Page 28 of Say I'm Yours, Firecracker

“What?” she said, and I realized I’d just been staring at her for the better part of the past five minutes.

“You said our baby.”

“Well it is our baby.” Her eyes bounced between mine, brows furrowed. “Are you okay? I know Regina can be…”

“I’m great.” I interrupt because I do not want to think about that woman and her threat. The expression on her face was filled with mirth and she finished getting settled, tucking a blue sheet of paper into her panties.

“What’s the napkin for?” I asked. genuinely curious.

Ronnie laughed and it was light and melodic, “So the gel doesn’t get on my undies.”

“Oh.”

I couldn’t think of anything else to say, so we sat there, in comfortable silence and it hit me that I was about to see the little human we made together. I didn’t know what to expect and I started to get a bit nervous that I might embarrass her.

There was a knock on the door and when Ronnie answered with a shouted “come in”, a woman with deep copper skin, dressed in a yellow dress swept into the room. Her eyes lit up when she looked at Ronnie and when they focused on me she offered her hand.

“I’m doctor Ashton Steele.” Her hands were strong and I didn’t know why that surprised me.

“Finn Hart.” I offered, even though I was pretty sure she knew who I was.

“It’s very nice to meet you, Finn. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

She embraced Ronnie in a quick hug and set up the machine on the other side of her. She squeezed a clear, jelly-like substance all over Ronnie’s exposed skin and I tried not to look as confused as I felt.

“We’re going to go ahead and do the anatomy scan today. It’s a little early, but with your condition I don’t want to wait.”

My mind got stuck on the ‘condition’ part of her statement. What condition was Ronnie in? Or was it the baby? Why hadn’t we talked about this?

Ronnie’s hand slipped out to grip mine, effectively pulling my mind from the racing questions. “Can we skip the gender?”

“Why?” I said at the same time the doctor said, “Of course.”

“I want it to be a surprise.” She whispered, her hand gently squeezing mine. I didn’t say anything, thinking instead about having a boy or a girl. The lists that started in my head began to fill.

The sound was unlike anything I had ever heard. Like I was underwater, ears filled with hushed sounds, listening to the propeller of a boat chopping at water. It was difficult to describe, but I found it soothing to my ears.

It was an odd sound, but unmistakably the baby's rapid heartbeat. I’d heard it a thousand times watching as many YouTube videos on birth as I could. Tears pricked behind my eyes, and I swiped them with my thumb and forefinger before looking at the monitor.

The grainy image reflected our baby, the curve of its little nose, how it moved as if suspended in time, it didn’t seem real.

Dr. Ashton was rattling off the things they checked during the scan while the machine started to print out screenshots of the ultrasound. I couldn’t see much else because my eyes hadn’t been able to leave the television screen showcasing the growing being inside of Ronnie.

My chest squeezed and my lungs felt too big for my body all at once. It hit me again, I’m going to be a father, but I didn’t think I’d feel this. This… fear and anxiety swirling inside me. I had no doubt it was because of the baby on the screen.

I felt like my body could burst with all the emotions clogging my veins. I swiveled my face to Ronnie’s, she’s watching the screen too. Eyes glued to the little black and white being in her body.

“I’m going to do a quick scan of the anatomy, so if you don’t want to be spoiled I can turn the screen off.” Dr. Steele said.

Ronnie nodded and flexed her hand in mine. The screen went black and I eagerly awaited the doctor's words.

“Looks like you two will have a healthy baby. Ronnie, keep doing what you’re doing. Low activity, eat every couple of hours, and lots of rest.”

“I will.” Ronnie assured her.

After they exchanged a few more words the doctor left and Ronnie used the tissues the doctor left and cleaned up the clear jelly liquid off her little bump.

We didn’t speak as we made our way back to the truck. I didn’t trust myself to have the right words after that. I had questions, a lot of them actually.

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