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I slip my hand around her waist from behind her, pulling her close to me and feeling her warmth. “Darling,” I whisper into her ear. “You are going to be fine. Dr. Tracy is the best of the best, and she’ll know exactly how to help you feel better.”
“I hope so,” Lily replies, doubt creeping into her voice as she pulls away.
She’s been like this ever since the morning sickness started, but now she isn’t trying to hide it. If I had known she was going through so much agony, I would’ve acted much sooner. I can’t stand to see her like this.
“Come, let’s go downstairs. I think Dr. Tracy has already arrived,” I urge, putting my hand on Lily’s waist again.
She takes a sharp breath in before stepping out of the bathroom. She’s clearly reluctant to see the doctor, despite my praise of her. It’s like she doesn’t want to come to terms with reality. Maybe she’s scared that she’s not actually pregnant, and it’s some kind of horrible sickness like what Dimitri had.
I’m sure it isn’t, but Lily seems especially nervous as we walk down the stairs and to the living room. Her legs are all wobbly, and at one point, it looks like she’s going to fall over. I hold her hand for support the entire time, but she lets go of it when we enter the living room.
Dr. Tracy is standing there already, her equipment laid out meticulously on a cart beside the couch. Her blue eyes sparkle when she sees Lily, and she extends her hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you,” she says.
Lily shakes her hand, her voice dropping to nearly a whisper. “It’s nice to meet you too.”
“Why don’t you sit down for me, and we’ll go over a few things to start with, alright?” Dr. Tracy says, her eyes flickering up to me for a moment. “And you can stay or wait outside. Whichever is more comfortable for you.”
I leave the room so they can have a little privacy, but I’d like to come back before Lily gets the results. I want to be there with her when we find out if we’re going to have a baby.
I can barely contain my excitement as I pace the hallway. I’d smoke a cigar, but I’m suddenly very aware of how bad the secondhand smoke could be for Lily. I want to do everything right. Not a single mistake can be made.
I check my watch a dozen times as the minutes tick by so slowly that I’m a little suspicious that time isn’t working correctly today. It feels like it’s been an hour, and it’s only been a few minutes.
I venture off to the kitchen, grabbing myself a glass of orange juice and drinking the entire thing in one gulp. I wipe the acidic sting from my lips with the back of my hand, putting the glass down just a little too hard on the granite countertop.
It shatters into a million pieces, shards sliding across the length of the counter and littering the floor as they fall off. I curse under my breath, stepping back so I don’t slice my feet from the broken glass.
The mistake actually makes time go a little faster, as I’m too distracted by trying to sweep up all the shards and not miss any to think about what Lily’s doing in the living room with Dr. Tracy.
By the time I finish, I check my watch and realize I should probably go back to see how they’re doing. I take two fresh glasses of water to them, knocking before I enter.
Lily is lying on the couch, her fingers laced together on her chest as Dr. Tracy moves a sensor over her belly. They’re doing an ultrasound reading, but I can’t quite understand the shapes that are coming up on Dr. Tracy’s monitor.
I set the water down on the coffee table and lean in. “How’s it going?”
Dr. Tracy looks up at me with a slight frown, but it’s not from annoyance. She’s deep in concentration, like she’s found something concerning.
“Her HCG levels were a bit high, so I decided to go ahead and do an ultrasound, since I believe she’s further along than we initially thought,” she explains. “Nothing too concerning, but it could indicate multiple babies.”
My heart leaps into my throat. “You mean twins?”
“Well… that’s what I thought until I did the ultrasound. Come take a look at this,” she says, moving the sensor over Lily’s belly.
Lily looks supremely uncomfortable and worried about what Dr. Tracy is saying, but I’m more curious now than anything. If it’s not twins, then what’s the issue?
I lean in and look closely at the monitor, studying the vague grey and black shapes that appear as she moves the sensor.
“You see here, that’s one baby,” Dr. Tracy mutters, moving the sensor again. “And there is the second one.”
“Twins!” I exclaim, excitement building up in my chest. “But then what’s wrong? I don’t understand?”
Sweat prickles on my hairline as she moves the sensor again. I struggle to make out what the third shape is. It just doesn’t click in my head until she says it out loud.
“There’s the third one. You’re having triplets.”
I’m suddenly unable to breathe, and I even start to panic until a laugh breaks the silence. Lily sits up from the couch, a big smile on her face. “Triplets?” she asks. “Oh god, this is going to be a wild ride.”
“You are in for a rough time,” Dr. Tracy agrees, smiling with her.
