“You want me to drop by and grab her and her things? It’s probably gonna be emotional. Saying goodbye and handing her off to people who are strangers to you… and her.”
“I agree.” Zyah chimed in before I could formulate a response. “It’s emotional. It’s heavy. It’s stressful. What time did Tiffany ask you to drop Mocha off?”
The three of us walked toward the front door of the doctor’s office.
“Uhm, she asked me to have her there by ten tomorrow morning.” I looked up at Brixton. “Actually, would you mind getting her tonight? I think it’ll be easier if I don’t have to face handing her off in the morning.”
Brixton threaded his fingers through mine. “Nah, I don’t mind. You have her stuff ready?”
I took a deep breath, then nodded.
“Yeah, I’ll come through and get her tonight.” He held the door open so Zyah and I could walk through it.
I went to the reception desk and gave them my name before taking a seat next to Brixton in the empty waiting room. Genesisrecommended her doctor and I appreciated it. Her doctor had a clientele made up of the who’s who of elite Chicagoans. Her practice was focused on providing privacy and anonymity for its patients. She made sure that no patient ever ran into another patient leaving or arriving at her facility.
Soon enough, my name was called by the nurse. I was weighed, handed a cup, then directed to the restroom while Brixton and Zyah were led in the other direction toward the examination room. Once I handed in my urine sample, I joined Zyah and Brixton.
The appointment proceeded as usual. I laughed when both Zyah and Brixton turned their backs to me as I stripped down and donned the requisite paper gown. The nurse came in and got my blood pressure. The sonogram tech came in and let us hear the heartbeat before she got down to the business of finding our little one’s genital area on the screen.
“So does everybody want to know, or am I just telling the future aunt?” The nurse’s voice held a smile.
Brixton, who was standing at the bed holding my hand, looked to me in deference.
“I wanna know,” I confirmed.
“Cool.” He nodded.
Zyah bounced on her feet and clapped her hands. “Yes. But before you tell us, let us share our guesses. I say girl.”
“Girl,” I said.
“Yeah, girl,” Brixton put in.
The nurse zeroed in on a specific area of the baby’s body. “If you look right here, because baby Upton has their legs wide open, I can tell you what I don’t see.”
“A penis,” Brixton surmised.
“A penis,” she confirmed with a chuckle. “Looks like baby Upton is a princess.”
“Yes!” Zyah cheered. “As the aunt, this evens the playing field for me. Now, I have two nephews and two nieces! Until Christian knocks Gensie up again, I’m two up, two down.”
“Wow. Uhm…” Brixton’s voice cracked and pulled my attention away from the screen and to him. “Wow. Princess Cole. I thought it was a girl but actually having you confirm that… just wow.”
I tugged his hand, and he bent down and gave me a hug, managing not to get the gel on himself. “We’re having a daughter,” I told him.
“We’re having a daughter.” Before I knew what was happening, he took my face in his hands and kissed my lips.
Zyah gasped. “Oh.”
Her reaction broke the spell. Brixton dropped his hands, stepped back from the bed, and ran his hand down his face. “Oh damn. I’m… like, my bad. I’m sorry, Ry. I didn’t mean to do that.”
I didn’t say anything. I just stared at him as my lips tingled from the kiss.
“It was the emotion,” Zyah said before going over to Brixton and laying her hand on his arm. “You just got caught up in the emotion of it all. You’re having a daughter. You’re gonna be a girl dad.”
“Yeah, that’s mind blowing. Wow.” His eyes met mine. “Thank you, Ry. Thank you.”
That seemed like the perfect opportunity for us to hug or have some kind of physical contact. But Brixton kept his distance. That fact stole a little bit of joy from me.
