Page 83 of The Summer of ’98

“These two little blobs are the babies—if I pause the image, you can see both of the hearts,” Pira pointed at the screen. “And these here are the outlines of their separate sacs. Which means that they’re not identical. Of course, we couldn’t determine their gender this soon. But congratulations. You get two for the price of one!”

“Take it back!” I said, terrified.

“Els,” Leroy murmured and tucked his finger under my chin so that I had to meet his irrationally calm expression. “It’s going to be fine. Calm down.”

“There are two babies growing inside of me. Don’t tell me to calm down. I want a refund.”

He took a deep breath and gave the doctor an apologetic smile. I was aware that I was going off the deep end. But I couldn’t breathe. I’d had a hard time accepting that I was pregnant with one child. Now I would be giving birth to two. It was a lot more than I’d signed up for and the reality felt like it was going to suffocate me.

“Do you two want a minute alone?” Pira gently asked. “Or should I continue?”

“Continue what?” I threw my arms up. “Are there more tiny humans to be discovered in there?”

“No,” she nervously laughed. “But we haven’t determined the due date.”

Leroy gave my hand a squeeze, and when I met his soft expression, I was able to relax. Well, relax enough to let the doctor perform the rest of the ultrasound. It turned out that I was bang-on with my calculations.

After we left, there was still a flare of nausea keeping me worked up over the fact that we were expecting twins. It was double the work. Double the diapers. Double the cries. What was I supposed to do when Leroy was occupied with college and practice? I’d be alone, in an apartment with two babies. I knew nothing about babies, and I had to keep two of them alive!

“Pull the car over,” I said. Leroy looked over at me with panic but must have seen how pale I was because he veered the car up beside the sidewalk.

It was almost a miss, but I managed to get out of the car before I vomited in a shrub beside the sidewalk. It was humiliating and I hoped that no one was watching. After a few moments, Leroy was behind me, rubbing my back in slow but firm circular motions, soothing me with his gentle but reassuring voice. This wasn’t the first time that I had been ill in front of him. But it was still embarrassing.

“I’m sorry.” I kept one hand on my knee, slouched over as I wiped my mouth. Leroy tugged on my arm so that I had to straighten up. Despite my attempts to keep a distance, he pulled me into his hold.

“You’re scared?” he said, his hand tucked at the back of my head where his fingertips gently massaged the base of my neck in order to soothe me.

I felt horrible. Having vomited, I probably stank, and I didn’t want to gross him out. But I felt so much better when he held me. “Of course I’m scared, Leroy. We’re having twins and I don’t know how I’m supposed to handle that. It’s a huge responsibility.”

“I know it is, Els. I know.” He pressed a kiss on my forehead. “I don’t have all the answers right now. I know it’ll be hard. But I promise you won’t do it alone. Not ever.”

Of course, his words were a comfort. There was something so sincere about his tone. He meant what he said, and I didn’t need to question his commitment. I could only hope that later on, he didn’t regret his decision. Leroy saw something in me. Something that he loved and believed was worth whatever hardship was thrown at him. I never wanted that to change.

Ellie

The next morning, Leroy told me that we were going to the roller-skating rink with Noah and Cass so that we could have a bit of a time-out and fun amid all the drama that filled our lives right now. The rink was busy but not overcrowded. The lighting was low and spotlights circled the smooth, maple-wood floor where people were skating to the pop music blasting overhead. Surrounding the rink were chairs, tables, and places to eat from the canteen as well as a few pool tables and dartboards.

“Wait,” Cass paused lacing up her roller skates. “Twins? As in two?”

“No, twins as in seven,” Noah said mockingly, sitting on the bench seat beside her.

“That’s—I’m like, my mind is blown.”

“Me too,” I said from where I was leaning against the clear windowpane and walls that surrounded the rink, Leroy standing beside me. We were going to be heading to Waco in a few days to search for an apartment, and Noah and Cass started school next week, so I was glad to have some fun with them before things changed and we had less time together.

“How did Eleanor take it?” Cass asked.

“She seemed pretty shocked as well.” I turned to Leroy and he nodded in agreement. “But she has that can-do attitude. I don’t think she’s worried that we can’t do it.”

“She left a box of one hundred condoms on my dresser,” Noah added, and we all turned to him. “They’ll last a week.”

“You wish,” Cass spat and turned back to me. “Will you name one of the babies after me?”

It was hard to tell if she was being serious or not. “We don’t know what the genders are right now,” I said. It wasn’t that I didn’t love Cass. I just didn’t think that I’d be naming a child after her.

“Okay, well, if it’s a girl, call her Cass. Or Cassie.” She snapped her fingers. “Either is cute.”

Leroy gave Cass a blank stare. “No.”

---