Chapter 19: Twilight Time
The White Rabbit's song from Alice in Wonderland had been stuck in Wanda's head for a week. It was Pietra's favorite movie as a kid; they watched it on DVD so many times that they had to buy another one when the first grew scratched from all the wear and tear. Wanda had all the songs memorized by the time she was eight. Her own personal favorite was Painting the Roses Red. But she hadn't seen the movie in ages, nor heard any of the music. This song came to her for an entirely different reason.
Oh, my fur and whiskers!
I'm late, I'm late, I'm late.
I'm late, I'm late
For a very important date
No time to say hello, goodbye!
I'm late, I'm late, I'm late.
No, no, no, no, no, no, no
I'm overdue, I'm really in a stew
No time to say goodbye, hello!
I'm late, I'm late, I'm late.
Every time she went to bathroom, went to bed, woke up, or changed clothes and still didn't find anything, the song started anew. Wanda wasn't quite as panicky about the whole situation as the White Rabbit, but this kind of late had an entirely different set of consequences, the most important of which depended on what popped up on this stick's little window. Wanda held her breath, saw two lines, and immediately knew that she must've wanted this because her heartrate quickened, not with fear, but with excitement. They certainly hadn't been trying to make this happen—in fact, she could think of only one or two instances that could've possibly led to this—so fate must've wanted this for them. She couldn't wait to tell Victor!
Wait, wait, wait—how would she tell Victor? Wanda didn't want to do something boring, but she knew she couldn't keep this secret for long, so she needed a plan, and fast. She picked up the phone to call Natasha to ask for advice, only to immediately put it back down. It didn't feel right to brag about this great news to someone who'd never get the opportunity to return the favor. With a sigh, Wanda sat down and rested her head on her hand. Natasha was the only person she'd ever consider telling before Victor—besides Pietra, obviously.
So she decided to tell Pietra.
She dug around in her little drawer of jewelry for Pietra's favorite ring, sat back down, and twirled it between her fingers. "I haven't done this in a while, P. But it's been a while since anything has felt this important." Wanda hadn't spoken aloud to her sister since she and Victor got married last year. "I should probably see a doctor to confirm, but I'm, like, ninety percent sure I'm pregnant. Which means in about nine months there's going to be a little baby who's half me, which means they'll technically be half you too. I hope they look like you. It would be great to see your face somewhere other than the mirror."
That was all she'd planned to say initially, but now that she was talking, she didn't want to stop. "I know you would've made the world's best aunt. Although I'm not sure how sex would've worked if we were still conjoined," she continued with a laugh. "Or a pregnancy, for that matter. Frankly, I'm not sure how a pregnancy works when it's just me, but I have plenty of time to figure that out. I'm really excited, Pietra. Victor and I talked about kids before, but not that seriously, and we weren't even really trying, but now that this might be happening I'm so excited for us. The house should be done by then and we can really make a nursery there that we know is going to be occupied soon.
"I've been looking at nursery decorations ever since we started this house, and now I'm glad I did. I'm going to paint a stork on the wall and get a butterfly mobile. Do you think that'd be cute?" She paused. "Yeah, you'd be all over it. Thanks for listening."
Wanda spent the rest of the afternoon listening to Alice in Wonderland songs and doing more nursery décor research. By the time Victor got home, she was bouncing on the balls of her feet. She'd formulated a loose plan for how to tell him, but the part about playing it cool flew out the window as soon as he walked through the door.
"What's going on?" he asked when she raced up to greet him.
"Do you know any games that work well for three players?" she asked with none of her intended nonchalance.
"What? Why?"
"Just answer the question."
"I dunno. Scrabble? Dominos? Why do you ask?"
"Take a guess."
"Did Parker put you up to this?"
"No."
"Natasha?"
"No. I'm asking only for myself. Do you know any games that work well for three players?"
"Why three?"
"Well, there's the two of us, and…" she bit her lip and smiled knowingly.
"Tony?"
"Nope. I'm thinking someone a little closer to home."
"Darling, I'm afraid I'm not following."
"Don't worry, you have about nine months to figure it out."
"Nine months?" That concrete number finally made it click. Victor's eyes lit up. "Are you serious?"
Wanda nodded.
"You're pregnant?"
"I think so. I'm a month late and I just took a positive test."
"Wow. That's…that's great."
"Are you excited?"
"Excited?" He grabbed both of her hands and squeezed them tight. "Wanda, I'm positively tickled."
They locked eyes and grinned wider than Wanda thought possible. Ever since she lost Pietra, she'd longed for her family to feel complete. It never would, not without her sister, but having a child with Victor was probably as close as she'd ever get.
~0~
Wanda made an appointment with Dr. Goodner, her OB-GYN, as soon as possible after the home test came back positive. It only confirmed what she already knew. She and Victor were beyond excited. Dr. Goodner estimated she was about seven or eight weeks along, scheduled her for her first ultrasound at the twelve-week mark, and graciously answered Wanda's many, many questions. By the end of the appointment, she was both reassured and doubly excited. This was really happening. There was going to be a child brought into this world that was a combination of her and Victor. This time next year, she'd be a mom, as long as everything went well. Which it would.
When Victor got home from work, she told him all about it, watching his smile grow as the spoke. "Simon's middle name is William," he said without preamble.
