CANDACE HAD NEVER FAINTED. BUT AT THE MOMENT, she felt so light-headed that she thought she might. She blinked, shook her head, and let the words sink in.
“Tw–ins?” she echoed in a choked whisper.
“Yep. I can’t be a hundred percent sure yet—they’re too little to get a clear picture—but I think we’re having two boys.”
Candace’s head flopped back onto the examining table. Twins? Twin boys?
Good grief, how was she going to manage twin boys?
“Come on, sit up. I’ll show you. Molly snapped a couple of pictures for us.” Molly, who was grinning foolishly, moved out of the way, and Heath swung the monitor around where Candace could see it.
“See? Right here.” He pointed at the screen. “That’s the outline of junior one.” He switched the picture. “And here’s junior two hiding right behind his brother.”
Candace squinted. She’d looked at hundreds, perhaps thousands of ultrasound pictures. But usually with a full-term baby. These little bitty shadows…
She shook her head in denial. “That could be the placenta.”
“I don’t think so, Mrs. Carlson,” Molly said. “It looks like a second fetus to me.”
Two babies. Candace placed her hand on her tummy. Tried to sense their presence. Feel their tiny heartbeats. She looked up at Heath with tears in her eyes. “Twins.”
“Yep. Two for the price of one.”
She laughed with a hint of hysteria. “You won’t think it’s two for the price of one when you get the bill for their college tuition.”
“Then we’d better start saving now.”
He hugged her, and she clung to him. Stunned. Reeling. Disbelieving. And suddenly overwhelmed by what lay in the future. She felt both blessed and terrified.
Molly cleared her throat. “I’ll print out those two pictures for you, if you’d like.”
“Great, Molly,” Heath said. “We’d appreciate that.”
“I’m just so tickled for you. For both of you.” The technician sat back down on the stool, clicking away and soon produced two blurry, black-and-white photos.
Candace took them in her hands, studied them a minute, and then held them to her chest. “I still can’t believe it.”
“It answers the question about you getting fat,” Heath said.
She groaned. “I’m going to get as big as a house.”
“And be more beautiful than ever.”
Molly left them on their own as Candace straightened her clothes.
Still shaken, she and Heath walked to the employees’ lounge to get their jackets for the drive home.
“Do you want to tell the kids tonight?” Heath asked.
“I don’t know.” A fog of confusion filled her head. “Are you absolutely sure it’s twins?”
“I am, but I’m also sure the doctor will have you do another ultrasound in a month. We could wait to tell them until then. Or we could have Dr. Hashimi take a look at the results of today’s procedure.”
It seemed pointless to wait. Heath was a radiologist by training. Besides, Candace would never be able to keep the secret for long. Except it seemed so unreal. Twins?
In the lounge area, Elena was pulling on her jacket getting ready to leave for home.
“Are you all right?” she asked Candace. “You look pale. Heath? Is something wrong?”
Anabelle hurried across the room. “What is it?”
“I’m fine,” Candace managed to say. She crooked her lips into a faint smile. “We do have some news, though.”
“Some good news,” Heath added.
“We know.” Anabelle studied Candace with the eye of an experienced nurse.
“We’ve been waiting for you to tell us you’re pregnant,” Elena blurted out. “You’re okay, aren’t you?”
Candace’s jaw went slack. “How’d you know I was pregnant?”
Looping her arm around Candace’s shoulders, Anabelle gave her a squeeze. “Because we’re women and have been pregnant ourselves. Besides, your nausea and fatigue were a dead giveaway.”
“Congratulations.” Elena smiled so broadly, her teeth showed and crinkles formed at the corners of her eyes. “I’m so excited for you that I’ve already started planning your baby shower.”
“That’s great,” Heath said. “The thing is, you might want it to be a shower for the babies, as in two babies.”
Elena sucked in a breath. “Two?”
Numbly, Candace nodded. “We’re going to need lots of things. Long ago I gave away all of Howie and Brooke’s baby clothes, the crib, everything. And now with two…”
“Oh my…” Anabelle’s hand went to her chest. “Twins! We’re going to have such fun buying two sets of those cute little onesies, receiving blankets, snuggly sleeper sets. I can make each baby their own little quilt. I’d love to do that.”
