“Hey, Ma. You good?”
“No, she’s not good. Your sister or brother is putting her through it.”
“Oh, damn—I mean, dang. That’s messed up. Do you need me to get something for you?” he asked.
“I’m good, Son. Thank you.”
He kissed my cheek and continued to his car. Given the time, he was probably headed to class before training. Once I was in my bedroom, I stripped down to my underwear, brushed my teeth, and got into bed, while Skye made sure I had what I needed within reach.
“You have two bottles of water, a can of ginger ale, crackers, and a banana. Do you need anything else?”
“No, sis. This is perfect. Thank you. Lock up when you leave.”
“Will do. Call me if you need anything. Love you.”
“Love you too.”
Skye was the director of admissions and had a very flexible schedule. Shortly after Skye left, my phone rang as I began to doze off. I answered it without looking to see who it was.
“Hello.”
“Hello. May I speak to Nyomi Kurrie?”
“This is she.”
“Hi. This is Nurse Jordan calling with the results of your blood test.”
“Oh yes. Is everything okay?”
“Everything is fine, but is it possible you could be further along?”
“What do you mean?”
“Is it possible that you could’ve gotten pregnant sooner than you think?”
“No. It’s not possible at all. Why do you ask?”
“Well, your HCG levels are higher than what they would normally be at your stage in pregnancy. Usually, that means the date of conception was miscalculated, or . . . you could be having multiples.”
“Excuse me. What?”
“When HCG levels are high, it usually means the date of conception was miscalculated, or you could be having multiples,” she repeated, this time a little slower.
“Multiples as in twins?”
“Most often it’s twins, but it could be triplets or more.”
“Ma’am, do you realize I’m thirty-six years old with a soon-to-be nineteen-year-old? I mean, I wanted another child, but having more than one at the same time wasn’t on my bingo card.”
“I understand, Miss Kurrie. Dr. Jordan only saw one baby and only heard one heartbeat during the ultrasound, but sometimes, especially if it’s identical twins, one could be hiding behind the other, and their heartbeats could be in sync.”
I was speechless and had no response for her. The idea of having twins had never crossed my mind. As far as I was concerned, it wasn’t in the realm of possibilities.
“Miss Kurrie, are you still there?” she asked when my silence lasted a little too long.
“Yes. I’m sorry. This is a lot to process. Can I come in and have another ultrasound to confirm?”
“Of course, but Dr. Jordan advises we wait until your next appointment.”
