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Chapter Seven – November 5

“What’s with the shirt?” I asked as Nick pulled a pink polo shirt over his head.

“I’m thinking pink today,” he said as his head reemerged. He grinned.

I shook my head. The doctor’s visit that we had been looking forward to for so long was finally here. As long as the baby was in a cooperative mood, we would be able to find out the sex.

“What happened to your vision of a boys’ Bucs room?” I teased. “Red and black.”

He laughed as he looked around for his car keys. I lifted them up with my pinky. As he reached for them, he paused, leaning down to kiss my stomach.

“Either way, boy or girl. I’m a lucky man,” he said.

Forty-five minutes later, I sat once again sat on the exam table. Things hadn’t changed much since the last visit; however a new poster hung the wall. Nick was studying it intently.

“Learning anything good?” I asked.

He nodded. “We’re here,” he said pointing to the picture of the second trimester. “We’re almost here,” he said pointing to the third trimester. His finger stopped on the birth. I saw him pale a little.

“Then we’ll be here,” he said a little softer. “I just don’t see how that’s going to come out of that.” He pointed towards my southern region.

I laughed. “The miracle of science and nature.”

At that moment Dr. Tresher, my OBG/YN walked in. Nick took his seat by the exam table.

“How are we doing folks?” Dr. Tresher asked with a smile. I looked over at Nick, he squeezed my hand.

“We’re doing fine,” I answered. “We’ve been counting the days.”

Dr. Tresher laughed. “This is always my favorite visit,” she admitted. She scanned my chart. “Hmm, let’s see here. No acid reflux, that’s good. You’ve felt the baby kick, excellent. Now, let’s see about your weight gain. Hmmm…”

I felt a blush creep up my cheeks. She glanced my way.

“What are your cravings?”

“Chocolate covered bananas and nacho cheese Doritos,” Nick answered for me.

I could tell the doctor was trying not to laugh. “Well, that’s quite a combination. Not as bad as ketchup and pickles, but still two high calorie foods. You’ve gained about 22 pounds so far.”

I winced. Dr. Tresher switched from ‘friendly’ mode to ‘physician’ mode.

“Normal weight gain for the entire pregnancy is 25-35 pounds. Now, I’m sure you noticed a rapid gain somewhere in the last few weeks, right?”

I nodded. “Within three days none of my clothes fit anymore.”

“That’s absolutely normal. But, with four months to go, we’ll have to keep our eye on the weight. Don’t forget to add fruits and veggies into the mix. Other than that, I’d say everything looks great so far.”

Even though she ended on a note of encouragement, I still felt like Shamu. I had tried to throw away the Doritos; I really had. But with a convenience store so close to the house…as soon as I threw them away Nick was running for another bag.

Sigh.

“So with that lecture out of the way, shall we get to the main event?”

I looked at Nick. He nodded.

“Well, we have a special treat for you guys today,” Dr. Tresher said as she pulled out the equipment. “We’re going to do a 3-D ultrasound today.”

“Really?” Nick said. “So I’ll be able to see an actual baby this time?”

Dr. Tresher laughed. “I sure hope so.”

“Do we need some 3-D glasses?” Nick said. He sounded almost hopeful.

I laughed. “The baby’s not going to jump out of the screen at you,” I teased. He made a face.

Things became quiet for a few moments as Dr. Tresher got everything set up. Nick held my hand between his own. He kissed my fingertips softly. After another minute, the screen came to life.

In the matter of seconds, there was no doubting the existence of our baby; the image was so detailed that I could see each individual finger on the screen.

“Oh my god,” Nick whispered.

“Ah, good we have an exhibitionist today,” Dr. Tresher said happily. She took a few moments to look at the screen. I heard a sigh.

“What?” Nick said. I looked over at him; he was frowning in her direction.

“I didn’t want to be the one,” she said, almost complaining.

“Is something wrong?” I asked. My heart began to pound.

