Page 86 of You Are Cordially Invited

What if I was no good with babies?

I mean, I was okay with Cory, but a teeny tiny baby?

Reuben would be great. Of course he would.

He was a fantastic dad.

But me?

I was a sharp-tongued killer queen with zero experience caring for small bundles of fragile flesh.

What if I dropped them?

What if I ruined their tiny little life?

What if they grew up and hated my gay-fem arse?

What if all their friends laughed at them because their pop wore makeup?

What if—

“Stop it.” Reuben leaned close. “I can hear your brain stalling from here. You’ll be fine. We’ve got this. You’re gonna be a great dad, just like you are to Cory.”

I sent a scowl his way.How did he do that?

He bopped my nose.

“I wish we could’ve brought him,” I whispered.

He kissed my forehead. “I know, but we can show him the imaging pictures later and maybe bring him to the next if Stella has one. Right now, it’s too soon.”

He was right, of course. We’d started reading Cory books about new babies and siblings and families, laying the groundwork. He’d met Stella, and we’d begun to talk about the baby in her particular tummy. He’d taken a look, run a gentle finger over the bump, and then gone back to his truck. So far, so good.

We planned to include him in choosing a colour for the room and picking out soft toys, and we’d start using the baby’s name after today. But it was going to take time for him to absorb and adjust to the idea; that was the advice we’d had from other parents with children on the spectrum. Which meant there was no way he was ready for the reality of a scan this soon.

Mary-Anne, the ultrasound tech, slid the transducer lower on Stella’s belly.

Stella gasped. “Oh my god, is that a leg?”

“Where?” I squinted at the monitor.

“Indeed it is.” Mary-Anne chuckled.

“Oh, shit there!” I squeaked, crushing Reuben’s hand in mine as my heart jumped in my throat. “Look! Look! A leg!”

“I can see, baby, I can see.” Reuben whispered in my ear. “They usually come in pairs so keep a lookout.”

I elbowed him sharply.

“Let’s see what else we can find.” Mary-Anne slid the transducer a little more to the side and Stella’s free hand shot our way, fingers wiggling for connection.

Reuben uncoupled my hand and placed it in Stella’s slender one. I glanced back with a frown as he nudged me forward. “Go on, baby,” he said softly. “I’m right behind you.” He wrapped both arms around my waist and laid his chin on my shoulder.

Colleen held tight to Stella’s other hand, while Stella’s father stood with a hand on his wife’s shoulder and a wad of Kleenex at the ready.

“Aaaand there’s the other leg.” Mary-Anne pointed to the screen. “With the requisite five toes on each foot to match the five fingers apiece on each hand, right there.” She angled the transducer to show the second hand. “And with the head on the side like that, you can see the left eye, a cute-as-a-button nose, and there’s a thumb in that beautiful mouth.”

We all leaned forward, oohed and aahed, and then laughed in chorus.

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