ELEVEN
SOPHIE
Several weeks later, I once again find myself back in Seattle and on an exam table in the doctor’s office.
Only this time, Dr. Bennet is accompanied by an ultrasound tech. And I’m accompanied by a certain dark-haired brooding man who has half the office’s staff shivering under his glare and the other half quivering.
I’m neither quivering nor shivering on this visit. With my hand firmly clasped in his, and his other arm resting over my shoulders, I’m oddly peaceful.
I expected to be that familiar and unsettling mixture of excitement and nerves going into this appointment. Who wouldn’t be the first time they’re getting to see their baby in an ultrasound?
But as excited and nervous as I’ve been throughout this whole process, today I’m just hopeful and happy. Hopeful that everything is okay with the baby, but happy knowing that whatever we see, whatever we find out, I have Cliff at my side.
The tech squirts gel on my exposed belly, and I flinch slightly. Cliff strokes my upper arm and brings my other hand to his lips.
“You okay?” he asks.
I nod, and my stomach does a little flip as I stare into his eyes. “I’m better than okay.”
His lips curve into a small half-smile against my fingers. My heart fills with love for him. I know he’s still nervous. I know that he’s still adjusting to this huge change in everything that he had planned for his life.
But he’s here, and he’s trying. That’s what matters.
“Okay,” the tech says, rubbing the wand over my stomach. “Let’s see what we have here.”
Cliff tightens his hold on my hand. We both lean toward the screen, watching as images come into view.
So does Dr. Bennet. “Oh, boy.”
“It’s a boy?” Cliff blinks in surprise. “You can already tell?”
I don’t tear my gaze from the screen, where I’m still not entirely sure you can see anything. “Were you hoping for a boy?”
“I’m good either way. Just so long as they’re healthy, I’ll be happy.”
“Then you should be twice as happy,” the doctor says. She grins at our confused expressions. “You have two healthy-looking babies in there.”
Cliff sucks in a breath. “Two babies?”
I blink as my stomach drops to the floor. “Twins?”
I glance worriedly at Cliff. He’s still getting used to the idea of having one baby. Now, with two, I wouldn’t be surprised if he passed out right now.
But as I look into his face, into those dark, rich eyes of his, I don’t see the panic or even the slightest hit of fear. I see the surprise and, if I’m not mistaken, the first hint of real excitement.
“Two babies,” he whispers again. He squeezes me closer to him and presses a kiss on the top of my head.
The sweetness of the gesture soothes my worries. Now, for the first time since hearing the news, I allow myself the pleasure of processing what they mean.
Twins. When I set out to become a mom, I never even considered the possibility that I might have multiples. Now that I know that I will, well, it’s pretty exciting.
With both of us still feeling all of our emotions, the tech helps us see both babies on the screen. It’s too soon to know much about them, other than they both appear to be on track size-wise.
Dr. Bennet runs over details about care, and what I can expect with a pregnancy of two versus one baby. Cliff nods along, and I can practically see him committing every tidbit to his memory.
I’m glad he’s paying such close attention because I can barely hear everything she says while I look at our babies in the printout the tech just handed me.
Our babies. A tear slips down my cheek.
