Page 58 of Mending Scars

Being reminded about my nap made my eyelids feel heavy. “Okay,” I yawned.

Ryker gave me a loving smile before walking out and shutting the door behind him. I placed both hands on my stomach as I closed my eyes and smiled contently. It didn’t take long for me to drift off to sleep.

Time seemed to be moving backward as we sat waiting in the doctors’ office. I had been dying for this appointment because we were going to find out whether we were having a boy or a girl. Since finding out about the pregnancy, I’d wanted a son, but now I didn’t care either way as long as they were healthy.

Kaiya was flipping through a baby magazine as my leg bounced anxiously. She glanced at me out of the corner of her eye and suppressed a smile. “Nervous?”

I drummed my hands on my knees. “Nah, just excited. I wanna find out already.”

Kaiya laughed softly. “Me too. The doctor shouldn’t be too much longer.”

About fifteen agonizing minutes later, the receptionist called us back. Then, we had to wait another twenty until the doctor and ultrasound tech finally came in.

Dr. Wallace gave us a warm smile. “How are you feeling, Kaiya?”

“Excited. I can’t wait to find out what we’re having,” Kaiya replied enthusiastically.

The doctor’s smile spread. “Any stomach pain? Nausea? Cramping?”

“No, everything’s been good,” Kaiya smiled as she rubbed the small bump of her belly.

“Great. Now, let’s get to what you’ve been waiting for.”

The ultrasound tech wheeled the cart next to Kaiya and got her prepped. The computer lit up with the image of our baby as soon as the sensor pressed against Kaiya’s belly.

“There’s the head. Let’s move down a little to see if we can get a glimpse between the legs.” The tech said as she moved the wand down. “There.”

We stared at the screen where the mouse cursor was pointing at something. “Is that?” I started to ask.

The tech grinned. “Yep. Congratulations, you’re having a boy!”

A boy… I’m going to have a son.

My chest swelled with pride and a huge smile spread across my mouth. I leaned down and kissed Kaiya’s forehead. Her face beamed with joy as she gazed up at me when I pulled away. “I wanted a little Ryker.”

The doctor handed Kaiya the sonogram picture after it printed out. Her smile was from ear to ear as she looked at the image. “Hayden.”

“Hayden?” I repeated.

“That’s the name that comes to mind when I look at him.” She brought her eyes to mine. “What do you think?”

I rubbed the stubble on my chin. “I like it. Sounds strong.”

“And it’s not that common. I don’t want him having a name that everyone else has, like John or Mike.”

I smiled. “Hayden it is then.”

We thanked Kaiya’s doctor and the ultrasound tech before leaving. Kaiya linked our hands together and squealed excitedly. “I can’t wait to go shopping!”

At class the next day, I planned to demonstrate another small circle hapkido technique. I’d been researching various maneuvers over the past couple of weeks, but had only been teaching the basics and integrating them into defenses that we’d already learned since many of the moves were very intricate. They weren’t necessarily hard. They just required that everyone pay attention to detail.

After working on the bags, I gathered the class on the mats. “As you know, we’ve been going over the basics of small circle hapkido—all of the various locks and grabs. The reason for this is that I wanted to have a solid foundation to build on for the more intricate defenses. The first one I taught was a simple, introductory move to get your feet wet.”

I motioned Mark to come to me. “Today, we’re going to work on small circle defense against a lapel grab. This would even work against a frontal choke.”

I walked the class through the steps of the maneuver before instructing them to get with their partners. Kaiya smiled as I approached her. “This one looks like it’s going to hurt.”

“All of them hurt, babe. That’s why they’re so effective.”

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