March came in like a lamb, and on the 5th, Leslie had her monthly appointment with Dr. Standish to find out the child's sex. Unfortunately, neither Kevin nor Alec could come with her for once. They each had an excuse: Alec had a meeting he couldn't get out of, and Kevin was a day overdue for his next op-ed, so he elected to stay home and write until Alec was through, then they both assured her they'd come pick her up. But in truth, they had a different reason for skipping out on Leslie's big day…
Leslie's appointment was right after lunch, so she was still finishing the hot dog she'd snuck under Alec's nose as she walked into the exam room. Dr. Standish was a tall, thin woman with flaming red hair cut into a bob. She was fairly new to the practice, so she still looked young in the face, and she didn't wear a wedding or engagement ring. But she WAS seeing someone; a photo on the counter showed her cuddling with a muscular man with long feathery brown hair.
Leslie sat on the table rubbing her stomach for a moment until Dr. Standish could see her. Leslie looked at the photo of Dr. Standish and her boyfriend. He looked a fair bit like Alec if he were more of a biker man instead of a business man. They at least had the same nostrils.
"Hello, Leslie, how are we feeling today?" asked Dr. Standish, walking into the room. Leslie looked up at her and smiled.
"It feels like a wrestling tournament in there," said Leslie. Dr. Standish smiled.
"Its natural feeling kicking at this stage of the pregnancy," she said. Leslie glimpsed at the photo again.
"Who's your boyfriend?" asked Leslie.
"Oh, his name's John. He's a pain in the ass sometimes, but a hell of a lot of fun when he wants to be!" the doctor replied. Leslie laughed.
"My boyfriend's like that too, only exchange the part about being fun to being MORE of a pain in the ass!" Dr. Standish laughed. Leslie wanted to slap herself. She forgot to say EX boyfriend!
"Let's get right to the ultrasound, shall we? No papa today?" asked Dr. Standish. Leslie shook her head. Dr. Standish brought the machine and Leslie lied on the table, pulling her shirt up a bit. Dr. Standish smeared that cold gel crap and then flipped on the machine. Leslie looked over at the monitor. "DO you want to know the gender today, or would you prefer to have it a surprise?"
"I'd personally want a surprise, but knowing Alec and Kevin, they'd both want to know ASAP," Leslie said. "Boy or girl? Kevin actually mentioned a month ago he wanted twins!"
Dr. Standish laughed again. "Well, there's definitely only one in there!"
"Thank god!" Leslie exclaimed. Dr. Standish looked around for a minute. Leslie got chills every time she saw her baby on the screen. It was surreal before that this new life was growing inside her, and now actually seeing it was thrilling for her.
"Nice healthy heartbeat…VERY active, I think your baby might be quite an athlete…oh, I think I see the nose being fairly large on this one…"
"That doesn't dwindle it down much," said Leslie. "Both guys have distinct noses," she commented. "Do you see a huge ego or a set of bongos anywhere in there?"
Dr. Standish chuckled. "Nope, sorry! Well, I think we know a sex now…you sure you want to hear?"
Leslie tensed her fists and smiled. "I'm sure I want to know!"
Jules' Cadillac pulled up to the clinic curb. Alec was at the wheel, and Kevin was in the passenger seat. Both men's legs were bouncing, waiting for Leslie to emerge. Alec bit his lips. Kevin turned to him.
"Which would you want?" asked Kevin.
"I'd go for either, but a little daughter would be my pick," said Alec. Kevin gave Alec an odd look.
"Funny, I always saw you with a son!" said Kevin. "I'd want a son!"
"Funny, I always saw you with a daughter!" replied Alec, jokingly. "I guess a girl would be a little more dependent on me, you know? I'd rather have a Daddy's Girl than a Momma's Boy running around my house!"
Kevin laughed out loud. "I guess I'd want a boy—"
"—because you need at least ONE man of the house!" Alec joked. Kevin elbowed Alec in the arm. Alec didn't even flinch. "Seriously, Leslie has no idea, right?"
"You're whole apartment is decked out in baby-decorating crap. Wendy and Kirbo worked on it this morning. Jules went to pick up Billy at the bus station after we left to come here," informed Kevin. Alec smiled. Billy was coming back just for Leslie's surprise baby shower. Not only would Leslie be happy, but Wendy wasn't told of is so that she could get a surprise too.
Alec looked at the door and twiddled his thumbs. Kevin went to flip on the radio. After turning the dial, he settled on a local music station. A Billy Joel song was just wrapping up as Kevin sat back. Suddenly the door opened, and Kevin and Alec leaned forward as Leslie, looking radiant and gorgeous, stepped onto the sidewalk. Suddenly, the radio started blasting "I Think I Love You." Kevin quickly shut the radio off as Leslie spotted the car and started trotting over. Alec smiled. Leslie knew. And if she didn't start hollering "It's a boy!" or "It's a girl!" Alec's skull was going to explode from the pressure. Leslie looked amazing…like she was hiding a precious secret. Kevin wanted to drool.
Leslie opened the back seat and slid in, the smile still on her face. Kevin and Alec both turned their heads to face her. Leslie grinned.
"Are you expecting me to say something?" she asked. Alec and Kevin rolled their eyes.
"Come on, Les!" egged Kevin
"Oh. The baby is…"
Alec and Kevin tensed up as Leslie about to spoke.
"…perfectly healthy!" finished Leslie, beaming like a moron. Alec and Kevin's jaws dropped. Did she seriously not know what they wanted to hear? Or did she not find out? Alec decided to let it go for another month and keep the nice atmosphere going for once.
"The baby's doing well?" asked Alec. Leslie smirked and nodded.
"She's looking as good as Dr. Standish hoped she would!" said Leslie. Alec nodded with an 'oh' and turned around. Kevin remained turned at Leslie. He picked his jaw up and laughed comfortably, his eyes twinkling. Alec suddenly turned back around after nearly 30 seconds of silence.
"She? Les?" he asked. Leslie nodded. Alec them shared Kevin's smile.
"It's a girl!" Leslie confirmed. Kevin leaned over the seat to embrace Leslie as much as he could. Alec didn't lean over the seat, but he did take Leslie's hand in his and kissed it tenderly. This made Kevin turn red for a moment. But then he turned around and pulled out of the parking lot.
"Wow, Les, a daughter! Okay, now we have to name her Aleca!"
"ALECA? That's not even a name!" said Kevin. "The closest existing name would be Alicia."
"No, I don't like Alicia," said Leslie. "I wanted to name her after my great grandmother Jadza, who came from Poland, but I figured that sounded horrible," she said.
"Why not Leslie Jr?" suggested Kevin.
"Hell no! That sounds like a computer nerd's name!" said Alec.
"HEY!" Leslie whined. Alec realized what he said.
"Sorry, Les!"
"We'll figure out a name in due time, guys," Leslie said. Meanwhile, Kevin drove the car past Leslie's street. Leslie looked out the window and laughed. "Kevin, in your ecstasy in finding out the gender of your may-be child, you missed my turn!" she said.
"No I didn't!"
"Kevin! I live on Walsh Avenue West! We passed it three blocks ago!" Leslie laughed.
Alec smiled at Kevin. "Whoops! I guess I'll have to go the long way back!" Kevin said with mock feeling. Leslie looked confused. Kevin winked at Alec and turned left towards Alec's house.