Chapter 39
MITCHELL
“Are you ready?” I asked Sam, who was sucking down more water.
She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. “Ready.”
“Are you sure you were supposed to drink that much water? You don’t have the strongest bladder these days.”
She frowned at me and grabbed her purse. “My bladder is just fine. It’s the baby sitting on my bladder that’s giving me fits.”
“Are we agreeing we’re not going to find out the sex?” I asked.
She stopped walking and looked at me. “Have you changed your mind? If you have, then I’ll change my mind.”
“No, I haven’t changed my mind,” I replied. “You said you didn’t want to know and I wasn’t supposed to let you change your mind.”
“But it would make it so much easier to shop for the nursery,” she complained.
“Yes, but you said you wanted to wait and keep it old school,” I reminded her.
She nodded. “You’re right. I do.”
I opened the car door for her and closed it behind her. I climbed into the driver’s seat and pulled up the GPS on my phone. I was on leave for two weeks after the end of the season and was trying to cram as much into the downtime as we could.
“Ready?” I asked.
“Yes, let’s do it.”
I followed the directions to the center where she was getting her first ultrasound.
I was beyond excited and scared to death to be along for the ride.
I had heard the heartbeat at her last appointment, which had been a total trip.
Getting to see the baby for the first time was really freaking me out. My baby was in there.
She’d felt the first kicks last week. They weren’t quite strong enough for me to feel but I was looking forward to when I got to feel the baby.
“Oh God,” she groaned when she got out of the car. “I think I might have drunk too much water.”
“I warned you,” I chided.
“I wanted to make sure my bladder was full enough for them to see the baby.”
“Yes, but I don’t think they want you to explode all over their table,” I said.
“Don’t tease me. I’ll end up peeing my pants.”
“Please don’t,” I joked.
We checked in and were asked to wait. “Please, for the love of all things holy, they better not make us wait for long. If I have to wait ten minutes, I’m going to pee. Then I’ll have to start all over.”
“Think about something else,” I suggested.
“Like what?”
“The apartment we got in California,” I said.
“That is exciting,” she said. “I’m so glad I get to be close to you.”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way. I want to be there as much as possible. You’re going to need me to rub your feet and go out on those crazy snack runs.”
“Hopefully this little guy will hold on long enough to give us time to get back here before the season starts,” she said.
We were playing against the clock. I had training until March.
Then we kicked off our first shows on the West Coast before coming back to Florida for a few weeks.
We were hoping the baby would make its appearance while we were in Florida.
I hated the idea of going out on the road without her, but we were already making plans to FaceTime, and once the baby was a little older, she’d be flying out to some of the shows.
“Miss Reid?”
“Can you get up?” I asked her.
“Help,” she murmured.
I pulled her up from the chair and we followed the nurse.
Sam quickly changed and stretched out on the table with her belly on display.
I marveled at the hard bump that was about the size of a volleyball.
I couldn’t get enough of touching it. People probably thought I was weird but I often cradled her from behind with my hands protecting my child and her at the same time.
The tech got started and was chatting while running the wand over the belly. “There’s the arm,” she said and clicked a few things. “Here’s the head and there’s a little foot. Are you guys interested in knowing your baby’s gender?”
Sam looked at me. She was the one who made me swear I would keep her from finding out. I had wanted to know but she was the one that was adamant we wait. I kept my promises. “No thank you,” I answered for us both. “We’re going to wait until his or her birthday.”
“Ahh, traditionalists,” she said. “That’s cool.”
“I want to have something to stay focused on during delivery,” Sam said.
“Honey, you’re going to be focused on a lot of things during delivery.” The tech laughed.
After the ultrasound, we took our little booklet of pictures of our baby and headed to lunch with her father. We got a table, and while we waited for him, we marveled at the pictures. “Can you see the foot?” she asked. “I feel like a terrible parent, but I don’t see a foot.”
“Thank God,” I said with a relief. “I didn’t see half of what she was pointing out. I thought it was just me. I know I have excellent eyesight, but I think she was just making shit up.”
We both laughed and put the pictures away.
I had met her father once already. The guy seemed nice enough.
Today’s lunch was a chance to get to know him a little better before I had to leave again.
I didn’t even have a kid yet and I was already imagining how I would feel if my little girl hooked up with a man that was gone ten months out of the year.
Her father pulled out the chair and sat at the table. “How’d it go? Do I get to see pictures of my grandbaby?”
Sam quickly handed him the little folder. “Good luck.” She laughed. “The lady said it was a baby, but I’m not entirely sure.”
Her father scrutinized the photos, turning them upside down and then looking again. “Well, it’s a baby,” he declared.
“Yes, yes, it is,” I said.
“Did you guys stick to not finding out the gender?” he asked.
