CHAPTER FIFTEEN
THREE AND A HALF MONTHS LATER (TUESDAY)
Jo and I found out we're having a girl and a boy. Hmm one of each. Jo's really excited. She lay on the examination table, mesmerized at the ultrasound screen. "Oh Sam, look at them!" she glowed. It was an incredible sight seeing my twins on screen. I never tire at seeing my children's ultrasound pictures. It was just as amazing as seeing the older three for the first time. With Lizzie, she made us parents for the first time. It was so new to us. With Matt, we pretty much thought he was going to be our last baby, so it was a feeling of completion for us. We had a wonderful three year old daughter, and then we were having a son. It was something straight out of Hallmark or something. With Marin, it was bittersweet. I was excited about having another daughter; Lizzie was such a neat kid and I loved having a daughter. Marin gave me another chance to do all those great father/daughter things I enjoyed with Lizzie. However, it was also sad. Lizzie and Marin would never know each other. Now, we're having twins. There they are, on screen, my son and my daughter. In four short months, we'll be a family of six, er seven. I never know how to answer people when they ask me how many children I have. Do I have two or do I have three? Do I have two daughters or do I have one? Will I have four children or five? It makes my head hurt. "Aren't they beautiful?" Jo asks. I can't answer; all I can do is stare at the screen. They are beautiful; I'm just in shock.
After we return home, Jo asks me about names. "What do we want to name them?" she asks. "I'm not sure." "I want to name our son after you, Samuel Dean Junior." "I was never crazy about the name Dean. How about, since we named Matt after my father, that we name this one after yours? How does Benjamin Samuel sound?" "I love it! We can call him Ben." She smiles really big; she's got such a pretty smile. "I want to name our daughter after you and Lizzie. I want her to have a connection with her sister, as Marin does." "Elizabeth JoAnn? I don't think I could handle that, Sam." She looks sad. "No," I corrected, "Brooke JoAnn, or JoAnn Brooke." She breathes a sign of relief, "I like Brooke JoAnn. I think Lizzie would like that." "Well then, Ben and Brooke, it is!" I place a gentle kiss on her lips, "I love you so much." We snuggle on the couch until Matt returns from school. "Eww, get a room!" he remarks and walks off. It's nice to see him acting more like his normal self, so we decide to toy with him a bit. We pretend that we're making out on the couch, which turns him a nice shade of green. He's thirteen years old; I hope he's not into girls yet. Still, at his age, it turned me a bit green when I saw my parents show any kind of affection like that. Matt was thouroughly grossed out, which made Jo and me crack up. I pull her into a deep kiss. Suddenly, Jo gets a surprised look on her face, "Sam, I think the babies are kicking." I grin. She puts my hand on her abdomen. "I think they're gonna be soccer players." "Just as long as Ben doesn't take up football, they can be anything they want. I don't want my baby boy getting hurt," Jo remarks. "Should we tell Matt what we're having or keep it to ourselves?" "I'd rather keep it to ourselves. I don't want to tell anyone; let 'em find out when they're born."