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Knock. Knock.
The door to the tiny room opened and in came a young woman in a white lab coat and purple scrubs. She gave them a warm smile before sitting. “Hello, I’m Karli, and I’ll be your ultrasound tech today. How are you feeling, mom?”
Charli grinned. “Excited.”
“Are we finding out the gender?” Karli asked, slipping on a pair of gloves.
“Yes—” Charli turned to Finn, uncertainty in her expression. “I mean, do you still want to know?”
Did he want to know if he was going to have a son or daughter? It made it that much more real. “Yeah. Whatever you want.”
“You must be dad?” Karli lifted the sheet from Charli’s belly, tucking the blanket over her legs into the top of her underwear.
“Yeah.”
“Well, let’s take a look at baby, then. We’ll check out the organs today and make sure everything is growing as it should, listen to the heartbeat, get a few pics for your scrapbook, and then find out the assumed gender.” Karli squirted some sort of gel onto Charli’s belly. She winced.
“Are you okay?” Finn asked worriedly.
Charli gave him an assuring squeeze on his hand. “Yes. It’s just cold.”
Karli picked up a fat wand-looking instrument and pressed it over the jelly on Charli’s bump. The black screen lit up with lines and swirls of white. A suction type of sound filled the room, a mixture of white noise and rushing water at a steady and fast rhythm.
“Heartbeat sounds great.” Karli clicked a few keys on the keyboard in front of her.
“That’s the baby’s heartbeat?” Finn asked in awe. His eyes were glued to the tiny screen. The profile of a baby—his baby—became clear.
“Sure is. Strong, just how we like them.” Karli moved the wand around, skipping to various places she named—kidney, heart—her voice blending into the background as his heart raced. The steady rhythm of his child’s heartbeat captured his full attention. It was both the oddest and yet most beautiful sound he’d ever heard, with the exception of Charli’s laugh. A warm, comforting emotion welled in his chest. How could he fall in love with someone he’d never met?
He tore his eyes from the screen to glance at his wife. She was already looking at him, her bottom lip tugged into her mouth. “Are you okay? Is this too much?” she asked quietly.
He brought her hand to his mouth and kissed it. “It’s pretty amazing.”
Her smile seemed more out of relief.
“Okay, let’s see if this little one will cooperate and show us the goods.” Karli drew his attention to the screen. “Baby sure is wiggly today. I bet you can feel that, mom.”
“That’s the baby? I thought it was gas,” Charli asked, her voice awed.
“Sure is. The movements will get stronger the bigger baby gets.” Karli tapped a big button on the keyboard.
“It’s like a little flutter. I’ve been feeling them for a few weeks.” Charli’s grin was unmatched, and her brown eyes sparkled with joy. He sucked in a breath. She was gorgeous, glowing like she’d swallowed the sun. He found himself sucked in, like a riptide. There was nothing he could do to stop it. He would have to hold on for dear life, because he was once again powerless to his wife’s beauty. Life shone from her—the very definition of goddess. He was just the lucky bastard who got to experience this with her.
“Looks like baby has a . . .” Karli squinted at the screen.
Finn shifted on his feet in anticipation.
“Penis.”
“A boy?” I’m gonna have a son?
“Yes.” Karli wiped off Charli’s stomach. “Go ahead and get dressed. I’ll come back and let you know when the doctor is ready to speak with you in her office.”
She handed Finn a printout of the pictures. He grasped the images, tracing his finger over the profile of his son. Finn’s heart squeezed. His knees weakened.
Charli sat, wiping her belly a little better before climbing off the table. “You don’t look so well. Sit.” She pushed the stool the tech had been using over to him.
Finn sat, unable to argue. The room was spinning. He hung his head, staring at the pictures in his hands as Charli got dressed.
