“You still going with the whole ‘there is no way I would be this big if it isn’t a boy’ argument?” Her line of reasoning even sounds ridiculous to me, but hey, I’m not going to argue with her.
She looks over at me with a big smile. “Seriously, look at you, Greg! You’re huge. There is no way this is a girl. I bet you our son comes out with little baby muscles.”
“Baby muscles? Maybe we just have a really healthy baby,” I laugh. “You should just admit that your men know everything now and save you the let-down when the doctor confirms it.”
She smacks me on the arm and laughs. We continue to the doctor’s office in a comfortable silence, holding hands and enjoying the moment.
Pure happiness.
Once we get all checked in and back into the dimly lit room for the ultrasound, I start to get a little nervous. Even though I can tell my girl is pregnant, it still feels so much more real when I look at the monitor and see the life we created. Every one of her appointments has made me feel this way.
The first time I heard our baby’s heartbeat, I thought I was going to turn into a blubbering fool. When we got our first ultrasound picture confirming the pregnancy, I felt like I was having a heart attack. There really is no way to explain the overwhelming love I feel for this baby and Melissa.
“Ah, good morning, Cage family!” Melissa’s doctor comes in and starts asking her all the routine questions before measuring her stomach and pushing it all over the place. I hate this part. Melissa grabs my hand and just smiles up at me, reminding me that the doctor isn’t hurting her.
“Will we be able to determine the gender today, Dr. Nicholson?” Melissa asks softly.
I squeeze her hand out of reflex. We’ve both been looking forward to this since the day she told me she was pregnant, but more importantly, we have a little dude at home anxiously awaiting the news on his new sibling.
“Yes, Melissa dear. Sixteen weeks on the dot, perfect gestational age to take a look and see.” He smiles down at her, his weathered face clearly happy to be a part of this. I swear this man is never in a bad mood. “Are you ready, son? This is a big day for you, too.”
“Yes, sir. We can’t wait.”
He smiles and pats me on the back before getting Melissa ready for her ultrasound.
When he places the wand on her bump and starts spreading the gel around, I look up at his face. I don’t know why I was focusing on him and not the monitor, but I notice immediately when his bushy white brows pull together and his lips purse in thought. I immediately get worried. I know that Melissa senses that something is off because she’s looking at his face too.
“Doc?” I question, not even ashamed of the slight quiver that gives my fear away.
“What? Oh…yes, everything is okay. Just wasn’t expecting… that.” he says softly. Almost as if he’s questioning himself.
“Doc, I don’t mean any disrespect here, but you’re kind of freaking us out.” Melissa whimpers softly, and I know that she’s barely holding it in. I lean down and lightly kiss her before turning my attention back to Dr. Nicholson.
“I’m sorry, Melissa, Greg… I was just making sure...” He trails off and turns the monitor towards us before placing the wand back on her stomach. “All right, you see here? This is the first head, and you see here? This is the second. Quite tricky. You have a little hider!” He laughs.
Melissa hasn’t said anything. She’s just looking at the doctor in complete shock.
“What the hell? My baby has two heads!?” I practically scream. Why is everyone so calm? My baby is going to be born with two heads!
My outburst seems to clear Melissa of her fog. Before I can get another word out, she reaches up and smacks the side of my head.
“Seriously, Greg?” She laughs, joining the already laughing doctor.
What the hell is so funny? Aren’t they at all worried about my two-headed baby?
“Oh dear, I’m very sorry. I should have been more clear, Greg. This,” he says, pointing at the monitor again, “is Baby A’s head, and this one is Baby B’s. Congratulations. It appears as if you are having twins, and sneaky ones at that. Hiding this whole time. And… Oh yes, very clear. Do you two want to know the genders?” He looks at Melissa first, who I assume nods her head. I’m still stuck back at my two-headed baby.
No, not two heads.
Twins.
“Holy shit. We’re having twins?” I whisper, looking down at Melissa. She’s smiling her beautiful, blinding smile at me. Tears slowly roll down her cheeks. “Beauty, we’re having twins!”
She laughs as I cover her mouth in a passionate kiss. After a few seconds, she pushes me back, reminding me where we are. When I look up at Dr. Nicholson, he’s just smiling at the monitor.
“Please, we would like to know.”
“I figured as much. Quite a shock, but a happy one. And now that they have decided to let us know their little secret, they aren’t being shy at all.” He pulls the wand away and turns to us with a smile. “Congratulations again. Your twin daughters look perfectly healthy.” He continues to talk to Melissa while I stare at the picture in my hand of my babies.