“So,” Hannah said, straightening up from where she had been leaning and suddenly looking very excited. “Does this mean we get to start planning your reception now?”
We all laughed, and I nodded. “Absolutely.”
“I think we should do it in about a month,” Hannah said. “Your morning sickness should calm down a lot by then. You’ll want to feel better for your celebration.”
We talked about the reception every chance we got throughout the rest of the night. By the time Matt and I were finished with our shift, most of the main elements of the party had been put into place. I was excited about the celebration and really looked forward to spending time in the original bar where it all began.
We were getting ready to leave when Jordan called out to me to come back up to the bar to talk to him.
“I just wanted to let you know I’ve put up the job listing for the cocktail waitress position again. I want to find a replacement for you so you can focus on going to school and being pregnant,” he said.
I grinned so I wouldn’t cry. “Thank you.”
He smiled back at me. “Anything for family.”
Matt took my hand, and we left. It was still early, but we took a long, hot shower, then climbed into bed. We lay there together for the next couple of hours talking about baby names and how to decorate the nursery. I fell asleep with sweet images of our new little family in my mind.
39
Matt
It’d been a week, and things had been moving so fast I could barely keep up. The time with Chloe’s parents was informative in how she ended up where she did but helping them get back together and find some peace made me Chloe a lot more relaxed and happier, which made me more settled and excited for our future. Without the scepter of her parents hanging over our heads, we were able to move forward without worry. The fact that her parents turned on her bank account access didn’t hurt either. While I didn’t want to depend on them in any way, Chloe was excited to begin acquiring baby things that we would need. Every day I came home that she wasn’t at work with me was a surprise game of what new baby item we now owned.
As we parked at the doctor’s office, it was yet another milestone and one that we were both nervous for. They were doing a scan of her womb, and we would be able to see the first images of our baby. I was beyond excited to have something I could print out and keep on the wall of the kitchen in the bar. It would help me get through the grind of the busy nights the bar had been seemingly increasingly getting.
I held Chloe’s hand as they applied the gel to her stomach, and she sucked in air through her teeth at how cold it was. There was no bump or any sign she was pregnant yet, but it was so exciting to know that our baby was in there, and it was big enough that they should be able to see it with the scan. I sat down and watched the screen as the doctor moved around her stomach, stopping at various times and seeming to peer closely at the screen.
“What is it?” I asked, trying to force down the panic in my voice that threatened to rise and take over. “Is something wrong?”
“Not wrong,” she said, moving back and forth between two places. “You see this right here? That’s your baby.”
“Oh my God!” Chloe cried as she saw the little white speck on the screen. She squeezed my hand, and I squeezed back. Before I could say anything, though, the doctor moved the wand across her stomach.
“And this over here is your other baby,” she said.
I stared at her in confusion. Surely, I heard her wrong. There was no way she just said what I thought she just said.
“You mean we’re having twins?” Chloe asked, quicker on the uptake than I was.
“That is exactly what that means,” the doctor said. “Congratulations.”
The rest of the doctor’s office trip was a blur. I knew I celebrated with Chloe and got her carefully in the car, as if I jostled her too much she would break like a fine china. Then I got behind the wheel and drove us home. As we drove, we sat silent for a few moments, shocked before all the words came flowing out in streams.
“I’m so scared,” Chloe said. “But so excited. We’re having twins!”
“I know,” I said. “It means double the love. We can do this. There’s no reason to be scared. We can do anything as long as we do it together.”
She warmed at that and squeezed my hand. At a stoplight, I checked my phone to see a text from Hannah. I grinned but tried not to let Chloe see.