“I wanted to spend more time with you. It was one of the ways I could think of. I think I’m caught up, according to Netflix at least.”
“Let's do it. First though, team Dean, Logan, or Jess?”
“At this moment, Jess.”
“Good answer.”
Chapter15
Jules and Julia Co.
Darcy || 19 weeks pregnant, October
Idon’t know why I’m so nervous. It’s not like finding out the gender of our child is going to change anything but for some surprising reason, my body is thrumming with anxious energy.
Tatum parks the car in front of the office before coming around and opening my door, taking my hand in his once I’m out of the car. “Ready?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be.” He squeezes my hand reassuringly.
Once inside the office, I check in and we take our seats waiting to be called back.
“Darcy.” A nurse calls me back finally… My bladder is absurdly full. The nurse does all of her routine checks before getting us settled into a room while we wait for the tech. We sit for a few moments in silence before there's a knock at the door and Penny, the same ultrasound tech from our first appointment, greets us with a smile.
“So today’s the big day, huh? Gender day!” She’s got exuberant energy as if this is her favorite part of the job, which admittedly sounds pretty fun.
"We're excited to know, but it's a secret for now! Can you just place the gender in an envelope for us?” I smile back at her.
“We feel ready,” Tatum adds.
“Alright, lean back, and let’s get this show on the road.” Penny places the cool jelly on my stomach, smoothing the wand over my stomach for a few moments before the steady heartbeat of our baby sounds in the room. “Give me just a moment to find a position where their genitals aren’t in the shot so you can see your little one.”
She adjusts the positioning of the wand putting more pressure on my bladder, before turning the screen to us. The baby doesn’t look so much like a blob anymore. There’s a clearly defined head, two little hands, and hopefully two little legs. Even if not, this is still the most precious baby I’ve ever seen.
“Um, does the baby have two legs?” I blurt. Penny chuckles but Tatum looks flabbergasted by my outburst. “I’m sorry I just saw the arms and I was wondering if the bottom half looks healthy.”
“Your baby does appear to have all its limbs and you’ll be able to see each one of them in the gender photos. I’m going to turn the screen back, capture a few images, and get those squared away for you. You should come in twice more before you reach twenty-eight weeks, at which point we will have you come in every two weeks until weeks thirty-eight through forty. If you make it that far, you'll be coming in once a week until labor,” Penny explains to us, while she busies about behind the monitor. Before long she’s made short work of cleaning my stomach, helping me into a seated position. After the first few appointments, I learned that leggings and baggy shirts are the go-to outfit because it’s unrestrictive and super comfortable.
“Thanks, Penny, I’m sure we will see you again soon.” Tatum nods in her direction as she walks us back to the waiting room. I gave her a small wave before stopping at the restroom then reception to schedule my next appointment.
Tatum waits by the front door, opening it for me before walking beside me across the parking lot.
“The blob's little face is so cute,” I gush, “I wonder if they will look more like you or me.”
“I think if we have a little girl, I would be in a lot of trouble between the two of you.” He chuckles as he pulls the passenger door open, my heart beats a little faster at his admitting that.
“I don’t know if I should be offended or not,” I toss in his direction as he circles the car, sliding in behind the steering wheel.
“You shouldn’t be, it’s not a bad thing. Ready to go get a sweet treat?” He flashes me his bright smile.
“Yes, please. Sweet treats sound wonderful.” I grin back at him. Tatum starts the car, heading in the direction of the bakery.
Tatum called this small, charming mom-and-daughter-owned bakery,Jules and Julia Co., sometime after we decided to use a cake for our gender reveal to see if they could have a cake ready for us the next day. They were so excited that we chose them to create our cake for us and took down all the details. Small vanilla cake, white icing on the outside with pink or blue icing on the inside.
When we arrive, the bakery is quiet aside from soft pop music coming from the back. A pervasive aroma of freshly baked cakes, vanilla, and chocolate batters dance with the smell of strawberry and orange compotes in perfect symphony around us causing my stomach to growl.
“We’ll grab lunch on the way home,” Tatum states as we approach the register and ring the small bell placed there.
“Good afternoon! How can I help you?” A woman who can’t be more than twenty years old asks as she rounds the corner, her apron covered in what I assume is flour and icing, some even on her forehead.
