Hope for All- chapter 17
Two weeks later, Angela started to finally to adjust to a new morning routine. No matter what she did, like clockwork, she would be sick as soon as she woke up. She tried waking up earlier, waking up later, eating something right away, not eating at all, drinking tea, water and ginger ale- nothing worked. She eventually learned to just accept her fate and that for the first moments of the day, she'd spend them in the bathroom. Tony was there for her each and every day, making sure she was okay. She adjusted her schedule so she took the later train to work. Tony made sure she still came home at regular time, even if she had to bring some work home.
Angela had her follow up eight week appointment at the clinic later in the morning before being transferred to her regular obstetrician. Tony would drive her to the clinic and then drop her off at work before going to his late class. Tony walked into the bedroom to bring Angela a cup of tea and some saltine crackers. He stopped in his tracks as he was almost hit by a flying pair of pants.
"Angela? Are you okay in there?" he asked her as he peeked his head into her closet.
"That's the fifth pair of pants that don't fit! I don't get it- I throw up each and every morning like clockwork. I can barely keep food down the rest of the day. I didn't switch into maternity clothing until almost fifteen or sixteen weeks with Jonathan. Now I can't get into my work pants at eight weeks?" she shouted at Tony as though it was his fault.
"Angela take a deep breath! This is your second pregnancy. Your body is going to react differently than it did when you were… pregnant the first time" Tony said, hoping she missed his almost slip up of saying younger. Unfortunately for Tony, she didn't.
"You were going to say younger weren't you! Tony! How could you?" she shouted before she burst into tears.
"No! No I wasn't Angela! Your body is different now that you are pregnant again, that's all! But you are still as beautiful as the first time I laid eyes on you! No one, and I mean no one, looks as gorgeous and sexy as you do when they are pregnant! Come here sweetheart" he said as he walked towards her, still cautious of her ever changing mood.
"Oh Tony, I'm sorry. I just wasn't expecting these changes so soon. I was hoping to not tell people about the baby for at least another month or two, but if I keep this up, I won't need to tell anyone, the baby will do it themselves" she said through tears as she wrapped herself in his arms.
"Oh sweetheart, it will be okay! No one is going to be able to tell, I promise. You're not even showing yet. Today when I get home, I'll see about letting out some of your pants, okay? Anyway, today's gonna be a great day! We get to see this little one on the sonogram! I can't wait to see you!" he said as he rubbed her stomach.
Angela smiled at Tony as she wiped away tears from her face. "You're right Tony. Today's going to be wonderful! I'll finish getting ready and then we can head out. Can you pack me some snacks for the car?" she asked.
"Of course Angela! I'll pack a whole bunch of your favorites! I'll meet you downstairs okay?" he said as he walked out of the bedroom.
Angela finally found an outfit she liked that fit and finished getting ready before heading downstairs. She and Tony headed out the door and got into the car. Angela snacked in the car on the way to the clinic. They arrived on time for their appointment and headed into the waiting room. Tony grabbed a bunch of pamphlets to read as well as some pregnancy magazines. Angela smiled to herself as she watched Tony reading all the information. He had taken out of the library about three or four books on pregnancy and was taking notes each night as he read them in bed. She had started reading them as well, but always ended up falling asleep soon after starting to read.
"Angela Bower? Please come this way to exam room four" said a nurse. Tony couldn't wait until Angela became Angela Micelli, even if she kept Bower in her professional life. He held onto her hand as they walked into the exam room.
The nurse took Angela's vitals and had her get changed into a gown. She smiled to herself as she put on the gown, still thinking they needed a better design. Tony helped tie it in the back.
"They could really make these things more fashionable. Although, you could be dressed in a brown paper bag and still be sexy as hell" he said as he leaned in for a kiss.
Just then, the technician came in with the doctor. Tony helped Angela onto the exam table and the technician prepped her for the sonogram. Both Tony and Angela were nervous. They hadn't had sonograms with Jonathan and Samantha so this was all new to them. Tony held onto her hand as he stood next to the exam table.
The technician squeezed the gel onto her stomach. She slightly squirmed as the gel was cold. The doctor placed the wand over her lower abdomen and pressed slightly down. The monitor across from the doctor lit up with black and white grainy images. A little sack appeared with what looked like a gummy bear in the center.
"Is that… is that the baby?" asked Tony, with a sense of wonder in his voice.
"Yes it is. This is the head, the body and the limbs. The flutter you see there is the heartbeat. Everything looks great for eight weeks. I will just continue to take measurements and different angles to get a better… oh wait. Well, what do we have here?" said the doctor.
Both Angela and Tony began to panic, thinking something was wrong. Angela looked up at Tony with tears in her eyes as he bent down to kiss her forehead.
"Is… is something wrong?" Angela managed to ask, somehow holding back tears.
"No, nothing is wrong. See the baby right here? Well, if I move right over here a bit to the left, you can see another baby right… there" said the doctor as he pointed out the features of another baby.
Tony and Angela were frozen in place, just staring at the screen, then back at each other and finally back at the screen.
"Twins?" Tony finally managed to speak out loud.
"Yes twins. Both seem to be developing nicely. The heartbeats are strong and within normal ranges for this stage of development. You will need to be monitored more closely due to having multiples, but other than that, there's no reason not to assume you will have a normal pregnancy. Let's see if we can hear the heartbeats" he said as he turned on the sound.
