the streets of Paris barefoot and stopping every so often to kiss. Like against those fancy lampposts they have, you know?”
“I don’t know, I have in fact never been to Paris, nor kissed someone under a Parisian lamppost. But please… continue.”
“Okay,” Carina laughed, “so yes, lamppost kissing. Then, kissing against the window of Hermès,” she said, as if she wasn’t talking about kissing against the window of one of the most luxury brands in the world on New Year’s Day. “Anyway we finally got to her place. It was this penthouse on the Seine that was right opposite the Eiffel Tower. Even better view than Gabri’s restaurant. And then... well I’ll spare you the details.”
“Oh, so kind,” Maya said, playfully rolling her eyes. “Definitely wild, my love.”
“That’s not even it! The whole evening I had just been kind of sure I knew her from something or somewhere. But she spoke French and I spoke Italian so there was a language barrier because she refused to speak English. Actually, maybe that’s why we ended up kissing in the first place; language barrier.”
“We do that...”
“Well I’m usually shouting in Italian and you kiss me to shut me up. But sure, we do that. So yes... I knew her from somewhere. Next morning, I wake up, use her bathroom and she has a bottle of Chanel Coco Mademoiselle, like the largest size, and I suddenly realise where I knew her from. She was in a lot of the Chanel ads, so my New Year’s hook-up was a kind of famous actress. Very French, very chic. Very... grumpy.”
“Grumpy?”
“Mio Dio, yes. She was grumpy about everything. I made myself coffee, she didn’t like that. I was wearing her Yves Saint Laurent robe when she woke up, the motorcycles outside, how early I was awake, it was noon, Maya! God even that I wrinkled her bed sheets even though her side was also wrinkly. Literally everything. So, I walked out of there as soon as she was in the shower...”
“She sounds worse than you,” Maya laughed.
“She will have been still drunk too, the amount of champagne we had. So I can’t even say she was hungover. Allora, so yes, wild night in Paris and a grumpy Frenchwoman. I think Gabri had a threesome, they were still there when I got back, so I went and got myself French coffee, which is not as good as Italian, and a croissant.”
“I’m guessing you didn’t leave your number.”
“I did not,” Carina laughed, shaking her head. “Anyway, I never slept with another French person. Once was enough.”
Maya smirked. “And yet I’m the one who gets teased about my past conquests.”
“You deserve it,” Carina teased back, leaning in to kiss her. “Besides, that was another lifetime ago. Now I get to spend New Year’s with you- and this little whirlwind of ours.”
As if on cue, Mateo skidded to a dramatic halt in front of them, helmet askew and cheeks flushed. “I’m done scooting!” he declared proudly, “when are we gonna toast the New Year?”
“At bedtime!”
“Okay!” He said wriggling up onto the sofa once Carina had removed his helmet, revealing his sweaty curls. She ruffled his hair and tugged him close.
Maya wrapped an arm around both of them, pressing a kiss to the top of Mateo’s head, wrinkling her nose at the damp hair. “A boring New Year’s with biscotti, snuggles and my babies is the best New Year’s Ever if you ask me,” Maya whispered, leaning to press a kiss to Carina’s forehead.
“You don’t want to spontaneously fly to Paris, or be invited to the Whitehouse?” Carina teased, poking her side, as Mateo hijacked the remote and picked himself a show.
“Nope, I’ve got everything I need right here!”
“Potato, dinner time,” Maya called, as she finished cutting up his food, so it wouldn’t be too hot.
“He might be drawing, you might have to go and get him, you know how he gets when he gets focused on something.” Carina said, as she plated hers and Maya’s dinners up, having poured each of them a glass of red wine.
“I’ve never known a four-year-old who can concentrate so much,” Maya chuckled, setting Mateo’s plate down before going to find him.
He was, as his Mamma predicted, sat at his new arts and crafts table. There was a concentrated stare on his face, his brow furrowed and his tongue sticking out as he scribbled away.
Maya paused watching him from the doorway, struck by how much he reminded her of Mason when he was younger. Sure he might have dark curls and brown eyes, but his concentration face was pure Mason. How many times growing up had Maya seen that face as he created a masterpiece?