“How sweet of you to offer,” Candace said.
“I’ll make them tiny scrubs sets just like their mommy wears,” Elena decided. “This is going to be such fun. I can hardly wait for Halloween. I love making costumes for babies.”
“That would be lovely—”
“Whoa! Let’s hold on a minute.” Heath held up his hand to silence their excitement. “We just found out a few minutes ago about the twins and it hasn’t quite sunk in yet. Give us a few days to adjust, okay?”
A flush of chagrin darkened Elena’s cheeks. “Sorry we got carried away. It’s only because we love you both and are happy for you.”
“If you want us to keep it a secret until you’re ready to tell others,” Anabelle said, “our lips are sealed. We promise.”
A dozen butterflies took flight in Candace’s stomach. Or maybe what she felt were the boys vying for attention. But it was way too early to actually feel them move.
“Right now,” Candace said, “I’m going to go home, put my feet up, and try to come to terms with the idea of twins.”
Both Elena and Anabelle gave her a hug, wishing her well.
After Candace and Heath got their jackets and were on their way home in the car, Candace said, “One thing I know for sure, my mother is going to be thrilled.”
Heath took her hand. “So am I, my little chickadee.”
“In a few more months, I won’t be your little chickadee,” she warned. “I’ll be more the size of an ostrich carrying ten pounds of eggs.”
At a stop sign, he leaned over to kiss her. “You’re going to be a terrific mom for the boys.”
But what about her job? How could she keep working during a pregnancy complicated by her mature age and having twins? And what about after the babies were born? She couldn’t ask her mother to take over the care of two newborns. That was too much to ask of a woman in her sixties.
On top of all that, the cost of raising four children would be enormous. She couldn’t lay that burden entirely on Heath’s shoulders. Surely he hadn’t bargained for that when he married her.
As Heath pulled into their driveway, Candace closed her eyes. Please, Lord, we’re going to need Your help.
The sun came up on Saturday morning promising a beautiful day for the drive to Chicago. With the temperature above freezing and the highway long since free of snow, James figured they ought to easily make it to the hotel in three hours.
“There’s plenty of food in the freezer.” Already dressed for the trip, Fern had been fussing over the boys since they got up.
“We know, Mom.” Sitting at the kitchen table, Gideon yawned.
“Dad gave us some money if we wanted to do takeout,” Nelson said.
Fern checked with James, who nodded.
“Now I don’t want you boys staying out late,” she warned them.
Gideon groaned.
Knowing she was both nervous and driving the boys crazy, James said, “We’d better get going, honey. You’ll want a chance to meet Lew before lunch if you can.”
Panic flared in her eyes. “I just want to make sure—”
“We’ll be fine, Mom.” Nelson stood and Gideon followed suit, both giving her a kiss and hug.
“You give us a call if anything goes wrong,” she urged them.
James took her elbow, easing her toward the door. “Suitcase is in the van. Have you got your speech?”
“In my briefcase. What about my walker?”
“Walker, wheelchair, thermos of coffee, a picnic lunch for ten, a life raft in case the great flood comes. It’s all in the car.”
Playfully, she hit at him with her cane. “Watch yourself, Mr. Smart Guy.”
Finally getting her into the van, he backed out of the driveway. As they drove away, she waved to the boys.
“I’m being silly, aren’t I?”
“Don’t let their apparent boredom fool you. They love that you fuss over them. They’re also proud that you’ve been asked to give a keynote speech for a big MS banquet.”
With a sigh, she looked out through the windshield. “I promise I won’t fret about them too much. I want this to be a good trip for you. For us.”
“It will be.” James had arranged a little surprise for her to let her know how proud he was of her and how much he loved her.
They cruised along at the speed limit in light Saturday traffic. Winter-brown fields spread out on either side of the highway. In the shade of trees planted as a windbreak, remnants of a snowfall remained despite the best efforts of the sun to reach them.
