Page 16 of Better Than Baby

“Video! Oh…my God, Matty. We’re going to see him…or her.”

I nodded mutely, my mind whirling in a few directions at once as we entered the semidark cramped room.

Lena lay on a raised platform wearing a white gown, her long hair fanned around her like a halo. Her cheeks were hollow and her lips were chapped, but she glowed with vitality and a strength that made her look beautiful.

I set a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Feeling okay?”

She gave a wobbly smile. “For now, yes. Your baby is kicking my ass.”

“I’m sorry you feel like shit.”

Lena patted my hand and closed her eyes. “My mom says it won’t last much longer. But just as I think it’s getting better, my body decides it can’t stand the smell of something I used to love. Like peanut butter.”

Aaron groaned sympathetically. “At least it’s not coffee. My sister is a coffee-holic and she couldn’t drink a drop while she was pregnant with my nephew. She drank black tea instead and?—”

Knock knock

“Good morning!” A redhead with twinkling eyes and an ample bosom breezed into the room and sat on the stool in front of the monitor positioned near Lena’s head. “I’m Irene, and you must be the dads to be. Congratulations.”

“Thank you.” That was Aaron.

I’d suddenly forgotten how to speak. My head was spinning now, and my heart was doing its best to leap from my chest. I shuffled with Aaron to Lena’s other side, unthinking. My body was too big for this space. I felt like a giant in a dollhouse. It was claustrophobic and—geez, was it hot in here or was that just me?

“Oh, you’re fine where you are. I’ll make sure you see everything I do,” Irene assured us. “Are you ready to meet your little one?”

I fiddled with the top button of my oxford shirt and cleared my throat while Aaron nodded emphatically.

The monitor buzzed to life under the gelled wand on Lena’s stomach. The screen hummed with a whooshing noise.

“What are we looking for?” Aaron asked.

“Your little peanut, and…there he is. Or she.” She hovered the wand and pointed at a blob. “I’ll see if I can get in there and check the sex if you’d like, but it’s still early and I’d hate to be wrong.”

Aaron scrunched his nose and leaned in. “Uh, we haven’t decided if we want to know.”

“You have time. It’ll be more obvious within the next two months. Okay, now…” Irene tilted her head thoughtfully. “I’m going to take a few scans for the doctor and point out a few details for you. Just bear with me.”

I peered over Aaron’s shoulder and swallowed hard, unsure what I was seeing yet completely and utterly transfixed. The second I was sure I could make out fingers or toes, the picture shifted and I was in the dark again. But then…

Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum

“What’s that?” I rasped, my voice rough and unsteady.

Irene flashed a sunny grin. “That, my friends, is a heartbeat. A nice, strong heartbeat.”

She was still talking. Something about developing eyelids and ears, but I could only make out every other word.

Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum

The sound reverberated in my chest, humming through me like an engine. It was so loud that it clogged my throat, and pierced my eyes. I sucked in a gulp of air and somehow that activated tear ducts…and no, I wasn’t crying.

Or was I?

Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum

Holy shit.

There was a baby in the room. Our baby. Our son or our daughter.