She pulled out her phone and snapped the picture, sending it to Mason, who was in the throes of newborn life with baby Nola. She crouched down and ran her fingers though his soft hair. Carina always marvelled how much he looked like Andrea, despite him being made from Maya’s egg. It always made Maya wonder how much was genetics and how much was the way they raised him.
“What are you drawing Tatey?” Maya asked, finally looking at the picture. It was three surprisingly well drawn stickfigures. Two had brown hair and one had blonde hair. It was very clearly them. Each of the figures was holding a yellow square. She loved the little details in Mateo’s drawings.
“It’s us toasting the New Year!”
“Wow! Well, your New Year’s Eve dinner is ready young maestro.”
“I’m gonna keep drawing!”
“Okay,” Maya chuckled, pressing a kiss into the top of his head and leaving him to it.
“Mommy, Mamma date?” Maya suggested as she re-entered the kitchen.
“Where’s patatino?”
“Drawing, and an artist mustn’t be disturbed.” Her mom and dad had always disturbed Mason’s drawing time, so she had vowed a long time ago to never do the same.
“Right,” Carina chuckled, as Maya sat down and started eating.
A few minutes later, the rapid patter of Mateo’s feet announced his arrival. He skidded to a stop near the table, his curls bouncing as he looked up expectantly. His face fell, lips forming a pout as he looked at his plate. “M-sagne?”
“You love lasagne,” Maya said frowning, pulling his chair out for him.
“But-” he said as he clambered up onto the chair.
“I made sure you got the part with the most cheese,” Carina said, raising her eyebrow at him. This was unusual, like Maya, Mateo’s favourite food was lasagne.
“Does your belly hurt?” Maya asked, when he didn’t immediately tuck in. She glanced at Carina, reaching her hand out to rest it on Mateo’s forehead. The only time he’d ever refused lasagne he’d been unknowingly sick with a stomach bug.
Mateo shook his head looking between them, “when’s New Year’s Eve?”
Maya glanced at the clock; it was just before 6pm. “In a couple of hours, Ma-tato, why?” They planned to show Mateo the countdown from Rome at 8pm so he didn’t have too much of a late night but it was still exciting.
“In a couple of hours we’ll toast the New Year?”
“We will,” Carina said, smiling when he suddenly perked up and started eating his lasagne like it was going to disappear.
Carina tilted her head at Maya, clearly still wondering about his momentary disappointment, but Maya just shrugged and grinned.
As they ate, Carina glanced at Maya with a playful smile. “Do you remember our first New Year’s Eve together?”
Maya smirked. “How could I forget? You remind me every year.”
Carina turned to Mateo, her eyes sparkling. “Patatino, it was so romantic! Mommy wasn’t even my girlfriend yet, and we were both working. I’d just caught the last baby of 2019, and I was in my office, getting changed.”
Maya groaned, already knowing where this was going.
“And then,” Carina continued dramatically, “Mommy bursts in.”
Mateo gasped, eyes wide. “Did you even knock, Mommy?”
“She didn’t,” Carina confirmed, clearly enjoying herself.
“I was in a hurry!” Maya protested, her cheeks turning pink.
“So,” Carina said, turning back to Mateo, “there I was, halfway out of my scrubs, and she storms in holding up her phone, showing me the clock. She says, ‘I made it, it’s almost time!’ and starts counting down to midnight.”
Mateo’s mouth hung open in awe. “Where had you been, Mommy, why did you rush in?”
“There was a big fire downtown and I had planned to kiss Mamma for the first time at midnight. And when the call came in I thought, ‘I’m never going to make it’. But somehow I found myself at Mamma’s work with five minutes to go so I started running.”
“Woah! Like a superhero!”
“Yes, so when the clock struck twelve,” Carina said with a grin, “Mommy kissed me. A big, firefighter kiss, even though she’d just come from a fire and smelled like smoke.”
“Gross!” Mateo giggled, wrinkling his nose.
“Hey, it worked,” Maya said with a shrug, her lips twitching into a smile. “Because now she won’t let me go. Mamma has been my New Year kiss ever since!”
Carina leaned over and kissed Maya softly. “Always.”
