Page 17 of Better Than Baby
Ours.
My nostrils flared as I fought to contain the rogue wave of emotion, my eyes fixed on the tiny beanlike pod on the screen.
Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum
Aaron wiped tears from his eyes with a laugh that turned into a sob. He wrapped his arms around me and held tight.
This was real.
Sure, we had thirty weeks to go, and my practical nature wanted to insist that there were a hundred things that could go wrong and that one of us had to be realistic and prepared for the worst. But at the moment, I couldn’t be bothered with reality.
I kissed Aaron’s temple as he reached for Lena’s hand. The three of us shared a tentative smile that morphed into laughter. Aaron said his ears were like mine, I said she had Aaron’s spine…which was ridiculous, so we laughed some more.
Irene wiped the gel from Lena’s belly and stood. “I’ll have photos ready for you at the front desk, along with a video for your records. The next time you have an ultrasound, he or she will look a lot more like a baby. You’ll be blown away by the 3-D imagery.”
“We can’t wait.” Aaron waved as she closed the door.
“What do you think, Dads?” Lena glanced between us, squeezing Aaron’s hand, then mine. “This is good, huh?”
“Incredible,” I agreed. “It’ll be even better once you feel like yourself again.”
“Everyone thinks that’ll be within the next week or two. Just in time for you to share the news with your friends and family.”
That was going to be…surreal.
We’d been on our own through most of this journey, and the idea of sharing this news was both unimaginably cool and a little nerve-racking. Our parents would be over the moon, of course. My mom would go especially bonkers. I’d have to warn Lena about her smothering tendencies and mentally prepare for her to insert herself into everything from decorating the nursery to what type of diapers we should use.
But those were worries for another day.
Today, we could celebrate the little things…like a healthy baby with a strong heartbeat who had no idea how much they were already loved.
Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum
eight
“Be prepared.No matter how we play this, we’re going to get it wrong.”
I poured ice into the cooler, straightening the bottles at the top before glancing up at my husband who was busy organizing a tray of condiments. “What do you mean?”
“Your mother will be upset that we didn’t tell her first. My mom will grill Lena till she’s bug-eyed and ready to run for the hills…and somewhere in there, one of them will ask uncomfortable questions about the technicalities of making sure the baby she’s carrying is actually ours.” He gasped and turned on his heels. “Oh, my God. Baby, Matty.Ourbaby. Look…I’ve got goose bumps again.”
I stood and rubbed his arm, grinning like an idiot—which had pretty much been my default expression over the past two weeks. My friends and coworkers had given me curious looks. A few hadn’t bothered beating around the bush.
“Did we land a lucrative deal I don’t know about?” my partner, Trey, had asked yesterday after a tense conference call with one of our West Coast clients. “An hour after our meeting with that pompous Hollywood asshole, and you’re the only one smiling.”
I’d shrugged off his astute observation, though it had taken major self-control not to cave and blurt our news. Trey and his husband had three kids, all through a surrogate and damn it, I had so many questions. But Aaron and I had made a strict pact not to tell a soul until Lena hit the twelve-week mark, so it was best to let Trey think I’d had particularly amazing morning sex.
But today was the day. Lena was feeling great—no nausea, no dizziness. The doctor had cleared her for light exercise and encouraged her to get back to her normal routine. And there was no reason for us not to share our secret with the world. I couldn’t wait.
Personally, I wasn’t as concerned about our nosy moms. Yes, my mother had a tendency to pick at flaws or perceived slights. And his mom—while a million times more chill than mine—liked to be in control. She was a nurturer and a comforter…in the extreme. If one of us wasn’t feeling well, it was just a matter of minutes before she delivered homemade soup. The Mendezes lived in the area, so maybe that wasn’t a big deal.
However, that alone bugged my mother. She low key viewed Aaron’s family’s proximity as a threat. She wouldn’t admit it in a million years, but it was sort of obvious and I had no doubt she’d want to insert herself once she knew we were expecting a baby. She might even make noises about moving to Maryland.Oh…fuck.
I nibbled Aaron’s knuckles playfully, chuckling as he squirmed out of reach. “Everyone will be fine. Including my mom. We should probably warn Lena, though.”
“Definitely.” Aaron adjusted a mustard bottle by an inch and gave the yard a critical once-over.
It looked pretty freaking amazing if you asked me.