“She tried to cave, but I held strong,” I told him.
He laughed. “That couldn’t have been easy.”
“No, but I’m glad he did,” Sam said. “It was a moment of weakness. Now, if I have to have another ultrasound for any reason, I’m not sure I can show the same restraint.”
“You showed no restraint,” I reminded her. “I did.”
She frowned at me. “That’s your job. You’re supposed to be the strong one.”
“Have you guys thought about names?” Dennis asked.
“We’re tossing some names around,” I answered.
“What about the nursery?” he asked. “Did you guys settle on the theme?”
I looked to Sam. She smiled and pulled out her phone. She pulled up the theme we had finally decided on. “Jungle,” she announced proudly.
Her dad did a little fist pump. “Yes. That was my favorite. Did you do the registry?”
“Dad.” She laughed. “We just decided.”
“I want to make sure my grandchild has everything,” he said.
“You’re going to spoil this baby.” I laughed.
“Yes, yes, I am,” he said unabashedly. “What about the Christmas plans?”
Her dad was a planner. I understood where she got it from. They were all about checklists and plans. I supposed that was a good thing, considering I was more of a fly by the seat of my pants guy. It was one of the opposites that balanced our relationship out.
“If you’ll have me, I’d like to be a part of your family celebration,” I said.
Sam looked up and smiled at me. “You are definitely coming to Christmas.”
“Thank you,” I said.
“We’re happy to have you,” Dennis said.
It was going to be my first family Christmas. I was nervous and excited. I was thirty-five and had never had the traditional Christmas. “Thank you both for letting me in.”
We ate our lunch and then headed back to her place.
We were calling it our place for now, even though I wasn’t able to spend much time with her yet.
I helped her put together a few trays with a variety of cheeses and crackers.
We were expecting Watch Dog and Medusa. Everyone was anxious to hear about the ultrasound.
I had meant what I said when I told her we had a large family of aunts and uncles.
Even Honcho had texted earlier to see how things were going.
“Why don’t you sit down for a bit?” I told her. “They’ll be here soon enough.”
“Are we coming on too strong?” she asked.
I sat beside her. “What do you mean?”
“Me and my dad,” she answered. “We can be a little much. If you’re not comfortable with the Christmas thing, we can keep it casual.”
“No way,” I said. “I’m all in. I want to know what our baby can expect for his first Christmas.”
“His?” she questioned.
“I sometimes call it a her.” I laughed.
“I’m so excited to be a part of your first Christmas,” she said. “I can’t wait to pick out a tree and decorate it with you.”
“You have no idea how happy you guys have made me,” I told her. “Your dad is awesome. I’m glad he’s letting me in.”
“My dad loves you,” she said. “The fact you’re a Blue Angel certainly helps the situation.”
“What about when I’m done?” I asked. “Am I going to fall out of favor?”
“No, because you’re giving him his first grandchild.”
“I’d be happy to give him a couple more,” I offered.
“Speak for yourself, mister.” She laughed.
“We’ll see how the first one goes.” I winked.
Medusa and Watch Dog arrived a minute later. “Well?” Medusa asked. “What is it?”
“We didn’t find out,” I told her. “We told you we weren’t going to.”
Her face fell. “You stuck to your guns?” she pouted and looked to Sam.
Sam laughed. “Not me, he did.”
Medusa slapped my arm. “Why would you do that? You should have let her cave.”
“No way.” I shook my head. “I’d be in the doghouse for a month if I let her give in. We’re good. We decided on a nursery theme.”
“And we have pictures.” Sam waved the packet.
Medusa and Sam rushed to the kitchen and were talking about the baby. Watch Dog looked at me and shook his head. “Look at you being all domesticated. Did you ever think you’d be here?”
“No,” I answered. “Never.”
“The baby is healthy?” he asked.
“Yes. We have to wait for the doctor to call and give us the official update, but it seemed like everything was all good.”
“You didn’t even get a little peek to see what it was?”
I slowly shook my head. “Honestly, I don’t even know if what I saw was the baby. The lady was pointing out this and that, but it didn’t look like anything to me. Don’t tell Sam. She’s pretty excited about the pictures.”
He laughed. “When my sister was pregnant, it was the same way. She was flashing pictures of the baby’s profile. I didn’t see shit. But I told her it was cute.”
“Good, then say the same when Sam shows you the pictures,” I said. “Are you going home tomorrow?”
“Just for a quick visit,” he said.
Sam and Medusa came back with the pictures.
I loved seeing her so excited. It was cheesy, but she was glowing.
I loved watching the changes to her body.
She was a little worried about the extra weight.
I thought she had never looked prettier.
She was growing a human. I thought it was amazing.
It was her superpower and I was all about watching it happen.