Page 81 of Castle's Cards

I look out over the crowd as my brother taps the microphone in front of him. Despite knowing how popular the club is and how serious people are about cancer, I didn’t expect quite so many people to be here.

It’s even an optimistic turnout by Court’s standards. When we were supervising the decorating this morning, he thought we would see maybe fifty people come out. This number is nearly triple that. Good thing we’re set up with way more food and drink than we thought we’d need, although that’s thanks to Cassie. It always pays to be prepared. At least that’s what she told us when placing the orders with the caterers. Guess she was right.

“Here to tell you about the featured charity tonight is my brother, Carter Castle. Please give him a round of applause.” Court steps aside and grins at me, holding out the mic. I take a breath and smile as I walk out and take it from him. The crowd applauds.

I look out at the million faces. Am I really ready to tell all these people about my wife? When I turn and see Addy’s face, I realize that I am. More than ready.

“Good evening. My name is Carter Castle. When my brother approached me about doing a fundraiser for cancer, I was hesitant. But it sparked an idea in me. Instead of doing just one fundraiser, why not go a step further? Why not start an entire foundation dedicated to just that?” I pause and lick my lips.

“My late wife, Elise, was taken from me a number of years ago after a prolonged struggle with cervical cancer. Finding out that the woman I loved would be taken from me so young, and seemingly strong and fit, was like a body blow. Elise always had dreams of doing something significant to give back to the community. That’s why this foundation is named for her, and aimed at not just treating cervical cancer, but also providing the appropriate testing, screening, and education. One of the most meaningful things that we can do to combat cervical cancer is to vaccinate our youngsters against HPV. Proper screening and testing can also result in early detection and higher chances for recovery. The Elise Castle Foundation for Cervical Cancer is the way to do that. That being said, please enjoy yourselves this evening and don’t forget that for every $1,000 donated you get not only your playing chips, but also raffle tickets for prize baskets from local businesses. Have a good evening, everyone.”

Applause bursts from the crowd when I step off the stage. Addy wraps me in her arms and kisses my cheeks.

“That was great, babe. You did an amazing job.”

“Youlookamazing,” I respond. I motion for her to spin and admire the snug black gown hugging her figure. She’s not showing yet, and she looks absolutely stunning, every curve captured by the dark silhouette.

“All right, kids, keep it PG. There are minors here,” Izzy cracks wise. The two of us chuckle as I look around.

“Come on. Let’s play some poker.”

I grip Addy’s hand and squeeze. Part of it is to comfort her, but part of it is also in hopes that she’ll stop that incessant foot tapping that’s been going on for the last twenty minutes.

“Sorry. I’m just so nervous!” Addy smiles at me. It’s been a few weeks since the fundraiser. We raised a ton of money, and Court said membership inquiries and club attendance has been up so much since that they’re considering expanding.

“Don’t be sorry. Why are you nervous?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never been pregnant before.”

We both laugh. My eyes dart down to her stomach even though she’s barely showing. She says that the “bump” we’re seeing is just bloating, but I still prefer to think it’s our baby.

“Addison Hughes,” the nurse calls from the door.

“About time,” she mutters before standing up. I follow her through the door and into one of the exam rooms. Addy lays down on the table while a tech spreads jelly on her stomach.

“This gel is the connector for the ultrasound wand. It’s going to help us see your baby,” he says. The man grabs a wand as the doctor walks in.

“Good afternoon, you two. My name is Dr Shaun Upton, and I’ll be your obstetrician. Let’s take a look at that baby, shall we?” He grabs the folder and sits down on the opposite side of the ultrasound tech. “I see you’re eighteen weeks along. That’s pretty far -- it’s surprising that you only found out a month ago. We might be able to see the sex of the baby today.”

We all look up at the screen. The tech says something under his breath that I can’t understand.

The screen is confusing. If I’m honest, it looks like nothing more than white noise covering a black screen that’s moving around. I wonder what kind of training these people get to look at the screens and see anything.

“There’s the heartbeat. Wait… it sounds like it’s two heartbeats,” the tech says. He looks up at the ultrasound machine and smiles. “Ah, yup. Looks like you got twins on your hands.”

“Two?” My jaw drops. Two babies? Addy’s expression mirrors mine. My mouth breaks out in a grin. “That’s amazing.”

“Looks like you have both a boy and a girl in there. I’m not sure how much you know about twins, but boy/girl twins are always fraternal, which means they’re two separate eggs fertilized by two separate sperm.”

The doctor looks at us with a serious expression. “Twin pregnancies are more likely than others to have problems, so we’ll be seeing you a bit more often than we would if you were having a singleton.”

Addy asks the doctor a couple of questions while the fact that we’re having twins continues to reverberate through my mind. I can’t wait to tell Court and Cassie since they have their own set of twins at home. I’ve never really thought about having twins of my own, but now that I know we are, I can’t help but think that I’m the luckiest man in the world.

“I’ll tell you a little secret about twins,” the doctor says as he escorts us out. “It’s always dependent on the mother. Addison, you are predisposed to drop more than one egg when you ovulate. That also means that you’re more likely to have twins in the future. So you may want to have a talk about your future family planning if you aren’t sure you want two or three sets of twins.”

The doctor claps me on the back and grins as Addy and I continue to the counter to check out.

“Twins! Congratulations!” The receptionist smiles. “Dr. Upton wants to see you back in a month for your next appointment.”

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