“Those Zofran pumps smart a bit, yeah?” the tech stated.
She hummed, and my gaze snapped to hers. Mouth in a thin line, she stared right at me. The fury coursing through me toward whatever this syndrome was, what it was doing to her, how she was keeping it all to herself, ebbed at the sight of pure joy in her eyes. The tech squeezed some goop on her belly and got the little wand out.
“There’s something,” Kate began, taking a deep breath while holding my gaze with those molten golden eyes. “Something I didn’t tell you, because… well, I thought it would freak you out, and… we didn’t talk for those few months.” She rolled her eyes.
I had no idea what she was saying, because the tech had the wand on her belly and the most amazing sound filled the entire room.
A loud, strong heart beating so fast it almost sounded layered. Kind of odd, almost like the wingbeats of a hummingbird.
I stared at the screen but couldn’t make much sense of what I was seeing. It looked like a tangle of limbs and two heads smashed together.
My heart stopped. I couldn’t breathe.
The tech moved the wand, causing the two bodies to shift, and murmured, “Look at those two cuddling.”
“Twins?” I mouthed, meeting Kate’s gaze. The smile stretched across her face, the tears glistening in her eyes, it was glorious. “We’re having twins?”
“Yes, sir, you are,” the tech stated as Kate nodded.
“I guess they run in your family,” she whispered.
“You’ve kept this secret this whole time?” With a grimace, she nodded. “Even Ava doesn’t know?” She shook her head.
“And it looks like… hmmm.” The nurse fished around, bringing my eyes back on the screen, where my two babies wiggled—two perfect little bottoms. “There we are.” She pointed at the screen. “Look, there’s a boy. Oh, and—” She moved it around some more. “—the other is a girl.” She smiled back at us.
“A boy and a girl?” Kate asked, still grinning.
“Your doctor will have to confirm it, of course, but the images are pretty clear.”
The look on Kate’s face was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen, aside from those two babies. A boy and a girl. Something I’d never thought I wanted, and now I would have two. One of each. My heart had never felt so full.
After her stomach was cleaned up and covered, I couldn’t help but lean down and kiss her good and hard, the taste of salty tears filling my mouth.
“We’re having twins,” I murmured against her mouth.
She nodded, giggling—a sound I’d never heard come out of that woman before. It lit my chest on fire.
It made so much sense with how big her belly was and how sick she was. Which then brought me to concern. My mom had the girls super early because there were complications and they wouldn’t let her go full term. I hoped that wouldn’t be the case here.
Dr. Clarke met with us soon after we left that room. He was a graying man with thick-rimmed glasses and very little substance to him, but he was as kind as the ultrasound tech had been.
He checked Kate’s vitals and said the Zofran pump stayed. He wasn’t happy she had lost six pounds since her appointment the previous week. Six freaking pounds in a week. Something people struggled to do in everyday life. She couldn’t afford it. Those little babies were sucking the life from her. He finished the appointment with instructions for her to keep them updated with any signs of preterm labor, describing exactly what the sensations would be. I made a note to myself to keep an eye on her, since I had the feeling she wouldn’t be very forthcoming with any discomfort.
The whole time he talked, she just nodded along with a plastered smile. The way she avoided meeting my eyes and kept cracking her knuckles told me she wasn’t happy. I wanted to reach over and stop her, soothe her, but I couldn’t. Not now. Not when I was struggling with the reality he was laying before us.
The appointment made me both joyous and terrified. I held her hand as we walked outside. She clung to mine as if it were a lifeline. When we got to the car, I sat there gripping the wheel to keep from getting out and having another cigarette. Having only one baby to take care of had been daunting. The thought of two—two whole people who would depend on me, need me to guide them, and care for them—was almost too much.
Her warm hand covered mine on the steering wheel. My gaze met her apprehensive one. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you,” she whispered, eyes shifting back and forth. “I was so scared for just the one, but when they told me it might be twins, I almost didn’t believe them. I’ve basically been in denial for the last few months.” She shrugged, dropping her hand.
My heart swelled past its capacity again. This woman had more strength than anyone I knew. She carried the weight of the entire damn world on her shoulders and still managed to carry twins while attending college and working a full-time job, and she expected nothing from anyone else. The fact that she had accepted that money from me only told me she’d desperately needed it after Ava moved out. Yet she still worked her ass off, kept on going, even after she found out we were having twins. I was in love with her, the mother of our children, simply because I knew not one person better than her.
“Sweetheart, that was the best damn surprise I’ve gotten in my entire life.” Her mouth twitched at that. “We’re having twins. A boy and a girl.” I shook my head, running my hands through my hair. “You gotta let me buy you a new car.”
She jerked back in her seat, a deep line forming between
