“Carolina Moore?”
We both looked over at the nurse who ushered us into a room. Carolina slid her jacket off her shoulders, and I took it quickly, along with her purse, and gave her an encouraging smile.
“Your husband can stand on the other side of the bed.” The nurse pointed to where I was supposed to go as Carolina and I both spoke.
“He’s not—”
“I’m not—”
“There.” The nurse said in a tone that suggested she didn’t care who I was; I just needed to get out of her way. So, I did.
Carolina and I both remained still as we stared at the screen while the nurse pushed her shirt up, squirting a gob of gel onto her belly. She brought the wand over, sliding it around slowly. The room fell into silence as we both waited with bated breath for the news. The nurse, for her part, was totally unaware of the growing tension.
I reached out with my free hand to take Carolina’s, giving it another squeeze of encouragement as I tilted to the side just slightly so I could see what the nurse was seeing. I didn’t know what she was looking for, but the sea of white on the black screen looked like a toddler had gone to town with chalk.
And then I saw it. A small blob that was unmistakably human. A small heartbeat made peaks at the bottom of the screen, and a wide smile broke across my face. Carolina was watching me, and when I smiled, she sighed in relief, relaxing against the bed.
“Do you want to know the gender?” The nurse looked over at both of us.
Carolina nodded tentatively. “Yes, we’d really like that.”
“Congratulations, you’re having a daughter—and a son.”