After some clicks, taps and bleeps, she turned her attention to us.
"So, would you like to have a look?"
"Yes." I nodded.
"Before we begin, do you want to know the sexes?"
"I-I'm not sure." I hesitated.
"Okay. Let’s just begin with taking a look." She smiled and turned the monitor for us to view.
"Here is baby number one. There is the spine, the head, eye socket..." She continued to point things out. I stared in awe at the screen, shocked that there were two lives inside of me. Then she moved on to the second baby and we viewed the same parts of our child.
"Well, you have yourself fraternal twins." She smiled.
"Fraternal?" Aidan questioned.
"That means that they share separate sacks."
Aidan still looked confused.
"They aren't identical. Whereas identical twins share the same looks, fraternal may look similar but could look completely different.
"I want to know the sex of the babies." He whispered.
"Are...are you sure?"
He nodded.
"Oh-kay." I gave a nod.
We both turned to the technician.
"Breath, Lilli." Aidan whispered.
"You ready?" She looked at us. We both nodded. "You have a boy and a girl. Congratulations."
Aidan kissed the top of my head.
Chapter Three
Time Flies and Your Waist Disappears
Lilli
The events of the past few months were a blur: going to visit Donald, who was now starting physical therapy to rebuild his muscles, visiting the children’s homes, planning fundraising events for the foundation, reading over proposals that Viola received for new shelter’s and homes that needed financial support. Then there were doctor’s appointments, watching my waist disappear, preparing for Elora’s baby shower and getting used to my new limitations.
My workout had changed dramatically. I was no longer running on the treadmill, now I was taking brisk walks. Luckily, I could still do yoga, though I had to learn some variations of poses for pregnant women. The only solid thing I had was the pool. In the pool I was weightless and could still swim my laps.
As summer approached I was concerned about extensive heat, but also excited that I could finally use the outdoor pool. The whole maternity bathing suit was a bit unattractive, but there was nothing I could do about that. Phoebe had insisted that I could still wear a bikini, I decided that Phoebe was out of her mind.
Aidan’s hours at work shortened for a period of time, but then increased again when June arrived. There was a large deal with a real-estate company taking up most of his day.
Though his schedule was crazy, he still made time for the appointments and classes we had signed up for. He also made sure we went on a date at least once a week. I had argued that we didn’t need to go out, but he insisted it was for him.
Our most recent date had been to see a movie. I felt like a complete asshole because I fell asleep in the theater. Aidan let me sleep while holding me against his side. He insisted that, as long as he was with me, he could care less. I still felt like a jerk.
After we left the theater, I was starving, as usual. Aidan stopped at a pizza shop and got a large cheese pizza to go. The smell of the pizza in the small confines of the car was too much and I started eating in the car with Aidan laughing at me. Finally arriving home for the evening, I was tired again. After taking a long, hot shower, I slipped on a long night-shirt and climbed into bed. I felt Aidan slip into bed before I heard him.
"You still awake?"
"No." I groaned. He laughed.
"I wanted to give you something." His fingers traced the side of my face.
"Aidan, I don’t need anything—"
"I want you to have this. Please?"
I rolled over and saw him smiling down at me. I sighed. "Ok."
His smile widened.
"Sit up."
As I sat up, he shifted my hair over one shoulder and placed a silver chain around my neck. "This was my Grandma Isobel’s, given to her by my grandfather." I pulled my hair away from my shoulder, allowing Aidan to fasten it. "I want you to always wear this for me."
"It’s very pretty. What does this mean?" I was looking at the small circle pendent that hung from the chain. There were three words written in calligraphy ‘Mo Anam Cara’.
"It’s a Celtic saying." Aidan shrugged it off. Then his arms were around me, pulling me down to lay with him. "You’ll wear it?"
"Of course…well, wait…it’s not like dog tags or something, is it?" I giggled.
He chuckled and kissed the side of my head. "No, it means 'My Soul Mate'."
"Oh." I breathed out.
We both became quiet, allowing the silence to lull us to sleep.
It'd been a week since that night and it was now early Saturday morning. My phone, vibrating and bleeping on the side table, woke me. I groaned, reaching for it.
"Who the hell is calling this early?" Aidan growled from the other side of the bed. As much as he liked to cuddle up with me, my discomfort often made me toss and turn a lot, resulting in him sleeping further away from me.