Surprise!
“Howwasyourtrip?”I ask Dr. Fergus when she comes into the exam room.
“Bloody fantastic except for my sister,” she replies with the hint of a Scottish accent. “She’s a lot to deal with. How are you doing?”
“Great, just busy.”
“Ah, yes. Hockey season has started, hasn’t it? I’ll have to try to make a game.” She pulls up something on her laptop and peruses it before humming. “Well, I see you’re here to get your implant out and to discuss intrauterine insemination.”
“Right, about that,” I start. “That was the plan when I made the appointment, but I’ve recently started seeing someone.”
Her smile is genuine. “That’s wonderful, Juliette. So you want to just replace your current implant? I think it’s about time for that. Let me just check here…” She consults her laptop before I can reply. “Oh.”
“Oh what?” I ask, sitting up straighter and tugging at the silly pink gown to try and keep it in place.
Her blue eyes lift to mine. “You’re actually overdue for a replacement. It should have been done in August.” Her brow furrows. “The receptionist should have scheduled you with one of my associates since I was out of the country.”
“She offered,” I say quickly, not wanting to get the sweet woman in trouble. “I decided to wait till you got back.”
Dr. Fergus waves a casual hand. “I’m sure it’s fine. Those implants generally have a bit of an overlap period. We’ll just do a pregnancy test to make sure.”
An hour later, I leave the doctor’s office like a zombie. I feel like I’ve been shell shocked. With a white bag of vitamins in one hand and a black-and-white photo in the other, I make my way to my car.
Reno’s at practice, so the house is empty when I return. I don’t even remember getting inside and sitting on my raspberry-colored couch, but I must have because when he returns—however many hours later—I’m still sitting there, staring at the sonogram picture.
I’m not sure how the human mind works at its basest level, but somehow I’m frantic and completely calm at the same time. Freaked out and content… that’s me.
“Hey, babe!” he calls, and I hear the thunk of his bag being tossed down beside the kitchen door. He always parks inside the garage to hide his SUV from view. I’d even given him my spare garage door opener.
I feel his presence as soon as he enters the living room. Then a kiss on the top of my head. “How was your day? Did everything go—”
His words halt, and I know he sees what I’m holding in my hands. I wordlessly hand it to him over the back of the couch, my eyes focused on the black TV screen on the far wall.
Did he mean everything he said this morning? Is he really ready for this, or were they simply words? Because this… this is a lot.
I feel him sit beside me, and the scent of the ice rink still clings to his clothes, mixed with the clean smell of his soap. It’s a comforting aroma to me, one I’ve known for years. I had my driver’s license two years before Bubba, so I drove him to practices and sat in the stands while he perfected his skills, even after he was old enough to drive. It was our tradition, our brother-sister time, and the smell always evokes a sense of calm in me.
Bubba… we’re definitely going to have to tell him now.
“Juliette?” The question of my name on Reno’s lips almost startles me, and I slowly turn my head to look at him. He’s staring at the picture, and I’m unable to read the expression on his face.
“I’m pregnant,” I say quietly, and I see his cheeks hollow for a second before he blows out a breath. “I was going to have the implant removed, but Dr. Fergus wanted to do a pregnancy test first because…”
He finally looks at me, his eyes the softest green I’ve ever seen. “Because what?”
My lips are numb, like your foot gets when you sit with your legs crossed for too long, but I force them to work. “I didn’t do this on purpose. My doctor was out of town, so I decided to wait for her to get back for my appointment instead of seeing one of the other docs. I was apparently supposed to have the implant replaced in August. I-I didn’t realize it was time already,” I stammer, desperate for him to understand.
His tender kiss on my forehead almost breaks me. “I know you didn’t do it on purpose, sweet girl.” His trust in me has tears slipping over the rims of my eyelids and down my face. “How do you feel about it?”
“Excited. A little freaked out.” I pause before repeating his question. “How doyoufeel about it?”
His brilliant smile answers before his words have the chance to, but it still warms me to hear them. “I’m fucking over the moon, dream girl.” His eyes flit between me and the sonogram pic. “We’re having a baby.”
Time for the next surprise. Not sure he’s going to handle this one quite as well as the first.
I hold up two fingers, unable to say the words aloud. Reno mistakes the gesture for our bunny ears love signal and grins, holding up two fingers of his own. “I love you too, Juliette.”
“I meant two babies, Reno,” I explain,still holding my two fingers up. “We’re having twins.”