Wanda knew exactly what train of thought had led him to that comment. She ran a hand over her belly. This baby would need a name, and it would be nice for them to carry a piece of the uncle they'd never meet. "Pietra's is Thomasina," she added.
"That's beautiful."
"You're going to laugh when I tell you what it means."
"So tell me."
She grinned. "I want to see if you can guess it."
"Do I get any hints?"
"It's my middle name too."
"Oh, interesting. Hmm…does it mean beautiful?"
"Good guess," she said with a grin. "But no."
"Red-haired?"
"This color is fake and you know it."
"I thought maybe your parents had a sense of irony."
"They don't."
"Okay, I give up. What does it mean?"
"Twin."
"You're joking."
"No, I'm not. You can look it up. It's Aramaic."
"So your parents do have a sense of humor."
"I guess so. Kids at school used to make fun of us for it."
"They clearly can't appreciate a good name when they see it."
"So what I'm hearing is that we're going to have a bit of a disagreement."
"Pardon?"
She rubbed her belly again. "William? Or Thomas?"
"Both of those sound so formal. Whichever we choose, can we call him Billy? Or Tommy?"
"Sure, we can call him Tommy."
"Billy." Victor took a step towards her.
"Tommy." Wanda continued to close the distance.
"Billy." Their noses were almost touching.
"Tommy." She scrunched up her nose and almost bopped Victor's with it. He flinched, but ended up laughing. "I guess there's only one thing to do," Wanda proposed. "Hope for a girl."
~0~
Amidst all the excitement of the new baby, construction on their new house in Westview was completed. Wanda had refused to see the inside of the house until it was all done. She let Victor handle it every time the builders needed their approval. Only the magical before and after interested her; she didn't care to see all the nitty-gritty in between. Victor, on the other hand, was fascinated by the process. Most nights she found him reading up on framing, drywall, tile, vinyl versus hardwood flooring, and all sorts of homebuilding techniques that went way over her head.
Now, the house was complete—except for furnishings—and Victor led her up to the front door, bouncing on the balls of his feet in anticipation. They found on the porch a housewarming gift from their neighbor: a little houseplant wrapped in a purple ribbon with a note welcoming them to the neighborhood. "How sweet," Wanda remarked. She closed her eyes as Victor opened the door, not wanting to spoil the reveal. "Okay, you can look now," he prompted. She opened her eyes and swept her gaze over the gorgeous dark wood floors towards the white trim and columns of the fireplace and the walls painted the exact shades of blue and gray they'd chosen together.
"Wow."
Visions of their future here dances before her eyes. Stoking a fire in that fireplace on cold winter's nights. Flipping pancakes in the kitchen on Sunday morning. A little pair of feet pounding down that staircase to avoid being late for school. The excitement nearly overwhelmed her.
"What do you think?" Victor asked, grabbing her hand.
"It's beautiful."
"Come on, let's see the rest of it." He dragged her through the kitchen. Wanda smiled at the dark countertops (Victor's selection), the red window treatments (her selection), the cabinets and the tile backsplash (which they'd chosen together). She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, already smelling paprikash. They walked through the three bedrooms, one of which would soon become the nursery.
Wanda pointed to a wall. "Let's paint the stork there."
"That's perfect," Victor agreed.
"We should probably order furniture soon."
"Yes, I suppose we should."
An idea popped into her head. "In the meantime," Wanda began. She quickly cued up something on her phone and guided Victor back downstairs to the middle of the empty family room, about where the sofa would eventually sit.
"What's going on?" he asked.
"Just follow my lead." Wanda put her hands up and waited for him to decide if he wanted to participate. He laced his fingers through hers and stepped closer so her other hand rested on his shoulder. Victor recognized the song within the first two seconds. Wanda saw in his face the instant he realized exactly what they were doing. "Twilight Time" was the first song they'd ever danced to together. She remembered the moment vividly.
They'd shared a hotel room for a Twinless Twins convention in Scotland when she was sixteen, Victor seventeen. Neither of their parents knew about it. The last night before they had to return home, they'd been taking turns playing songs for each other. Victor's music taste consisted of a bizarre combination of classical and techno/EDM. Wanda spent a solid five minutes laughing at him for it, and then he demanded she play the most obscure track from her personal favorites. She immediately pulled up the Platters and her favorite song of theirs. Her entire life, she'd loved the aesthetic of 1950s America—mostly because of her endless rewatches of Papa's Dick van Dyke Show DVD collection—and their music just so perfectly embodied that era. Victor had listened through the first verse, and then invited her to dance. There was barely any floor space in the tiny room, so they just moved in tiny circles until Victor tripped and sent them both tumbling onto the bed.
Wanda hadn't felt such happiness since before her sister died.
They had much more room in this house than that tiny hotel room, and they took full advantage of it. Victor's dancing skills had also improved immensely since then. Neither of them even looked where they were going, too lost in each other's eyes. Wanda let the words and the notes wash over her as she wished for this moment would last forever.
Here in the afterglow of day
We keep our rendezvous beneath the blue
Here in the sweet and same old way
I fall in love again as I did then
Deep in the dark, your kiss will thrill me
Like days of old
Lighting the spark of love that fills me
With dreams untold
Each day I pray for evening
Just to be with you
Together at last at twilight time
Together at last at twilight time