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Wednesday morning, Jamie’s mom comes over to watch Hazel while we go see Dr. Shaw. We’ve been beside ourselves with a mixture of excitement and anxiety waiting for this appointment. Over the weekend, I bought another pregnancytest kit and peed on both sticks. Each time the result was clearly positive. Now we’re both feeling pretty confident that this is real.
The problem is, we have no idea how far along I am.
As soon as she steps into the exam room, the nurse sends me to the restroom to collect a urine sample. After I hand that over, I return to the examination room, where Jamie is waiting. I sit in the chair beside him, and he reaches for my hand. Neither one of us says anything as we wait for Dr. Shaw.
Finally, the door opens, and in walks my doctor. “Congratulations, you two,” she says with a big smile on her face. “It’s definitely positive. You’re pregnant, Molly. The question is, how far along are you? Let’s find out, shall we?”
I laugh shakily. “Yes, let’s.”
I climb up onto the exam table. I wore a loose top today to make it easy for Dr. Shaw to access my abdomen.
“I’m just going to listen to the baby’s heartbeat first.” Dr. Shaw presses a fetal doppler to my belly. “One hundred and forty-five beats per minute,” she announces. “Perfect. Let’s go ahead and move you to the ultrasound room so we can get some fetal measurements.”
We relocate to a room down the hall where the ultrasound equipment is located. I lie down on the exam bed and pull up my top and lower my underwear. Dr. Shaw spreads lubricant on my belly. Jamie stands on the other side of the exam table, one hand holding mine while his other hand rests on my shoulder.
“I’m just going to take some measurements so we can get an idea of how far along you are,” Dr. Shaw says as she holds an electronic wand to my abdomen. She reaches over and presses some keys on a keyboard attached to a monitor.
Several minutes pass as she makes her measurements and taps keys. Finally, she sets the wand aside and wipes the lubricant off my belly with a towel and rights my clothing.“Well. Based on the measurements I got, I’m going to put you at eighteen weeks.”
“Eighteen weeks?” I ask. “That’s about four and a half months.”
Dr. Shaw nods. “That’s my best estimation. Now, the interesting part. Would you like to know the gender of your baby?”
“You can tell already?” Jamie asks.
“Yes. I got a good peek.”
I look up at Jamie. “Do you want to know, Jamie?”
He nods. “Yes. Do you?”
I laugh. “You bet I do.”
“You’re having a boy,” Dr. Shaw says. “I estimate your due date to be in approximately twenty-two weeks.”
Jamie’s squeezing my hand so hard it’s going numb. “Honey? Ow,” I say lightly, trying hard not to make too big a deal of the fact he’s crushing my hand.
Immediately, he loosens his grip and starts to massage my hand. “Sorry.” He leans down and kisses my forehead. “We’re having a son. A girl and a boy, almost exactly one year apart.” He helps me off the exam table. “I still can’t wrap my mind around it.”
“Aiden will be happy,” I say, feeling giddy as I slip my shoes on. “Another boy in the family.”
We walk outside on a beautiful spring day, both of us reeling from the news. As we head for our car, holding hands, Jamie rubs his thumb over my wedding ring. It’s his new habit. Our rings are a physical reminder that we’re husband and wife now. We’re also parents, and later this year we’ll be a family of four.
I walk Jamie to the front passenger door of our car. Before opening the door, he pulls me close, his arms wrapping securely around me.
His voice is low and husky when he says, “Molly, when I first lost my sight, I thought my life was over. I thought I had nothing to live for. But you’ve proven me wrong so many times I’ve lost count. Thank you. Thank you for sharing your life with me. Thank you for marrying me. And thanks for making me a father—twice now. I can never repay you for all you’ve done for me.”
“Jamie, you literally saved my life when Todd came after me. I think we’re square.”
He smiles. “We make a good team, don’t we?”
“The best, Jamie.” I lean in to kiss him. “The very best.”
* * *
