“Yes,” I replied, annoyed at how breathless I sounded.
I jumped when she squirted warm gel over my stomach.
“We should be able to see everything this way, but if the fetus is being difficult, I may have to go in transvaginally.” She darkened the lights and scanned across my stomach. As she adjusted the sound on the computer, a loud whooshing filled the room.
“Wow, that’s a nice strong heartbeat. I usually have to dig to find it.” She smiled as she glanced between us. Tyler’s features were frozen in a shock and awe that thickened my throat.
“Just got real, didn’t it?” I whispered and squeezed his hand.
“You got that right,” he replied in a soft voice. I sniffed away the burning in my nose as I refused to cry during an ultrasound like I had during everything else lately.
“Length looks good, your doctor will give you details, but all looks good to me.”
At my first ultrasound, I only saw a dot—a dot that I kept losing track of on the fuzzy black-and-white image. What filled the screen before us was the shape of a real baby. Very tiny, but there was a definable head and a body.
“Do you want to know the sex?”
I leaned forward on my elbows and glanced at Tyler.
“Yes,” I replied when he nodded.
“I’d say it’s likely a boy.” She took a few more pictures and handed me a towel to wipe my stomach. “But they can tell you with more certainty at the next ultrasound.”
“Dodged a bullet on that one.” I winked at Tyler as I sat up.
“Here are some pictures. Let me quickly show the scans to the doctor and you can be on your way.”
“Looks like a real baby,” Tyler whispered, still staring at the picture after the technician left the room.
“It does.” I gathered the paper sheet around me, mesmerized by the little person I saw now instead of a fuzzy shape. “We should tell our parents. I wanted to wait for this ultrasound to make sure everything was okay, but I can’t hide it with hoodies anymore.”
“I agree. And my mother mentioned stopping at Carla’s today for lunch.”
“It will be kind of fun seeing them both react at the same time.” I chuckled. “What about your dad?”
He shrugged, handing me my leggings and panties. “Mom can tell him later when he comes out of the basement.”
After we left, Tyler and I headed to the car in silence as I kept fighting more tears.
“What’s wrong?” He squinted at me before he turned the engine on.
“If it is a boy, can we name him Javier?” My voice cracked as I swallowed the perpetual lump in my throat. “I know it doesn’t exactly go with Bennett, but—”
“Javier Bennett is a great name.” He slid his hand to the nape of my neck and squeezed. “No one else will have it. Probably. And after playing referee to us for most of our lives, it’s the least we could do for your dad.”
I roped my arms around his neck and cried into his shoulder.
“Hey,” he crooned, kissing the top of my head. “It’s okay. I got you, sugar.”
A laugh bubbled out through my sobs. I grabbed his face to kiss him with all I had. He brushed his lips over the damp trails of my tears before coming back to my mouth. I loved that silly pet name he’d originally given me as a joke.
I loved him. I loved him when I thought I hated him. I loved him when he let me be his friend. I loved him because healwayshad me. There wasn’t a time Tyler Bennett wasn’t the center of my world, it just took me a years-long minute to realize why.
“I’m sorry. I’m just a mess.” I rubbed at my swollen eyes. “I hate anyone seeing me like this.”
“You’re not a mess. This is a lot. And I know you miss your dad and can’t really talk about it. I like when you let go in front of me. It’s like…” He peered out the front window with a wistful gaze a moment and brought his eyes back to me. “It’s like a piece of you only I get. I can’t explain it.” He pressed a kiss to my forehead and put his truck into drive. “Ready to shock our mothers?”
“Sure.” I flashed a quick smile as we pulled out of the parking lot.