“Oh no!” she said. Nick’s shoulders slumped in relief.

“But, I do have to tell you guys that the Backstreet streak is over,” she said.

It took me a moment to realize what she meant; Nick seemed to catch on right away. With a ‘whoop’ he swooped down and kissed me happily.

“It’s a girl!” he announced happily.

“There’s no doubt,” Dr. Tresher added for a laugh. “She’s turned perfectly.”

Our attention went back to the screen. As in slow motion, we saw her leg bend at the knee.

“What’s she doing?” Nick asked, leaning closer to the monitor.

I looked over at the doctor. She was smiling. “She’s a limber one. She’s sucking her toes.”

“That’s my girl,” Nick said. I coughed. He looked at me sheepishly. “That’s our girl.”

We watched mesmerized for a few more minutes. Finally, Dr. Tresher had to shut us down.

“Time to hit those baby name books, kids,” Dr. Tresher said. She shook our hands and gave me a few extra instructions.

“I’ll see you before you leave for that cruise, okay?”
I nodded. “Will do. Thanks Dr. Tresher.”

With a wave, she left the room. I swung my legs over the side of the table. Nick stopped me, his hands resting on my upper thighs. I had never seen him look so happy.

“She’s beautiful,” he said. I smiled.

“Yes, she is.” I ran my hands along the collar of his shirt. “Good job, pinky.”

He kissed me slowly, his hands sliding from my thighs to my belly. As the kiss lingered, I felt a little kick. She had obviously stopped sucking her toes. Nick laughed in my mouth.

“I’m gonna need a gun,” he said as I hopped off the exam table. I looked at him in surprise.

“What?”

He grinned. “In sixteen years, I’m going to need to shoot any guy that walks up to our door.”

I smiled. “Yup. Just imagine a sixteen year old Nick coming to pick up your daughter.”

I could see him thinking about himself at sixteen.

“I’m gonna need a big gun.”

---------------------------------

Later that night, I sat on the couch talking to my mom. Nick was lying across my lap, his laptop perched on his chest. He kept looking over at me; he was antsy. As soon as we had gotten home, he had insisted on a picture. Out of nowhere, he produced an ‘it’s a girl’ sign that he held across my belly. With the help of the camera’s self-timer, he had gotten the shot he wanted: him with his pink shirt, the sign, and me. After he made sure the picture had come out, he had quickly grabbed his computer. When I asked what he was doing, he replied ‘I’m putting this on Twitter!’ to which I replied ‘Not until we call our parents!’

Thus, Nick was impatiently watching me listen as my mom filled me in on life in Wakamata without me. I hadn’t gotten a word in edge wise. Nick, on the other hand, had placed two five minute phone calls to his mom and dad an hour ago and was ready to roll. I had been on the phone for well over an hour.

“So, I saw Hunter and Jessica at the grocery store a couple days ago,” my mom added. “They had a little girl named Ella. She’s got this horrendous mop of red hair. They had it all pulled up in a ribbon on the top of her head. She looks like Pebbles Flintstone. She’s not a cute baby.”

Even if she was cute, my mom wouldn’t have admitted it. Hunter hatred ran deep. I would have preferred not to have even heard his name; however, I did have to admit that her story gave me a great opening.

“Speaking of babies, mom,” I said. “Nick and I went for another ultrasound today.”

“Really?” I heard a shuffling of papers; I could almost see my mom flipping the calendar – she was always at least two months behind. She let out a little squeal.

“Did you find out today?” she said. I couldn’t help but smile at her enthusiasm.

“We did,” I said lightly.

“Well?”

“You’re granddaughter was having fun sucking her toes today,” I said. I felt Nick laugh.

“Oh a little girl,” my mom said. “That’s wonderful!”

I couldn’t help it; I grinned. “Yeah, Nick was right; I was wrong.”

“Could you repeat that?” Nick asked. I covered his mouth with my hand; he nibbled my fingers.

