Their time finally came, and they followed a nurse down the hall to a private room. Katie put on the provided gown. Then they waited again, this time for the doctor. Chase paced back and forth while she sat on the exam table, a screaming mess inside.
The doctor came in talking faster than Katie’s brain could register the words. She let them pass over her head. All she cared about was getting the sonogram and hearing about her baby’s progress.
Chase held her hand while the doctor squirted the cold gel on her stomach and got the machine ready.
And there it was on the screen, her baby. She’d wanted to have the sonogram at an earlier time, but the doctor told her they had wait for her to be eighteen weeks along. The waiting was terrible, but it was worth it. Looking at the screen made the baby very real to her. Her baby’s sweet little face was beautiful, and she couldn’t wait to hold him or her.
She turned to Chase, wanting to share the incredible moment with him. Surprise nearly made her gasp. His eyes were damp. He blinked a few times, his eyes fixed on the screen. She squeezed his hand, and he tore his attention from the monitor with obvious reluctance. They locked gazes, and she thought she could see love in his eyes. That was their baby, part him and part her. Having him beside her made it less scary, and she was so glad he’d insisted on coming.
“Can you tell if it’s a boy or a girl?” she asked.
The doctor nodded. “Do you want to know?”
They answered simultaneously.
“No,” he said.
“Yes,” she said.
They looked at each other in surprise. It never occurred to her that they should talk about it before the sonogram. She just assumed they both wanted to know the gender of their child beforehand.
“Don’t you want it to be a surprise?” Chase asked.
“Knowing will make it easier to decorate the nursery, not to mention choosing a name. If we find out today, we only have to think of boy names or girl names and not both.”
He nodded. “You’re right. That makes sense.”
“If you don’t want to know, we can wait.”
“You’re the kid’s mother, so we’ll go with what you want.”
That didn’t seem fair. She opened her mouth to protest again, but Chase was already turning to the doctor with their decision. He gestured for the woman to tell them.
“You are having a baby girl. Congratulations.” The doctor stood and picked up Katie’s file. “I’ll leave you alone for a few minutes so you can get dressed, and I’ll get you a picture of the baby that you can take home with you.”
Katie felt her heart swell to three times its normal size. She stared at her baby on the monitor and tried to imagine holding her little girl in her arms. The sad thing was, she didn’t see Chase in that make-believe picture. Despite his reaction to seeing their baby on the screen, she didn’t believe he’d changed his mind about not wanting children. A real change would take a while... if it ever happened.
The doctor left the room, and Katie said, “We need to settle on a name before she’s born.”
“Do you really want my input? I just figured you’d name her yourself. I thought you probably already had something in mind.”
He still didn’t get it. They’d created a life together, and she wanted him to be involved in every aspect, starting with naming her. That is... if he wanted to be involved. So far, he hadn’t had much to say on the subject.
“Of course, I’m not going to name her on my own. I wouldn’t want to pick something you hate.”
“I’m sure whatever you choose will be great.”
She frowned at him. “What about Mildred? I had an aunt named Mildred. Like it?”
His lips twitched. “That is a dangerous game you’re playing, Mrs. Grayson. What if I loved the name Mildred? Then what?”
“Smartypants.”
That made him laugh.
She shot him a glare, and he laughed harder.
“Will you pull it together before the doctor gets back?” She finished putting her clothes on. “I don’t want her to think I married a total nutter.”