“Let me just….” She leaned toward the screen, adjusted her glass then pulled back again. “No need to worry, Mrs. Rawlins. The babies are completely fine. It’s just that you’re having twins.”
Chelsea turned to Matthew. He had a big, dumb grin on his face. She turned back to the monitor as the doctor pointed the two out. She was right.
“Looks like, a boy and a girl. See? That’s why we couldn’t see the sex before, the second twin is much smaller and curled up against the other. They’re finally getting big enough that she can’t hide anymore though.” The doctor wiped off her belly before turning on the light. “Now that we know you’re having twins, I want you to come in more often. I also want you to stop working by next month. You really need to rest up and the babies could do with gaining a little weight,” she smiled.
Chelsea nodded, her whole body feeling numb. Twins. If things hadn’t been complicated before, they were certainly headed that way now. She finished wiping her belly off with Matthew’s help, before they walked back to the car.
“It’s like the universe is laughing at me?” She said quietly.
Matthew took her hand, gave it a squeeze. “I think it’s beautiful. I’ve always wanted twins.”
Glancing over at Matthew, she felt a little calmness come over her. If he could be that happy, would it really be so bad? She placed a hand against her belly, ran it over both of the babies inside. She smiled. When she was younger, she always said she wanted twins. Maybe she was just getting what she wanted after all.
“I’m calling the realtor tomorrow, I’m sure we can close on the house before you’re due.”
“That would be nice,” she said. Suddenly, the thought of her little apartment was feeling very cramped.
When they got to the apartment, Matthew ordered overpriced Chinese food by the pound. He’d bought another tv for the bedroom so she wouldn’t have to move around on her more sick days. They sat with their feet up, watching a movie filled with guns, swearing and a lot of explosions. Chelsea shook her head.
“I’m not sure this is good for the baby’s.”
“Why not?”
“One of them is kicking the crap out of me.”
Matthew sat his plate down quickly. He dusted his hands off before leaning over, pressing his ear to her stomach. He felt a gentle kick to the side of his face. Chelsea watched as he laughed and did it again, this time talking to them.
“It’s not very nice to kick you daddy, you know. When you get out of there, we might have some problems with each other. Nah, I’m going to love you both so much.”
He continued talking and cooing at the babies as Chelsea felt them move around. Matthew’s warm lips kissed her belly gently. His hand slipped over her skin as he sang to the babies softly. It wasn’t a song she knew, but she didn’t interrupt him until he was done.
“What’s that song?”
“It’s one Mrs. Black used to sing to me. She was from Ireland and had all these cool songs I loved to hear. She was my favorite nanny.”
She bit her lip. It was hard to think about her children loving someone so much that wasn’t her. Chelsea wanted their fond memories to be of her singing, rocking and playing with them, not a stranger. She ran her palm over her belly, as Matthew went back to singing his songs, his lips pressed against her skin.
Chelsea felt as if the next few weeks flew by. Although she hated to do it, she took her leave early. Secretly, she was happy to do it. Her feet were starting to swell. The only thing she wanted was good food and to sleep all day. There was no way she could keep waddling into the office. Especially since the babies seemed to grow rapidly once they found out they were having twins. She was almost eight months pregnant by the time the movers came to settle everything into the new house.
Matthew let her lounge on the couch as she directed the movers where to put everything. She was rubbing her belly, the false contractions were getting worse everyday. Matthew leaned over the back of the couch, feathering kisses on her forehead. He froze when he saw her face looking strained.
“What’s wrong, babe?”
“These damn contractions won’t stop. I’ve drank cold water, walked around, everything,” she gritted her teeth against the next contraction. “I really wish it would stop.”
“Maybe they’re not fake, maybe you’re in labor. I’m taking you to the hospital!”
Chelsea grabbed his arm. “No, I’m fine. I don’t want to be one of those women who keeps going to the hospital thinking she’s in labor. My mom told me all about that.”
As soon as the words had left her mouth, a painful contraction ripped through her body. She cried out as she leaned forward, breathing rapidly against the pain. She felt something trickle from her body.
“Never mind, water just broke. Hopsital. Now.”
Matthew helped her into the car, the whole time she tried to keep him calm. It was odd to her that after all of these months, he was the one freaking out now. He was going on and on about they didn’t have cribs, they hadn’t brought car-seats yet, they were coming too early.