"And how long have you been pregnant?" asked the nurse, eyeing my big baby bump. I shrugged, feeling embarrassed as I sat on cold medical table, the paper crinkling beneath me.
" I think about twelve weeks. I don't know. I was out for about two months on bedrest.... And then school started and I haven't had a lot of time to figure this out," I said. Great, I was probably coming in super late. Knowing me, I was suppose to come in weeks ago but hadn't even thought of it. Sighing, I looked over to Josh, who dorkily enough gave me a thumbs up behind the nurse's back.
The nurse smiled at me.
"Oh, you're early dear, don't worry. You actually probably could have waited a few more weeks. But, since you're in this early, we can tell you the due date. No offense, but by looking at you, I thought you were way farther along," said the nurse. She was a woman around my mother's age who was one of three nurses on staff at the hospital, or so the student-worker from my school told me as she checked me in. When she smiled, her blue eyes crinkled, and the outfit she was wearing was covered in blue clouds and a yellow background. She made me feel instantly calm.
"Josh and I suspect they are twins," I said with a small sigh of relief "His dad was a twin, and we read online it skips a generation." While I spoke, the nurse had wrapped the blood-pressure tester around my arm, and it was now squeezing my non-existent muscles.
"That's great! Twins are a handful, but they are also so gosh-darn cute," said the nurse. She released the blood pressure tester and made a few scribbles on her notepad. Finally, she walked beside me and began to lower the recliner.
"Today we can take a look at them, see if it's twins or not, but we can't figure out the sex for about another month. Also, have you had a gynecologist exam recently?" she asked. My eyes widened, probably making me appear like a crazed little kid. Why hadn't I thought of that? Ashamedly, I shook my head. The nurse registered this and grabbed her ultrasound machine, adjusting everything in the correct position.
"That's okay hun. With this new law and half of y'all not having parents, it's only to be expected. Half the time the 'husbands' don't even show up to this part, so kudos to you, Josh," said the nurse and she began to rifle through her things. Looking over at my husband, Josh shot me a cocky grin like he had just won Prom King. I couldn't help but roll my ocean-colored eyes, making him laugh.
"Okay, it's time to get started now, Mrs. Fauxegard," said the nurse as she pulled the television screen up. Hesitatingly, I tugged up my white lace shirt, revealing my hardened belly. The nurse proceeded to squeeze a little bit of cool gel on my tummy, making me squirm. Finally, the television screen lit up and she began to run the metal thing against my stomach.
Suddenly, I let out a squeak as I saw a grey blob appear on the television. I had no idea what any of it was, but it did confirm that there was a baby growing inside me. While I obviously already knew this, the images brought whole new meaning to this as I saw the literal human growing inside me.
"Here we are," said the nurse with a huge grin on her face "You were right, guys. You are indeed having twins." Once again, hearing it from the nurse made the reality of the situation all that more stunning. Twins! That meant double the work, but it also meant my little boy or girl would be growing up with a brother or sister, something I had always longed for. Of course, I hadn't been planning on having another child after this one since I was so young, and even though they would be a handful I couldn't help but be happy for my future children.
"Do you know the gender?" asked Josh, not taking his eyes off the monitor. The nurse shrugged.
"Well, usually we can't tell this early, but with new technology we can start to guess. If I were to place my bets I'd say that one-" the nurse pointed to the baby-blob shape on the bottom "Is going to be a boy. You can see the beginnings of a penis right there. The other could be a boy or a girl, as it is a bit smaller anyway, and there really isn't that much formation of genitalia."
Josh's eyes shown with joy as he looked over at me, a huge smile on his face. He was practically glowing with excitement. I couldn't help but feel my heart flutter and my eyes tear up. After everything we had been through, Josh and I still had this-- these marvelous children growing inside me that soon enough we would get to meet. There was something quite beautiful in that.
"If you two would like, I could print out a picture for you to show your friends," suggested the nurse.
"Yes! We would love that," said Josh. After this the nurse began cleaning up and Josh and I got ready to leave as well.
In the car, Josh was beaming as he examined the picture of the twins.
"This is so awesome! What should we name the boy? We should probably pick two boys names out and a girl's name, just in case. I hope the second one's a girls, he will be nicer to her if it's a girl," rambled Josh. I let out a light laugh, feeling equally excited as Josh but also amazed at how excited he was.
"Slow down, Josh! We aren't even sure it's a boy yet," I giggled. Josh handed me the picture and put the car into drive.
"I don't care, I'm so excited right now. Twins, Adira! I'm surprised you haven't called Cally with the news, I'm sure she'll be twice as excited as you and I," said Josh.
"You know, that's a good idea," I said, pulling out my phone. Suddenly, my phone began to vibrate in my hand, and my mouth fell open as I saw the caller ID.
Keon.
A/N-- My Google search history is now filled with questions about pregnancy. Great. Next time someone uses my laptop they'll ask if I'm expecting. :p Whelp, I've been having fun writing this lately. Back to school now, as you all know, and my dorm is super cute and cozy, so I barely leave except for food. Expect more updates to come.