“I’m never going to kiss on New Year’s Eve, kissing is gross!” Mateo declared, making them both laugh as they turned their attention back to their meal.
“What about my first New Year’s Eve?” He asked, as he shovelled in another mouthful of lasagne.
“Well, you were a baby, about four months old.”
“Is that smaller than Nola?”
“A bit older than Nola, actually” Carina explained, they had flown to New York just before Christmas, so Mateo could meet his first ever cousin and he had become obsessed ever since.
“So did I not be able to eat?”
Maya shook her head. “No, you were still having milk from Mamma.”
Mateo’s brow furrowed. “So how did I toast the New Year?”
Maya and Carina exchanged a look before Maya replied with a grin, “Well, we counted down, and when the clock struck midnight…you pooped your pants.”
Mateo’s jaw dropped, and then he burst into laughter. “I didn’t!”
“Oh, you did,” Carina said, joining in the laughter.
“A poop explosion instead of a firework!” Maya chuckled, “it was hilarious.”
“That’s embarrassing.”
“You were a baby, Mommy and I found it cute,” Carina said, ruffling his hair.
“It’s only cute when babies do it, so don’t get any ideas,” Maya joked, giving him a serious look.
“Mommy!”
By the time Mateo’s ‘New Year’ rolled around, the sun had set, and the family was curled up on the sofa together, ready for the countdown. They had queued up the New Year’s Eve feed from Rome, which had been a couple of hours ago.
“Okay, buddy,” Maya said, pointing to the corner of the TV where it was 23:59. “Are you ready to toast the New Year? It’s almost time!”
Mateo’s eyes lit up as he clambered to his feet on the sofa. “I’m ready!” he declared, bouncing with excitement.
“Ten seconds,” Carina said, holding Maya’s hand as they all joined in counting down.
“Dieci…nove…otto…” Mateo’s voice was loud and confident as he led the charge, shouting out the numbers on the screen, as he jumped.
“Sette…sei…cinque…” Maya and Carina chimed in with smiles, watching their son’s face glow with anticipation.
“Quattro…tre…due…uno…BUON ANNO NUOVO!” they all shouted together, and Mateo threw his arms in the air triumphantly.
He looked around expectantly, a puzzled frown appearing as the celebration faded. “So…when do we eat toast?”
Maya blinked, pulling away from kissing Carina, caught off guard. “Toast?”
“Yeah,” Mateo said, his expression earnest. “You said we were going to toast the New Year. But we didn’t make any toast!”
Carina pressed her lips together, trying not to laugh. Maya wasn’t so successful and burst out laughing.
“Oh, Tatey,” Maya said, scooping him up and hugging him tightly. “It’s a different kind of toast. When we ‘toast,’ it means we raise our glasses and make a special wish or say something nice to celebrate.”
Mateo squirmed; his brow furrowed. “But I wanted toast with butter!”
Carina laughed and kissed his head. “You know what, patatino? How about we ‘toast’ right now, come on,” she chuckled, leading her family into the kitchen.
“So Mateo Andrea wants butter. Mommy?”
“I’ll have peanut butter please.”
“And I think I’ll have jam!” Carina announced, putting three slices of bread into the toaster.
“Did you make a New Year wish?” Maya asked Mateo, still cuddling him close.
“I didn’t know!”
“Do it now, ready. Happy New Year!”
She smiled as he closed his eyes and whispered, “baby sister.”
“Did you wish?” Maya asked, as he opened his eyes.
“Uh-huh, but I can’t tell you because it won’t come true!”
“Okay,” Maya laughed, nuzzling her nose against his.
“Why is the word toast?” Mateo asked, as they watched Carina prepare each slice.
“I don’t know. But I think it’s a great idea to toast the New Year with toast.”
“Me too!” Carina added, passing Mateo his piece of toast.
Once each of them had a piece, Mateo began counting down again. “... two, one!” He bumped their toast together and shouted, “Happy Toast New Year!”
“Happy Toast New Year!” Maya repeated, eating a mouthful of toast, leaning in and kissing Carina.
“This is the best New Year ever! And I didn’t poop my pants!”
Maya and Carina both laughed loudly, cuddling Mateo close as they enjoyed their toast, secretly wishing Mateo’s wish would come true!