Page 30 of Curve Ball
Our baby.
My child.
We take our time getting ready, stealing kisses and touches as we move around the room. Adriana puts on a pair of my Coyotes sweats and a plain black shirt. I opt for something similar, casual and comfortable. The drive to the doctor’s office is uneventful, pretty silent. I lost myself in thought, thinking about the life growing inside Adriana and about the future that lies ahead of us. I reach over and take her hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze.
“You nervous, Mama?” I ask, my eyes glancing over to her as I merge into the turning lane. “Real shit, I’m nervous.”
She smiles back at me. “Yeah? I’m nervous too, Papi. But we’ve got this. Together?” I pull into the parking spot right in front of the office and kill the engine. Adriana holds out her hand, palm up.
“Together.” I take it, lacing our fingers and bringing them to my lips. “Let’s go see our baby.”
Once we’ve been checkedin, we wait a few minutes, and then the ultrasound tech comes out, greeting us. We’re guided back to a small room with an exam table, an ultrasound machine, a big flat screen on the wall, and two chairs.
“Alright, let’s get a look at this little one,” she says, smiling as she helps Adriana get comfortable on the exam table. “How have you been feeling?”
Adriana shares a few details about her pregnancy, things I don’t know and it makes my heart hurt, so I listen intently, my hand never leaving hers. How the nausea is finally getting better, and she can eat; how she’s felt the baby move a few days ago.All things that I should know.The tech applies the warm gel to Adriana’s belly, and we both watch as she moves the wand over her skin, the screen coming to life with grainy black and white images.
There’s a whooshing sound filling the room, and suddenly, the screen is filled with the rapid beating of a tiny heart. My eyes well up with tears as I listen to the sound, realizing that’s my child in there.
Just a few days ago, it was just me and now it’s the three of us.
The tech moves the wand around, taking measurements and notes, her brow furrowing slightly as she concentrates. She pauses, her eyes widening as she looks at the screen, a smile spreading across her face. I look at the screen overhead, trying to see what she sees.
“Well, well, well,” she says, her voice filled with surprise. “It looks like you two are having quite the surprise today.”
Adriana and I exchange a confused glance, and I squeeze her hand tighter, my heart pounding in my chest. “What is it? What do you see?”
The tech drags the wand over to the side of Adriana’s stomach so we can see it better, and she points to two distinctshapes on the screen. “You’re not just having one baby, Adriana. You’re having twins.”
Twins.
We’re having twins.
I look at Adriana, and she looks back at me, her eyes wide with shock. A laugh bubbles up from my chest, the sound filling the room with joy and disbelief.
“Twins,” she says, shaking her head in amazement. “We’re having twins, Gael.”
I lean down and kiss her forehead, my heart swelling with love and pride. “We’re having twins, Mama. Can you believe it?”
The tech continues the ultrasound, taking more measurements and notes, her voice a soothing murmur in the background as she explains what she’s doing.
“Do you want to know what you’re having?” The tech looks over, a smirk on her face.
Adriana looks up at me and at this point, I need to know. She nods and with my eyes still on the woman I’m falling even more in love with by the second, I say, “Yes.”
“Baby A is a boy.”
A son.
I’m having a son.
“Baby B is… also a boy. You see how they are in the same little bubble?” She points out how close they are. “That means they’re identical.”
Two boys. Identical twin boys.Holy fucking shit.I’m going to be a father to not one, but two incredible little humans. The responsibility of it all hits me like a freight train, but so does the overwhelming love and joy that comes with it.
We leavethe office and I can’t wipe the grin off my face. I’ve got the printout of the boy’s ultrasound in one hand and Adriana’s hand in my other. I feel like the luckiest man in the world.
I am the luckiest man in the world.
