Page 47 of Pieces of Us
The door opens, and the technician walks into the room. I try to put my game face on, but I’m not sure how long that will last.
“Hi there, I’m Megan.” She shakes our hands. “Are we ready to see a baby today?”
“I think so.” Mel smiles at me.
The nurse proceeds to prep Melonie, then turns on the screen. She types in some information, then I see the screen change. I glance at Mel and she’s just watching the monitor.
I move my eyes back up to the screen, and that’s when I see it.
Holy. Fucking. Shit.
Just like the apps said, it doesn’t even look human, but that’s our child. My eyes fill with tears, and I grab Mel’s hand. Her head turns and our eyes meet, and I blow out a long breath. She forms a tight smile and squeezes my hand, then looks back at the monitor. I know the nurse is speaking, pointing at things in the image, but I don’t hear any of it. I just know I’m looking at my future.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Melonie
The nurse prints out pictures for us and leaves the room. I put myself back together and sit up.
I focus on Linc. “Are you okay?”
Seeing the baby and then seeing him start to break down has my eyes wet, too. I grab two tissues and pass one to him. Linc stands up from his chair and steps in between my legs, and wraps his arms around me. “I’m okay. Are you okay?”
“I’m really good.” He releases me, and I pick up one of the prints. “It hardly looks like anything, but it’s the cutest thing in the world.”
Linc looks at the picture in my hand and wipes his eyes with the tissue. “I can’t look at it without crying.”
“You’re sweet with your emotions.” I look into his eyes. “You’re going to be a good dad, Linc.”
He looks at me, brushing my hair over my shoulder, and I allow myself to stay in the moment, let him touch me. His eyes dart back and forth between mine, and I can’t stop myself from looking at his mouth. I’m surprised when the want to feel his lips against mine rushes through me. When I look back up, it’s like he had read my mind, lowering his lips to mine. The kiss is purely innocent, just a moment between two people who just saw the human they created.
His lips leave mine and he opens his eyes. “Thank you, Mel. Thank you for carrying our child. I know it’s a crazy situation, but I’m so excited to be a dad, and I think you’re going to be an amazing mom.”
I scan his face, thinking I’m looking for any doubt, any apprehension about this baby, but I just can’t find it. I wish I had a pen and paper right now, because my mind begins to run through the pros and cons of moving in with him. Even though the cons feel heavy, the pros outweigh them. I’ll have help; he will be there for everything; there will be space for the baby, and I really do feel like he’s all in with this. It scares me to death to think of relying on him, but I should at least give him the chance to show me he can step up. And maybe it’s time for me to allow someone to care for me.
I shift on the table; he steps back, and I hop down. We walk down the hall to meet the Obstetrician and to finish my exam.
We walk out the doors of the medical building, and Linc walks me to my car.
“Thank you for letting me come along.”
“Sorry that the second half wasn’t as fun as the first.” I laugh, thinking of how uncomfortable he was while the doctor did my exam.
“Yeah, that certainly was something to witness.” He shakes his head. He might be scarred for life.
We stop at my car door, and I turn to face him. “I’ve been thinking. What if we do a trial run on moving in together?”
His face lights up like a child at Christmas. “Really? You’ve thought about it?”
I nod my head and look down at the keys in my hand. “Yeah. We could do a six-month lease and see how it goes. I’m not making any promises, but we could try it out.”
“We could do that.”
“Okay. What time do you have to be back at work?”
“I took the whole afternoon. I don’t have anywhere to be.”
“Want to go talk to your leasing people?”
