“I think they kicked because they were agreeing with me,” Eddie tells me with a smug little smile on his handsome face, lightly chuckling as my eyes roll and my head shakes, refusing to accept that my little babies are already taking their father’s side over mine.
“It was just a coincidence,” I try my best to argue his logic. “I’m the one that’s growing them in my belly, so they should know that I won’t stop until I come up with something for you.”
Of course, our little baby’s first kick couldn’t have come at a worse time for me, knowing that my dear Eddie would hold it against me as the funniest thing in the world for the rest of my pregnancy.
I just can’t believe how perfect the timing is for him, as annoying and hilarious as it is to think for a second that our twin girls actually sided with their daddy while in the womb.
“Well,” Eddie says, letting his hair brush gently across my belly. “You should know that I’m never leaving your side again now that the baby is kicking, too,” he tells me very seriously. “I never want to miss a single one of their kicks. They’re just incredible. I still can’t believe we made them.”
“You’re not coming with me to the bathroom,” I tell my dear husband. “Those are the kicks, my dear, that unfortunately, you might just have to miss out on, I’m afraid.”
“It wouldn’t be so bad,” Eddie hedges, grinning slowly from ear to ear.
“It’s not happening,” I assure him. I can’t hold back my smile, though, and I shake my head at him.
Eddie’s eyes roll as he taps against the top of his head. He says, thoughtfully, “I wonder if there are things that you can do to encourage babies to kick more. Do you think me tracing around your belly helped at all? I think that’s why it happened the first time.”
“Even if it didn’t help the baby, it helped me,” I admit, letting him cup my face in his big hand. His thumb caresses my skin gently. “I’ve lost count of the number of times you do this has helped ease some of my pain. It really does help.”
“I don’t want you to kick, though, I want the baby,” Eddie says with a groan. He’s joking and his hand is still touching my cheek with a soft sort of peaceful caress.
I let out a snort, and my hand hits the top of Eddie’s head once again as he continues to tease me. I do manage to lift my leg up by some miracle, reaching across to kick it against Eddie’s side gently, making sure that he knows that I’m more than capable of kicking him too.
“I didn’t even do anything to you,” Eddie complains with a laugh, grinning up at me. “I think pregnancy is making you feisty. I mean, you really will attack your poor husband for anything these days. Unwarranted aggression, really.”
I shrug my shoulders innocently as Eddie holds my hand in his own. “Think about it this way, baby. Maybe me kicking you will encourage the baby to kick more because they can see how it’s done. Smart, right? I think so.”
“You definitely can’t use our baby kicking as an excuse to kick me more,” Eddie snorts, kissing my hand affectionately. “My little troublemakers. You and the babies both.”
My foot reaches to him again, but Eddie quickly sits up and grabs it to hold onto it, stopping me in my tracks. A laugh bubbles up from my lips as he places my leg back down, moving so that he can rub the tired sole of my sock-covered foot in his expert hands, gripping me gently.
I can’t help but sigh, tipping my head back. He keeps going until I’m nearly asleep, which I’m sure was his plan all along. I can’t stop him from touching my belly if I’m too busy sleeping.
His other hand still continues to trace circles over my belly, desperate for a little something from our babies. I think he already feels connected to them, just like I do.
“No movement as of yet,” Eddie teases me. Then his voice goes soft. “I love you so damn much, Kathleen.”
“I love you,” I tell him, pushing every ounce of affection I can into the words.
“I wonder how many kicks we’ll be able to feel over the next few months,” Eddie whispers to me as if we’re sharing a secret that only we’re aware of. “I wonder too whether they kick for certain things, like do they kick harder when they’re uncomfortable or tired?
“Eddie,” I stop him gently, grabbing his hand to press it to my belly. “There, see?”
The baby kicks at his hand, and Eddie has tears in his eyes when he looks reverently back up at me.
“But what did I do? I don’t get it.” Eddie shakes his head, sounding so happy but so confused.
The babies thump gently against my belly, and I finally understand it perfectly. It’s so beautiful that I can’t seem to control my emotions, letting them flow from me.
“I think, my love,” I whisper, letting the tears slip down my cheeks. Eddie looks up at me in awe. “That our babies just like the sound of your voice.”
EPILOGUE
TWO YEARS LATER
Eddie
My car seems to push its way through the countryside, driving slowly but surely through the valleys of autumn-brown hills and the far-off red and orange of the Blue Ridge Mountains.