Chapter 22 #2
Dr. Roberts had me lie back and put my feet in the stirrups.
Stone stayed in his chair, his eyes on me.
The exam was quick and uncomfortable, but Dr. Roberts was gentle. When she was done, she had me scoot down and lie flat on the table.
“Okay,” she said, pulling over the ultrasound machine. “Since you’re still early in your pregnancy, I’m going to do a transvaginal ultrasound. It’ll give us a better view of the baby.”
I nodded, my heart pounding.
Dr. Roberts inserted the wand, and I winced slightly at the pressure. She moved it around, her eyes on the screen. And then she smiled.
“There we go,” she said. “There’s your baby.”
I turned my head to look at the screen, and there it was.
A tiny little blob.
My baby.
“You’re measuring at about seven weeks,” Dr. Roberts said. “Everything looks great.”
Then she pressed a button, and suddenly, the room was filled with a sound. A fast, rhythmic thumping.
Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh-whoosh.
The heartbeat. My baby’s heartbeat. And just like that, all my anger disappeared.
It was gone. Completely. Like it had never existed.
Tears filled my eyes, blurring my vision. I turned my head to look at Stone. He was staring at me with so much love, so much devotion, that it took my breath away. I could see that his eyes were glassy.
A sob escaped my lips.
Stone was out of his chair in an instant, moving to my side. He grabbed my hand, lacing his fingers through mine, and leaned down to press his forehead against mine.
“That’s our baby,” he whispered, his voice thick with emotion.
I nodded, tears streaming down my face.
Stone kissed my forehead, then my cheeks, then my nose, then my lips. Soft, gentle kisses that made my heart ache.
“The baby’s heartbeat is strong,” Dr. Roberts said, her voice warm. “Everything looks perfect.”
She moved the wand around a little more, taking measurements, then pulled it out and handed me some tissues.
“I’m going to print some pictures for you,” she said. “And then I’ll give you two some privacy.”
She printed several ultrasound photos and handed them to Stone, then smiled at us.
“Congratulations,” she said. “I’ll see you back in four weeks.”
And then she left, closing the door behind her.
I sat up slowly, wiping my eyes.
Stone was staring down at the ultrasound pictures, his expression soft.
“I’m sorry,” I said, my voice breaking. “I’m sorry for being such a bitch to you this morning. I don’t even know why I was so mad. I just—”
Stone looked up at me and smirked.
“I got a feeling you gon’ be saying that a lot over the next nine months,” he said.
I let out a watery laugh and smacked him playfully on the chest. “Shut up.”
He grabbed my hand and pulled me into his arms, holding me tight.
“I love you,” he said, his voice low and serious. “I love you and our baby more than anything in this world. You hear me?”
I nodded against his chest, fresh tears spilling down my cheeks.
“I love you too,” I whispered.
Stone pulled back and cupped my face in his hands, his thumbs brushing away my tears.
“When you wanna tell people?” he asked.
I took a breath. “I wanna tell Ish tonight. And I’ll tell Aurora soon. You can tell Kenzo and whoever else you want.”
Stone nodded. “Aight.”
He kissed me again, slow and deep, and I melted into him.
This was real.
We were having a baby.
And despite the chaos, the danger, the complicated way we’d started—I couldn’t imagine doing this with anyone else.
***
That night, Brady prepared dinner. He’d made grilled salmon, roasted vegetables, and garlic mashed potatoes.
Ish was already at the table when Stone and I walked into the dining room, his phone in his hand.
“Yo, I got a ninety-two on my history test,” he said, grinning. “Mr. Peterson said it was one of the highest scores in the class.”
I smiled, sitting down across from him. “That’s amazing, Ish. I’m so proud of you.”
Stone sat down next to me, his hand resting on my thigh under the table.
“I’m proud of you too, lil’ nigga,” Stone said. “Keep that shit up.”
Ish’s grin widened. “I will.”
We started eating, the conversation was light and easy. Ish talked about school, about Destiny, about some new video game he wanted to buy. I listened, smiling, my hand resting on my still-flat stomach. Finally, I took a breath.
“Ish,” I said. “I got some news I wanna share with you.”
He looked up from his plate, his eyebrows raised. “What’s up?”
I reached into my purse and pulled out the ultrasound photos, sliding them across the table.
Ish picked them up, staring at them with a confused expression. Then his eyes went wide.
“Wait,” he said, looking up at me. “Are you—are you pregnant?”
I nodded, a smile spreading across my face. “Yeah. I’m pregnant.”
Ish’s mouth dropped open. Then he looked at Stone, then back at me. “So that’s why you was throwing up and shit on the way back from St. John,” he said.
I laughed. “Yeah. That’s why.”
Ish stared at the ultrasound pictures for another moment, then broke into a huge grin.
“Yo, that’s crazy,” he said. “Congratulations. For real.”
“Thank you,” I said, my heart swelling.
Then Ish’s grin got even bigger. “Wait, so I’m ‘bout to be an uncle?”
Stone and I both laughed.
“Yeah, man,” Stone said. “You gon’ be an uncle.”
Ish shook his head, still grinning. “That’s wild. I can’t wait to tell Destiny.”
We finished dinner, the mood light and happy.
As I sat there, surrounded by the two people I loved most in the world, I realized something. My life was perfect. Absolutely perfect. And it was only going to get better from here.