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Raegan
FOUR YEARS LATER...
I sat in the examination room, waiting on my OB-GYN and waiting for Clint. My nerves were frazzled, even though Mom kept telling me I should be old hat at this pregnancy business. On one hand, she was right, but on the other hand, it was my third pregnancy and I was determined it would be the last. Clint was determined for us to be a family of six, but he wasn’t the one racing for the toilet at all hours with a three-year-old and an eighteen-month-old under foot.
Outside the door, I heard Dr. Wilkinson’s distinctive voice and just before the door opened, I heard my husband’s voice, too.
“Well, you’ll find out today, Mr. Ramsey,” Dr. Wilkinson said striding into the room.
I squinted at my doctor. “We’ll find out what today?”
She smiled at me. “You’re having an ultrasound today, didn’t you know?”
“Her pregnancy brain has been on overdrive this time around,” Clint shared.
“That’s not entirely accurate. This is the first pregnancy with two little ones already demanding our time.”
Dr. Wilkinson chuckled. “Your wife is right. Two children in the mix makes pregnancy more challenging.”
She asked me some questions about how I was feeling and gently prodded my belly. “No examination today. Your labs all look normal. I’ll be back in after the ultrasound tech has completed her scans. Should be status quo, though, so no worries.”
Once the doctor had left, Clint squeezed my hand. “Why do you look so worried, mi reina?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know, Clint. All kinds of bad thoughts have been hitting me lately. I worry about carrying this child to term. I worry about my job security. I mean, I’ve worked there four years and I’ve taken maternity leave twice already!”
“Don’t worry about that, Rae. My job is secure. Recession, booming economy, it doesn’t matter too much. People still get divorced or suspect a spouse is cheating. They come up with the money to prove it. It’s not recession-proof, but we’ve done good so far, right?”
I nodded.
“Okay. Then stop worrying.”
I sighed while I rubbed my lower abdomen. “I can’t help it. That saying about every woman is different, every pregnancy is different, and every child is different, well... I really feel like something is not the same with this one.”
He tapped the side of my head. “It’s all right here, honey. Calm down.”
“The two most useless words—”
The door opened and the ultrasound tech hurried into the room. “All right. Before we get started, do you want to know the gender? Or do you want a surprise?”
Clint and I spoke at the same time.
“Surprise.”
“We want to know,” I declared, and stared at him.
After a beat, I asked, “Are you serious? You want a surprise?”
He turned serious eyes to me. “We have Brian and Bronwyn, which means we have clothes for either gender. Why do we need to know? It’s one of life’s only real surprises anymore.”
I shrugged. “I guess we’ll go with a surprise. Unless we’re having multiples. At which point, all bets are off.”
The tech looked at me. “Do either of you have twins in your family?”
“I don’t think so, but I’m just covering my bases.”
Clint shook his head, and though I couldn’t see it, I suspected he rolled his eyes too. “We’re not having multiples, Rae.”
My head was tilted at an awkward angle while the tech moved the wand over my lower belly. The loud whooshing of a baby’s heartbeat filled the room, but the black and white screen looked different.
Slowly, the tech looked at me, her lips curling into a smile. “I don’t know how you knew, if there aren’t twins in your families, but you’re having two babies, Mrs. Ramsey.”
“No way,” Clint breathed.
She beamed at him. “Yes way, sir.”
While the tech took measurements and pointed out body parts Clint squeezed my hand. I couldn’t help but notice his was clammy, but I didn’t blame him. In pointing out the babies’ anatomy, she saved the best parts for last.
“Well,” she drawled. “Some parents would say you lucked out. You’re getting one of each, a boy and a girl.”
I laughed with relief. “That is a definite blessing.”
The ultrasound machine made noise as it produced print outs of the pictures. The technician put them on the counter, handed me some paper towels for the gel on my belly, and saw herself out.
With all the goop off my belly, I caught Clint’s eyes. “This is my last pregnancy, sir. We’re done. Good heavens, the college bills alone. Gah!”
He shook his head at me, and that was when I noticed his humongous smile. I had only seen him so happy on three other occasions. Our wedding day at the courthouse, when Brian was born, and when Bronwyn was born. His joy was infectious, and I felt my face light up with a smile.
“You’re giving me four babies, mi reina. It’s all I ever dreamed of and more.”
***
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This concludes the O-Town Series...for now. Office manager Deanne gets her own short story coming in Fall 2021!
~ The End ~