“I can’t wait to buy pink stuff,” my mom was saying.

I smiled. “Well, when you come down here for Thanksgiving, you and me can go shopping.”

I heard her sigh. “Are you sure you and Nick can’t come up here?”

“Well, I’m hoping that we can have some of Nick’s family here too,” I explained. Nick looked up surprised. I flicked his forehead.

“Who’s going to cook?”

“I am.”

My mom laughed; yes she actually laughed. “You’re kidding. You’ve never cooked a turkey before.”

“How hard can it be?”

She laughed again. “Oh honey, fixing Thanksgiving dinner is stressful no matter what; add in that you’ll be almost six months pregnant and that’s downright torture.”

I sighed. “Well, you’ll be here to help me,” I said. “I’m sure I can put one or two of Nick’s sisters to work too. Bobbie Jean thought about going to culinary school a few years back.”

Nick snorted.

“It’s just such a long flight. And the dogs…”

“No excuses. I know at least three people who can watch the dogs for you while you’re down here.”

I knew by the silence that I had her trapped.

“Your flight will leave on Tuesday the 23rd and you’ll head back on the 27th. Your ticket will be waiting for you at the airline counter.”

“It’s not going to seem like Thanksgiving,” mom complained feebly. “How warm is it down there?”

“Oh, about seventy-five,” I said. “You’re going to love it. In fact,” I shifted slightly. Nick’s head bounced off my lap onto the cushion.

“Hey!” he complained as he scooted back onto to my lap. His head barely fit; my belly was quickly consuming me. I watched his finger resume its hovering over the ‘send’ key for his twitpic. I gave him the go ahead. My pregnant belly and Nick’s pink polo shirt were now on Nick’s Twitter for all the world to see.

“In fact,” I continued. “While you’re down here I want to show you some new condos that were just built. They’re affordable and beautiful. Plenty of room for the dogs.”

“I’m not moving to Florida, Olivia,” my mom said. I smiled.

“Well after you see this ultrasound you might disagree,” I said sweetly.

She sighed.

“I still wish you were up here.”

I smiled. “I know mom, but I did the right thing.”

I knew she didn’t agree; but we had already had as many talks about the issue as we needed. “How’s Nick?” she asked, changing the subject.

“He’s bouncing off the walls, like always,” I said.

“Is he ready for fatherhood?”

Nick was making talking noises with his two hands, mimicking me and my mom. I stifled a laugh.

“Absolutely, I almost think he’s more excited than me.”

“That’s good,” my mom said. She sounded thoughtful. “You know you were never a toe sucker,” my mom added. “I bet he was a toe sucker.”

I burst out laughing. Nick looked up surprised. I pulled the phone away from my ear.

“My mom says the toe sucking must come from your side of the family,” I whispered. Nick grinned. He tried feebly to get his leg up to his chin but failed miserably.

“Well, mom, I think with that I’m going to say goodnight,” I said, still laughing as Nick rolled off the couch, still holding onto his leg. I grabbed his laptop before it crashed into the coffee table.

“Alright sweetie, I love you,” she said a little sadly.

“Love you too, mom. See you soon.”

I disconnected and looked at the blonde heap that was my fiancée. He looked up at my sheepishly.

“I’ve got to work on my yoga. I’m not as limber as I once was.”

He scrambled up and leaned over me, placing his hands on either side of my head. I tilted my head back to look in his eyes.

“You know, I could probably teach you a yoga move before we go to sleep,” he said sweetly. I laughed. “Oh?”

His eyes light up mischievously. He stood back and held out his hands. I placed my own in his as he helped me up. He pointed up the stairs; as I walked,, he followed behind me, his hands resting on my waist.

“There’s this little move that feels amazing. Ever hear of the downward facing dog?”

I nodded. Nick laughed huskily as we headed in the direction of the bedroom. Somehow I had a feeling that his little lesson was going to quickly move out of the yoga category.

Not that I was complaining.

Who would?