Chapter 42

“Eden, please, stop shaking. You’re making me nervous.”

“But I'm nervous.” I sigh, trying to keep my knee under control while waiting to be called back. This is the doctor’s appointment we’ve been waiting weeks for, and it’s finally here. We get to find out the gender of the baby. No matter what it is, I’m going to be thrilled…but I'll be over the moon for a girl.

Jasper and Harper are sitting in the waiting room with me, and I’m so lucky that both of them are here. I would have felt weird not having Harper here for support. I’m glad he wanted to come. I know this can be an odd thing, given the circumstances. However, it was Harper who beat us to the car when we were leaving the house. I guess he’s excited to be an uncle.

As we’re sitting there, Harper flips through a parenting magazine, criticizing all of the articles, claiming Davina did none of the things he’s reading and they turned out fine. Yeah, barely. I definitely won’t be looking to Davina for parenting advice, even though she calls almost every day offering a tip or two. The baby isn’t even born yet, and she’s been asking about preschools. She’s a madwoman, even more so now than she was before.

On the other hand, my mom is as cool as a cucumber because she accepts that she’s never been Mother of the Year. Heck, when it was time for me to start preschool, she opened the phone book and enrolled me in the first one closest to our house, not caring about whether it was a good school or not. She claims that no amount of money can make a child smart. They either are or aren’t. It’s a farfetched philosophy, but I see where she’s coming from. I can spend thousands on the right school, but it won’t help my kid get into Columbia or Yale any easier.

I just want my kid to be happy. I can instill in them all kinds of worldly knowledge, but I also want to make sure my kid has compassion and kindness for others. Those kinds of lessons start at home. If there's one thing my mom did teach me, it's never be an asshole to someone, especially over something they can’t change in a day.

Finally, my name is called, and when all three of us stand, the medical assistant’s eyes widen.

“All of you are coming to the back?”

“Yeah.” I smile and she nods, forming her opinion of us in her mind before we even get to her.

She leads us to the exam room, and after she checks my vitals, I sit on the table, waiting for the ultrasound tech. In the quiet, cold room, we sit in silence as the clock on the wall ticks louder than usual. I don’t know why we’re so on edge about this. It’s not like we’re finding out something monumental. It’s just the gender, but good news is better than any other kind of news, considering everything that’s been going on.

When the door handle turns, my heart nearly jumps out of my throat. The ultrasound tech talks to Jasper and me for a moment, and out of the corner of my eye, I see Harper checking her out. I want to roll my eyes as he leans back in the chair, staring at her ass, but I find it hilarious. I wouldn’t be surprised if he tried to get her number at the end of the appointment.

Once it’s time to get the show on the road, I lie back and she pours the warm goo on my tummy. She puts the transducer on my stomach, and I nearly hold my breath as she looks at the screen.

“Okay, let’s hear your baby’s heartbeat first, then we’ll move on from there,” she chimes, moving the handle around until we all hear a loud thumping noise. We all listen in awe to the baby’s heartbeat. It almost makes me cry. Jasper squeezes my hand, and when I look over, he looks like he wants to tell the woman to hurry it up but is biting his tongue.

The tech fills us in on the baby's size, telling us that things are on track and that the baby is doing fine. Great, now tell us what the gender of the baby is before Jasper tries to do it himself. His impatience is amusing.

“Okay, let’s get to the fun stuff. Any guesses on the gender?”

“It’s a girl,” I blurt out and Jasper snorts.

“The heir to the King empire is a boy,” he says, making the woman laugh.

“I’m just the uncle,” Harper points out, smiling up at the tech when she glances over at him.

She moves the handle around a bit before finding what she’s looking for.

“Okay, Eden, it looks like you are having a baby…girl!”

I nearly jump off the table in joy. Turning to Jasper, I see his eyes are wide and excited. Harper claps as Jasper kisses the side of my head.

“We’re having a baby girl. She’s going to be beautiful, just like her mama,” he whispers in my ear, causing me to tear up.

The tech turns the screen around, showing us our baby girl, and gives us a chance to marvel over the news, turning to chat with Harper. She’s falling into his magnetic trap and will no doubt slip him her number before we leave.

Before leaving, we get pictures of the baby and my next appointment date. Of course, before leaving, Harper “forgets” something in the exam room, going back to get it. When he comes back to the lobby, there is a massive smile on his face.

“Got the digits,” he shares.

“You are terrible.” I roll my eyes and he chuckles.

“What can I say? I’m a lovable guy.” Harper shrugs as we leave.

We grab lunch before heading home, and when I text Quinn the news, she seems happy for me. I’ve limited how much I talk about the baby so I don’t cause her more sadness than she already has to deal with. She’s still recovering and says that she’s started going back to therapy to deal with the loss. However, when I tell her that I’m having a girl, she offers to go shopping with me to start buying cute clothes. I’m excited to spend time with her. As unfortunate as it was, the accident brought us closer together.

At home, I call Gary and Stacy on Facetime to let them know at the same time. They both scream into the phone, congratulating Jasper and me. Before hanging up, Gary yells that he’s going to order himself and the baby matching tiaras. Right before the call ends, Stacy asks why she doesn’t get a tiara. Laughing, I set the phone down and give my belly a little rub.

I can’t believe I’m having a baby girl. I also can’t believe that I’m halfway through my pregnancy already. These 20 weeks have flown by due to the overwhelming drama we’ve dealt with. Now, I’m just ready to have my baby in my arms.

As we’re all resting on the sofa, we talk about how we’re going to invite our mothers over to let them know the news. We have to plan it quickly, or they will kick down the front door just to find out. My mom and Davina have been pressing the issue for days, and I’m ready to put them out of their misery.

“My mom is going to cry her eyes out. She’s going to live through my baby.”

“Your mom? Our mom will start donating to her choice of Ivy League schools to ensure that this baby gets first dibs.”

“Psycho grandmas.” Harper shakes his head.

As we talk about the baby, I can’t help but feel like this whole situation is bittersweet. I’m so excited for the baby to come, but when she does, Harper is going to leave. The more I think about it, the sadder it makes me. I haven’t brought it up because I don’t want to be a Debby Downer, but it’s always playing at the back of my mind. I went a short time without Harper in this house, but am I ready for him to live clear across the country?

“What’s wrong, baby?” Jasper asks when he sees the conflicted look on my face.

“Nothing, just zoning out. Pregnancy brain.” I let out a small laugh, but when I look at Harper, it’s like he can read my mind.

He takes my hand, kissing the back of it.

“Everything is going to be great.” He smiles and I really do believe it.

“I know.” I look at him, his eyes burning into mine. “This baby is so lucky to have so many people around who love her.”

It’s then that I feel a strong flutter from her moving inside my belly, reassuring me that things will be fine. I hope.