Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 77717 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 389(@200wpm)___ 311(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77717 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 389(@200wpm)___ 311(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
“Ah, yeah, I remember,” I tell him, thinking back two years to when Justin and his wife had their baby girl. Seems like so long ago.
“We find out what we’re having tomorrow,” I say and trade my beer for a PlayStation controller. “I’m pretty excited.”
“Yeah, that’s a fun part. June did the whole lame gender reveal party thing. I wasn’t even allowed to know what we were having until she opened the box with pink balloons.”
“Lauren wants to do that too.” I thought it was lame at first, and totally pointless, but now that Lauren’s parents are 100% on board with having a grandchild, celebrating this milestone makes sense. Plus, Lauren seemed excited for a reason to eat cake.
“You wanna watch the birth?”
“I think so. I might stay by Lauren and hold her hand or something instead.”
“You’ll want to watch,” Justin says. “I didn’t think I’d want to, but I’m glad I did. Seeing your kid come into the world isn’t something you want to miss.”
A door slams and Jenny hurries up the stairs. Ah, fuck. I remember what Lauren said about hurting Jenny’s feelings. I don’t know what it feels like to long for a child and not be able to have it, but if it’s anything like longing for a lover you think you’ll will never love you back, it fucking sucks.
I don’t want to do that to anyone, let alone my best buddy’s wife.
Chapter 17
LAUREN
I SIT BACK on the hard foam bed and pull my shirt up. The room is warm, probably since most women get some sort of naked in here. Right now it feels hot. Like boiling hot that makes me want to puke. I close my eyes and lean back, resting my head on the pillow that’s covered with a paper case.
Noah stands next to me and takes my hand. He’s more excited than nervous. Like I should be. But, being Worst Case Scenario Girl, I spent too many hours Googling birth defects found during a mid-pregnancy scan.
“Relax,” he says softly when the ultrasound tech turns the overhead light off. He gives my hand a gentle squeeze.
“This is so exciting!” my mom exclaims. She’s sitting in a chair near the foot of the foam bed, already staring at the large TV screen mounted on the wall in front of us.
“Remember I’m booting you out at the end,” I tell her with a smile. I turn to the tech, making sure she knows—again. I already said something when we first came in the room. “We don’t want anyone to know the sex yet. Just us.”
“I’ll keep it secret.” The ultrasound tech gives me a wink. She’s nice and patient with me, thank God. She fires up the machines, tucks a large paper towel into the top of my pants, and smears gel over my stomach. Laying flat, I don’t look very pregnant. But at twenty-two weeks, there’s definitely something there when I stand. Or sit. And especially after I eat.
She puts the transducer to my stomach and I squeeze Noah’s hand. A slew of things that are incredibly unlikely to happen go through my head, with the worst being finding no heartbeat and the soft movements I’ve been feeling are really just gas.
Right away, I can see our baby. And it looks like a baby this time, not a blob with a heartbeat. The head is big and round, and the cutest little legs in the entire world are kicking about.
“Can you feel that?” the tech asks.
“I think so,” I say, getting choked up when I know for sure that fluttering feeling is my baby.
Noah squeezes my hand again, leaning forward. His blue eyes are wide and he’s smiling.
“Oh my God!” Mom puts her hands to her face, blinking back tears. At least I’m not the only one getting emotional. “That’s my grandbaby!”
I can’t stop smiling, and I can’t stop the tears from pooling in my eyes. Seeing our baby alive and healthy and having my mom just as excited is almost too much for this pregnant lady to handle. Noah keeps a steady hold of my hand, asking more questions than me, making sure everything is measuring all right.
It is. The tech says things look perfect. We’re meeting with the doctor after this, who can go into more detail.
“All right, Grandma,” the tech says and turns to my mom. “It’s time for you to step out.”
Mom stands, taking one more look at real-time images of our baby on the TV screen. “You know I’m good at keeping secrets.”
“You are not,” I laugh. “And you’ll find out soon enough.”
Mom gives me a pouty smile, then comes over to the head of the bed and gives me a kiss on the cheek. She hugs Noah goodbye and leaves. Noah widens his eyes and looks at me; Mom has never hugged him before. Seeing the baby affected her more than we thought.