Chapter Eight
Pam Westmoreland got everyone’s attention when she took the mic. “Will the honorees please join me?”
Aidan assisted Jillian as they joined Pam on stage. Earlier, Pam had thanked the couple for entrusting her and Dillon with such valuable information and allowing them to present it in this festive forum to everyone, including not only family but also friends and fellow medical colleagues. She then thanked everyone who helped, especially Iris, who had come in early to assist.
She told them there would be several “boy or girl” activities. The first one was to determine if Dr. Aidan Westmoreland, the cardiologist, could guess the sex of their baby from the sound of the heartbeat. A grinning Aidan told the crowd that, although he would play along, such a thing was not possible since there was no scientific evidence linking fetal heart rate to gender.
Thanks to the art department, led by the production designer from Pam’s acting school, when the curtain was pulled open, it revealed a set that had taken on the appearance of a doctor’s office. Aidan was given his white coat to wear, and Jill was placed on an examination table. Trinity, another doctor in the Westmoreland family, played the role of assistant and connected Jill to the medical equipment to listen to the baby’s heartbeat. With the use of an actual fetal Doppler, the sound of the heartbeat was amplified through the various speakers around the huge ballroom.
Everyone was quiet at the sound of the baby’s heartbeat. Using a fetoscope, Aidan listened and was about to jokingly predict what he thought the sex of the baby was, when suddenly, he went still, then exclaimed, “Holy cow!”
Pam, holding back a smile, asked, “Aidan? What’s wrong?”
Instead of answering, he held up his hand to halt the conversation as he listened attentively to the heartbeat again. Iris could tell the audience had become curious. More than likely, they were wondering whether Aidan had, after all, determined the baby’s gender.
Moments passed when, finally, Aidan placed the fetoscope aside to glance at his wife, who had a huge grin on her face. “You knew?” he asked her in a shocked voice.
Everyone was now wondering what Jill was supposed to know. With tears in her eyes, she nodded to his question and watched as Aidan gently pulled her into his arms for a kiss.
Moments later, Dillon tapped him on the shoulder to end the kiss. “Will you tell everyone what Jill knew that has you so happy?” he asked, handing Aidan the mic. It was evident from the looks on Dillon’s and Pam’s faces that they already knew the answer.
A smiling Aidan, with his arms wrapped lovingly around his wife, said excitedly, “As I explained, there was no way I could predict the gender of our child. However, as a cardiologist, I detected two heartbeats. That means we’re having twins!”
Everyone in the room cheered and clapped for the couple.
When the noise died down, a happy Jill leaned closer into the mic to say. “I only found out a couple of weeks ago and decided to surprise Aidan here today.” The couple kissed again, but this time Dillon didn’t interrupt them.
A grinning Pam then said into the mic. “Now that we know Aidan and Jill are having twins, the big question is, will they be two boys, two girls, or one of each? It’s time for them and us to find out. We will have a quick intermission while we do a set change. Please take this time to mingle.”
* * *
The moment Iris left the stage for the acting school’s art department and production designer to set up for the next segment, she saw Matt strolling over to her. “So, what do you think?” she asked when he reached her.
“I’ve never attended one of these before, but I must say I’m enjoying myself. And they’re having twins! But then it appears multiple births run in this family.”
She grinned. “True. There are numerous sets of twins in the Westmoreland family. In addition to that, there are four sets of Westmoreland triplets, and two of those belong to Bane. Then there are Quade’s triplets and Uncle Corey’s. And according to some family members, a Westmoreland living in the New England area gave birth to quadruplets several years ago. They are convinced that group of Westmorelands is a descendant of Raphel and Reginald Westmoreland’s oldest brother from their father’s first marriage.”
“Have they approached those particular Westmorelands about their connection?”
“Not yet. Quade’s father James, who they consider the genealogist in the family, is pretty sure about it, but wants to do more research, so when they do approach them, they will have all the records in order they need to support their claim.”
Iris then grabbed glasses of wine from the tray of a passing waitress dressed in pink. She handed Matt one of the glasses.
“Thanks.” After taking a sip, he asked, “So what’s next?”
Their gazes met over the rim of his wineglass. Why did the look in his eyes remind her of last night before they kissed? A kiss she still couldn’t get out of her mind.
The memory of that kiss made her lose her train of thought. “What’s next?” she repeated, as if to make sure she understood what he had asked.
“Yes, what’s next with the gender reveal?”
Suddenly feeling thirsty, she raised the glass to her lips to take a sip of wine before saying, “I can’t tell you that. It’s a surprise you don’t want to miss.”
“Were you in on the planning?” he asked.
“Pretty much.”
“Then I definitely don’t want to miss anything you’re connected with, Iris.”
