“However,” I said, “I’ll be having a talk with the principal about this boy. If he was stealing something from another child, then he needs to be readily punished for what he was doing. You’re in trouble for biting, but not for standing up to someone, okay? Standing up to bullies is a good thing.”
“A very good thing,” Emma said.
“So I’m not in trouble?” Zoey asked.
“For the biting. Not for standing up to the bully,” Emma said.
“So… okay?” Zoey asked.
My little girl was definitely a little badass.
Emma hugged her and kissed the top of her head before our names were called. I gathered Zoey up in my arms and helped Emma to her feet, then the three of us went back into the obstetrician’s office. The doctor asked the usual questions. How Emma was feeling. What her diet was like. How much sleep she was getting. And I learned a lot about Emma’s existence over the past couple of weeks. Her sleep was restless, her mornings were void of any food because of her nausea, and she was in bed easily by six in the evening. I placed my hand on her knee and squeezed it, wishing I could shoulder some of this burden with her.
I couldn’t imagine still having to work while experiencing what she was going through physically.
Emma worked her way onto a table and rolled her shirt up. Zoey was sitting on the edge of the table and I was holding Emma’s hand. The doctor squirted some nasty blue gel on her stomach, and she flinched at the contact. The doctor waved the wand around as the ultrasound screen came to life, and the pictures moved and changed before I could see them clearly. Zoey watched the screen carefully and Emma squeezed my hand. I could tell she was frightened, but I didn’t know why.
Was there something she already knew that she hadn’t told me yet?
I ran my thumb along her skin, trying to settle her grip. But the more the doctor pushed and took pictures, the tighter she clung. Pulsating sounds emanated from the speaker system as the doctor smiled, and I watched tears rise to Emma’s eyes.
“Hear that?” the doctor asked.
“I do,” I said.
“That’s your child’s heartbeat.”
“Wait, a baby?” Zoey asked.
I kissed the top of her head as I tried to keep my own tears at bay.
The screen moved and undulated as small pictures popped up. Little things that looked like jumping beans scattered across the screen. I furrowed my brow as Emma’s face fell, and Zoey’s eyes danced wildly along the black and white pictures.
Then, the doctor nodded and turned towards us.
“Well, here’s the good news. Despite all of the exhaustion and nausea, things look good for your triplets.”
Reality stopped at that moment as Emma’s arm went lax.
“They look healthy from what I can see,” the doctor said as he moved the wand around, “and from the looks of it, they might all be identical.”
“What?” Zoey asked.
I couldn't speak. Couldn’t think straight.
He had to be kidding.
“That means three,” the doctor said with a smile. “Three babies growing right here.”
He tapped Emma’s stomach with the wand and I watched her face pale.
“Miss Emma’s growing three lifes!?” Zoey asked. “She’s gonna get really big!”
I teetered on my feet as the doctor pulled up a clear picture. Three little sacs tumbling about, each with a small bean in them. Three little lives.
Three little children my Emma was growing.
“Are they gonna bust out of her tummy like aliens?” Zoey asked.