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“She does for sure. Are we still wanting to find out the gender today if baby cooperates?”

“Absolutely.”

“Perfect.” Vera motioned for Ellie to join her behind where Austin was sitting. “I know you both know Ellie, but thank you both for letting her be in here today. She’s never seen an ultrasound before.”

“Aww, I get to be your first.”

Everyone laughed, and Ellie noticed how the image on the screen bounced as Molly laughed.

“I love that you’re shadowing your mama.” Molly smiled at Ellie. “Are you wanting to be an OBGYN?”

“I dunno,” Ellie shrugged. “Maybe a nurse. I’m not sure about delivering babies.”

“Neither was Hayden.”

“Thirty-six hours of labor is why I’m not carrying another baby.”

Molly rolled her eyes at her wife, making Ellie laugh.

As Austin moved the wand around Molly’s belly, Vera kept pointing out what was on the screen. Ellie was intensely fascinated and couldn’t take her eyes off the black and white images of the baby. It was easily the coolest thing she’d ever seen.

“There we go,” Austin said, pressing a few buttons on the machine and pointing at the screen. “It’s a girl.”

“A girl,” Hayden and Molly both squealed in unison.

“Congratulations!” Vera hugged them both, but Ellie’s eyes were locked on the screen.

“This is so cool.”

“I know right?” Austin laughed, then nodded toward the wand. “You want to give it a try?”

Ellie looked to Vera for permission.

“Hey, this is Austin’s specialty. If she and Molly are cool with it, so am I.”

Excitedly, Ellie listened to everything Austin explained to her before letting her take the wand herself. Ellie moved the wand over the baby as Austin pointed out the fingers and toes and everything else.

By the time the appointment was over, Ellie nearly floated on a cloud to Vera’s office. Vera closed the door as Ellie eagerly grinned at her.

“Pretty cool, huh?”

“Don’t get me wrong, Mama. You do awesome work, too. But seeing what Austin does isso cool.”

“Hey, I get it.” Vera laughed as she sat in her office chair. “You looked like a natural in there. Really. You look happy.”

“It was so cool.”

“Ultrasounds are really cool. And you can do them on different body parts, not just babies, so there’s a lot of opportunities for techs.” Vera’s voice got slightly more serious. “Of course, techs also are usually the first to know when something is wrong, so you have to keep that in mind too. Your face can’t give away what you’re seeing.”

“Um, hello,” Ellie plastered on her best poker face and flipped her hair over her shoulder. “I’m an actress.”

“Oh,excuseme, I forgot.” Vera laughed. “Would theactresslike to grace her mother’s presence for lunch?”

“Absolutely.” As they walked out to the SUV, Ellie stopped and gave Vera a tight hug. “Thank you so much for letting me shadow you today. I love getting to spend time with you.”

“Care Bear, you’re gonna make me cry.” Vera held on tightly to Ellie. “I can’t believe my baby is turning eighteen in a few days. Like how was it eighteen years ago you were still inside of me, and now you’reshadowingme at work?”

“Because you’re the best mama ever who raised some awesome kids.”