Liam
14 weeks later
I pace around the small room, pulling at the strands of my hair. My girlfriend is lying on the table, her shirt pulled underneath her breasts, showing her swelling belly. Her feet move sly to some song she’s singing in her head.
I can’t manage to stay still. There’s too much going on. There’s too much to think about.
“…” I hear behind me.
I turn and look at the beautiful woman staring back at me. I rush to the chair beside her and grab her hand to hold.
“What can I get you? Are you okay? Are you cold?”
“Can I get you to quit?” she asks with a laugh.
I tilt my head and stare back at her.
“The sonographer will be in here soon and you’re pacing like a madman,” she hisses.
I reach behind to rub the back of my neck.
“Sorry,” I say sheepishly. “I’m just so nervous, ya know?”
“I know, baby,” she says sweetly. “I’m so glad you’re excited. You’re just making me nervous too.”
I lift the back of her hand to my lips and kiss her knuckles. I take a deep breath and as I exhale, the tech walks in.
“Are we ready?” she says excitingly.
Quinn and I look at each other, wearing matching grins. The tech squirts the gel on her belly and rubs the wand around. Soon enough, the little baby pops up on the screen.
“First, let’s listen to the heartbeat,” she says.
We both hold our breaths as she finds it, and the swishy noise echoes through the room.
“So fucking strong, just like Momma,” I say, beaming. I lean forward and kiss Quinn’s forehead. Her eyes are glued to the screen, a wide smile splayed across her face. I play with her hair, lightly massaging her head as we wait for the tech to tell us more.
“Two feet,” she says, “two hands.” She points each item out to us so we can see for ourselves.
“Are we finding out the gender today?”
Quinn nods rapidly.
“Yes.” She laughs. “I might die if I don’t know before I leave this appointment.”
The tech swirls the wand around before pointing to something else on the screen.
“And this…”
I hold my breath, trying to figure out what I’m looking at before she says it. Time moves so fucking slow, waiting for one more word.
“This means it’s a girl.”
“It’s a girl?!” I shout. I jump out of my chair and cover my agape mouth with my hands.
“Are you sure?”
“I’m sure,” the tech replies, laughing.
I quickly sit back down and go back to touching Quinn.
Tears escape down my cheeks as Quinn looks up at me, crying as well. I press my lips against hers, soaking up all the love I feel for this little unborn girl. A daughter . My daughter.
“She’s going to be so fucking beautiful, just like you. My girls. My perfect fucking girls.”
Quinn kisses me back.
“I love you so fucking much,” I blurt.
She pauses, taken aback. For a second, I almost regret telling her already. It’s too soon, right?
She takes my cheek in her hand and with watery eyes, looks up at me.
“I love you too.”
“You do?”
She nods before turning back to the monitor to take in whatever else the tech is saying.
I wipe my eyes and zone out as I look between my unborn daughter and my girlfriend. My heart squeezes in my chest. My perfect fucking girls.