Towns sprung up along the way. Billboards announced motels and fast-food franchises off the upcoming exits.
“Maybe I should be practicing my speech,” Fern said.
“You’ve gone over it a dozen times since yesterday. You don’t want to over-rehearse.”
“I don’t want to make a fool of myself.”
“You won’t. I have complete faith that you’ll wow the audience.”
She plucked at her skirt, smoothed the fabric over her thigh again, and then looked out the window. “I don’t need to wow them. Getting through the speech will be good enough for me.”
Taking her hand, James gave it a reassuring squeeze. She’d always been delicate and petite but not fragile. Beneath her slender exterior she was tough and emotionally strong. In many ways stronger than James. Coming to grips with MS, she’d fought against the disease, not giving an inch until it forced her into a retreat.
Then she’d regather her resources and battle back. Time after time. With amazing courage.
James held his wife in awe. He hoped the audience she spoke to tonight recognized a small part of the courage and determination that she had demonstrated every day since her diagnosis.
Once in the city, James maneuvered the van through busy streets, finally finding the hotel entrance. He pulled up under the portico where they were met by the bell captain in a spiffy uniform with braid on his shoulders.
“Good morning, sir. Will you be staying with us this evening?”
“Yes, we will,” James said as he got out of the van. A valet helped Fern out.
Their luggage was swept out of the van by a bellboy, who graciously escorted them through a spacious lobby filled with potted plants and comfortable furniture grouped for casual conversations.
“Welcome to the Rochester, Mr. and Mrs. Bell. Mr. Maxwell is expecting you,” the attractive reception clerk announced. “Would you like to have me page him? Or would you rather go up to your room first?”
Fern wanted to go upstairs first.
When the bellboy opened the door, she stepped into the room. Immediately she spotted a giant floral arrangement on the desk next to the TV.
“Look, James. Isn’t this lovely?” Bright spring flowers were nestled in among gladiolas, lilies, roses, and carnations in a creative puff of pink, white, and green. The sweet floral scent suffused the room.
James tipped the bellboy and casually asked Fern, “Who are the flowers from?”
“They must be from Lew.” She plucked the card from the arrangement and read it. She snapped her gaze toward James, her eyes wide. “They’re from you!”
Crossing the room, James took his wife in his arms. “They’re for a very special woman on her very special weekend.”
She sighed as he lingered over their kiss. Lingered as he thanked the good Lord for the gift of this woman that he loved with all of his heart. Now and forevermore.
At dinner they sat at the head table in a room filled with as many as three hundred people, Lew Maxwell as the host. A man in his fifties, he had graying hair and a manner that made each person he met an instant friend.
James enjoyed the breast of chicken filled with stuffing, but noticed Fern was only nibbling at her dinner. Nerves, he imagined.
The plates were taken away and small dishes of chocolate mousse brought for dessert.
Lew moved to the podium to acknowledge dignitaries in the audience and make a few announcements.
Fern leaned toward James. “I’m nervous.”
“Don’t be. You’ll do fine.”
As Lew introduced Fern, she took a deep breath and walked steadily to the podium barely using her cane. She turned a dazzling smile on the audience.
“Hi. My name is Fern, and I have multiple sclerosis.”
“Hi, Fern,” the audience responded.
That seemed to please her, and James saw the tension ease from her shoulders.
“People all over the world adjust to their own particular situation. Whether they are short or tall, live at the equator or in the wilds of Alaska. They work as doctors, store clerks, and schoolteachers. They thrive because of who they are. All of these people have multiple sclerosis. MS may restrict or limit what they can do physically. But MS does not define who they are. Nor does it define who I am, and it shouldn’t define who you are either.”
In full agreement, the audience responded with enthusiastic applause, and James sat back to enjoy the rest of her speech. With only a few words, she’d grabbed their attention and held the audience in the palm of her hand. She was one of them. She understood. And they loved her for that.
James wished the boys could be here. Seeing her. Listening to her speak. They’d feel the same pride that filled his chest and brought the burn of tears to his eyes.