Expecting
The Hotakainens were in the sauna. Emil was visibly excited about something. “C’mon Lalli, we can tell him! He’s practically part of our family too!” Lalli remained silent, looking parts quietly pleased and smug.
“Tell me what?!” Onni demanded. He didn’t mean to! But somehow everything came out tersely, especially when talking to Emil. Lalli merely shrugged at the other two men looking at him expectantly. With no answer forthcoming from his cousin, Onni turned to the Swede. “What is it?” a little less commanding now, good.
Emil glanced at Lalli, who shrugged again, “Suit yourself”.
“Ok, yeah” Emil gushed, “guess what, Onni! We are expecting!”
Onni was confused. Emil was clearly expecting a reaction, probably a happy one, but he hadn’t given any information yet! Surely his Finnish was better than this already? When no further hints besides excited hovering materialized, Onni had to ask. “Expecting for what?”
“Expecting! You know!” Emil was waving his hands now. “Baby! We are having a baby!”
Onni spluttered. “A... baby? You?” Emil looked besides himself with joy, and Lalli retained his pleased expression, blended with unmistakable fondness when he was waiting for his husband to carry on with the conversation he’d started. Emil really does him good, Onni thought fleetingly, before returning to the problem at hand. “Emil, in Finnish “expecting a baby” is used when someone is pregnant and will give birth, not when you are waiting to adopt...”
“I know! We are having a baby!” Emil was starting to get confused now.
“But, Emil, you...”, Onni was indicating towards both boys, “you can’t”.
Emil’s face fell. “Why not? Is there a problem? A custom I don’t know about?” Emil turned to Lalli now. “Help me out!”
Lalli, clearly amused now, just responded “You wanted to talk, you talk” and wrapped his arms around his knees, apparently concentrating in the löyly.
So, Emil had no other recourse and turned back to Onni.
“Onni, please, explain to me what is the problem? What do we need to do? I will... we will do whatever is necessary for the baby”
Onni knew Emil’s schooling hadn’t been very long or successful, but certainly he knew? He had to know about babies. Right? Seething at both boys for putting him into this situation, he started awkwardly. “See, Emil, you are boys...two men cannot...”
Suddenly the penny dropped for Emil. “Oh! No, it’s Inka who’s pregnant! And Rakel will of course be a mum too! We are the dads! We...”
Onni hurried to cut this vein of the conversation short. “Please Emil, no details!” Really, didn’t the Swedes have any notion about privacy? Onni had noticed that the two couples sharing the larger Hotakainen house were close, but he certainly hadn’t seen this coming. “So... I... I have always thought you... and the girls... and... ” He gave up. It was what it was, and they all seemed happy. ”So, anyways, congratulations. I guess.”
“Isn’t it wonderful news?” Emil was bubbling again. “We would like to tell everyone!” Upon a sharp nudge from Lalli, he corrected himself, ”I would like to tell everyone! But the girls asked me not to, not yet. Inka and Lalli can tell the baby is ok now, but you know how it is...” Even villages with noitas lost many babies, and occasionally mothers too. “And just think! You will be its uncle! Uncle Onni!”
Onni grunted and wrapped his arms around his knees just like his cousin. “I guess I can do that. Let’s bathe now.” He threw a large spoonful of water on the kiuas, resulting in all of the men grouching down to enjoy the hot löyly. That way the silly Swede didn’t see the wide smile on the face of Uncle Onni.
