Chapter 33
Chapter Thirty-Three
Ella
My mom and Anna both flew in for the twenty-four-week gender scan.
I hadn’t seen my little peanut since I was barely two months along.
Now I was waddling and so excited to see if it was a boy or a girl.
Normally, the gender scan was done at twenty-two weeks, but my doctor said we could wait a few more weeks so that my mom and bestie could be here.
I looked over at Anna, wearing a blue ‘Team Boy’ T-shirt she had ordered on , and laughed.
Then I peered over at my mom, who wore a pink dress, clearly team girl, and she looked stunning.
We were in the room waiting for the ultrasound tech, and since my mom had just gotten in late last night, I knew she was jet-lagged, but she was grinning.
“I can’t wait to be a grandma,” she said, smiling.
I nodded but felt sad that she was so far away.
I missed her. Last night, when she got in, she told me that a big publishing house had read her blog and offered her a large sum of money for a book deal.
I was thrilled for her, and it would give her the finances to buy a home in France, which I knew she’d been wanting to do for a while.
You couldn’t be a European travel food blog writer from Idaho.
She seemed to be having the same thoughts because her smile dimmed. Anna picked up on the melancholy in the room and squeezed my hand, “Don’t worry, if it’s a girl, I’ll still be totally excited, but I might have already bought a Kraken onesie, so she will have to be a hockey fan.”
She pulled a tiny teal Seattle Kraken onesie from her purse, and I laughed.
“He or she will love it!” I took it from her and draped it over my chest. It was so small. I hadn’t really taken the time yet to buy things for the baby because I’d been waiting to find out if they were a boy or girl.
The ultrasound technician came in then and introduced herself. Then she began to squirt gel on my belly and start the scan.
“So you’re okay knowing the gender? Or should I write it on a card, and you can do a reveal later?” she asked.
I shook my head. “No, this is the reveal.” I squeezed Anna’s hand and then my mom’s.
The woman looked at the screen, and then her face fell, which caused my whole body to spike with fear.
“No. What’s wrong?” I asked.
‘Please, God. Don’t let anything be wrong with this baby.’
She quickly recovered her face, smiling. “I’m sorry I alarmed you. Everything is fine, but… you’re having twins. Did you know that? I didn’t see that in your chart.”
My fear turned to shock as Anna gasped beside me, and my mom shouted with joy.
“What!” I couldn’t help the grin that crossed my face.
The tech nodded. “Baby B was likely hiding behind Baby A at the viability scan. They’re so tiny then, but I can clearly see two healthy babies.” She began pointing to the screen and showing us the different profiles and heads and legs.
“No wonder why I’ve been so hungry,” I exclaimed, and the entire room burst into laughter.
“I’m gonna need to get another jersey!” Anna said from beside me, and I couldn’t help but feel absolute joy at this blessing.
Two babies. James would have been thrilled.
A tear leaked from my eye and trailed down my cheek. My mom caught it with her finger and then leaned her forehead to my shoulder as if knowing my thoughts.
“Okay, you want to know both genders? I have a clear shot right now?” the tech asked.
I nodded.
“Baby A is a boy.” She pointed to a blob on the screen, and Anna pumped her fist in the air.
“And Baby B is a girl.” She pointed to another blob, and my mom yipped in excitement.
A boy and a girl. Wow.
“Thank you,” I told the woman.
She printed some pictures and then left the room, telling me to take my time cleaning up.
“Twins!” Anna shook my arm. “This is amazing.”
I nodded. It was. But I was also feeling overwhelmed. How was I going to do this alone? Two babies. One parent. I wanted to cry.
I peered at my mom to see her wearing her deep-thinking face.
“Tell me what you’re thinking. Don’t hold back. I can take it.” I told her.
She nodded. “I’m thinking that raising two babies alone is a lot to take on. I know you’re capable of anything, but I want to either have you move to France with me for a year, or I’ll say no to the book deal and move to the farm with you.”
“Oh, Mom.” I burst into tears because a silent panic attack at doing this alone had been building inside of me, and my mother’s words had brought great relief. Twins were a lot, and without James to help with middle-of-the-night diaper changes and feedings, I wasn’t sure what I was going to do.
We hugged, and I told her I would think about it.