Tyler watched the screen with a touch of disbelief. It didn’t look anything like a baby. And yet, his focus narrowed in on the image as if everything else in the room ceased to exist. Up until this moment, the baby had still been a vague concept to him, a challenge he had to face head-on. He’d accepted its existence and had planned how he would care for it when it arrived, but it was still an idea. Suddenly seeing it on the screen made it a person—a tiny little person that he and Amelia had made.
“Wow,” Tyler said.
Amelia turned to him and smiled. “Look what we did.” Her cheeks were flushed pink and she had glassy tears in her eyes.
Truthfully, he was fighting the same reaction himself. Tyler gripped her hand tightly as the doctor took size measurements and put information into the system.
“What is that little flicker of movement there?” Tyler pointed at the screen. For the most part, the baby was still, but a small section seemed to be pulsing.
“That is the heart beating,” the doctor said. “It looks good, too. Nice and strong, considering how early it is.”
“Can we hear it?” Amelia asked.
“It’s too early to pick up with the Doppler, but it should certainly be audible when you come back in four weeks for your next checkup. That will give you two something to look forward to. Laura is going to print out a couple shots of the ultrasound images for you to take home and show the grandparents,” the doctor said. “It’s your baby’s first picture.”
A soft sigh slipped through Amelia’s lips as she watched the blurry image. The expression of awe on her face had faded to a faint sadness. Maybe Tyler only noticed it because he knew her so well. It was no surprise that the doctor’s words would distress her. A lot of these early milestones in the baby’s development would go uncelebrated by friends and family. The excitement, the hugs, the discussion of baby showers and nursery furniture... There would be none of that, at least for now. At some point they would make the happy announcement of her pregnancy to their parents, but would it be tempered by the news that they weren’t marrying or even in love?
Little Bean’s grandparents would have to wait awhile before they got to learn about his or her existence, much less see the ultrasound photos. Everything would stay under wraps for at least another twenty-two days while he and Amelia figured out what they were doing.
“Okay, we’re done here,” the doctor said. He helped Amelia sit up and scoot back on the table. “You can go ahead and get dressed, then Laura will bring you back to my office, where we can go over the new-pregnancy packet and you can ask any questions you might have.”
They thanked the doctor and Tyler waited outside while Amelia redressed. The meeting with the doctor was pretty short. All their questions seemed to vanish when they were put on the spot, but the doctor laughed and said that was common. That was why they sent parents away with all the paperwork that would answer the questions they remembered once they got home.
When they got back into the car to leave, Tyler noticed Amelia flipping through the massive package with a wide-eyed expression of panic. “There’s a lot of stuff in here to read.”
“We’ll go over it tonight. What do you say we go by the bookstore and pick up some of those baby books you wanted? Then we can get some Chinese takeout, and we can spread all of it across the bed and go through it together. How does that sound?”
“Better,” she said with a soft smile. Amelia might be worried about what they faced, but the idea of tackling this together seemed to soothe her concerns for the moment. “Thank you. There’s just a lot to think about.”
“Sure. But we can handle it. Humans have done it for thousands of years, and most of them without books or handouts to help them. It will be just fine.” Tyler tried to think of a distraction, and the weight of the box in his coat pocket reminded him he had a gift for her. He’d had it for a couple days but hadn’t found the right time to give it to her yet. “I’ve got a surprise for you.”
She set the paperwork aside and looked at him suspiciously. Amelia wasn’t big on surprises, good or bad. “Will I like this surprise?”
“I think so. I bought you something at the Travis auction the other day.”
Amelia’s nose wrinkled. “I have enough jewelry, Tyler. I know that’s your business, but I don’t know what to do with all the pieces you’ve already given me.”
“It’s not jewelry.” He pulled the long, narrow box from his lapel pocket.
“It looks like jewelry,” she argued as she took it from him.
Tyler watched her open the box, revealing the delicate silver spoon inside. It had a long, thin handle with a grip designed to look like a crescent-shaped man in the moon. A small diamond was embedded in the eye of the moon. “What do you think?”
Amelia’s brow knit together as she examined the box, but no words came. She lifted it, turning the spoon in her fingers and examining the excruciatingly detailed handle.
“It was a gift to Patty from Elvis Presley when she had her first son, Martin. I thought you might like it. You said I wasn’t allowed to get any furniture or things like that until after we make it out of the first trimester, but this is a little thing. I hope you don’t mind.”
“No, I don’t mind. It’s beautiful.” She ran her fingertip over it and placed it back in the box. “Thank you.”
He noticed a hesitation in her. He’d noticed it a lot lately. She seemed to second-guess everything he did outside of the bedroom. “But?” he pressed.
“Well,” she s
aid with a smile, “I just never dreamed I’d have a baby born with a silver spoon in its mouth.”
* * *
“These are super yum. I vote for Tasty Temptations.”