Soon the room was filled with the swooshing sound of a fast moving heartbeat. Moving out of their shocked frozen state, Angela and Tony listened excitedly to the first baby's heartbeat and then the second baby's heartbeat a few moments later.
After a few more minutes of the doctor taking measurements and jotting down notes, he had the technician print out three of the best angles of the sonograms- one of each baby and one of them together. Angela and Tony just stared lovingly at the images, both now with tears in their eyes.
"Okay Angela you can get dressed now. I'd like to go over some things in my office, so once you are done, the two of you can come right in. It's the second office down the hall to the right" he said as he walked out.
"Angela! We're having twins! There's two babies in there! You know, I always wanted twins. You know… a little Sammy to go with my Samantha. This is amazing!" he shouted as he put his hand on her stomach.
"It explains why my pants don't fit" she laughed. "Oh Tony… twins! This is so wonderful but scary too. What if something goes wrong?" she said as panic started to become apparent in her voice.
"Eh oh, oh eh! Take a deep breath okay? We can't focus on that now. The doctor said they look healthy and on track. We just have to take this one step at a time alright?" he said as he pulled her into an embrace and leaned in for a kiss. Once he felt her start to relax, he pulled back and helped her get changed. They made their way to the doctor's office and sat down.
"So how have you been feeling Angela?" the doctor inquired.
"Morning sickness is in full swing. It's more like all day nausea but getting sick in the morning like clockwork. I've definitely been more tired lately and some breast tenderness the past few days. Probably some mood swings too. Other than that…" she laughed. Tony kept quiet.
"Well unfortunately, the first trimester brings about some unpleasant symptoms. Hopefully once you are into the second trimester, you will start to feel better. So your due date is September 25th, give or take a few days either way. However, multiples are often born early so I would anticipate anytime in the month of September to expect them to make an appearance. Call your obstetrician and see about being seen in two weeks. Usually you will be monitored once a month, but it might be more frequent due to carrying multiples. See what they want you to do. Do you have any questions for me before you go?" he asked.
"A million questions but I can't seem to think of any of them right now other than what can I do to make sure they are as healthy as possible?" she asked.
"Just keep doing what you're doing and listen to your body. Adjust your work schedule as needed and when you aren't working, take it easy. I have a feeling Tony will help you out with that" he laughed as Tony blushed.
"Keep up the fluids as it is important to stay hydrated. I'm assuming you have some books on what to expect while being pregnant but you might want to see about some other resources on twin pregnancies. We can recommend a few at the front desk" he said.
"Yes please! Anything you've got thank you!" said Tony enthusiastically.
"Well it's been a pleasure working with you both, even if you didn't end up using our services as planned. I wish you all the best in the future and don't forget to stop by with those babies for us to see! Oh and Angela, I wanted to thank you for all your help with the campaign. We are thrilled with the results and have already increased our business. Thank you!" he said as he walked them out to the lobby. They were given more information on twins and wished them well.
Angela started to tear up as she realized their journey with the clinic was over. She half expected this whole process to end in heartbreak, so to leave the clinic not only pregnant, but pregnant with twins and Tony by her side, openly in love with one another was almost more joy than her heart could take.
Once they were outside, Tony saw the tears falling down her face.
"Sweetheart, what's wrong?" he asked.
"Nothing… I'm just so happy Tony! For so long, I didn't let myself get my hopes up this would work. Not only did it work but we are having twins! And I have you by my side, the love of my life. I just can't believe it all and I'm just so happy!" she said through tears.
"I know… I can't believe it either sometimes. I wake up in the middle of the night and have to roll over and get as close to you as possible to remind myself this isn't just some wonderful dream I was having, but our dream come true. I love you more than words can possibly express and these two new lives we've created are just more than I could have ever imagined. I love you Angela" he said as he leaned in for a kiss.
They walked hand in hand back to the car. Tony opened her door for her and helped her into the car.
"Angela, are you in a rush to get back to the office?" he asked.
"No I don't have to be back until early afternoon for a client meeting. What did you have in mind?" she asked.
"Well I've got a few things on my mind…" he said as he placed his hand on her inner thigh and began rubbing her leg higher and higher until he pulled his hand back. "But that is just going to have to wait unfortunately. I was thinking maybe we could head over to the jewelry store and look at rings if that's okay with you" he said.
"I'd love to, but before we do, there's something I want to do" she said as she pulled something out of her purse. Tony recognized it right away- it was the baby album he bought her a few months ago when they started this process. She opened the album to the first page and took out a pen.
"I've been carrying this around with me since you gave it to me. I figure now that there's two babies, we will eventually need to get another album, but I figure this can be a shared one for both of them for the sonogram photos" she said.
She opened the book up to the first page and wrote the words "January 21,1989… the day we found out about you". She turned to the next pages and placed the sonogram photos in the plastic slots. On the next page, she wrote "February 11, 1989… the day we found out about both of you."
Tony had to wipe away tears from his face as he watched Angela. He leaned over and placed his hand over the album and then over her stomach. He couldn't wait until there was an actual bump for him to feel. He knew more than ever that he needed to figure out a way to marry her as soon as possible.
He turned the car on and drove to the jewelry store. They parked a few blocks away but neither of them cared as they were lost in their own little world on the streets of New York. Once they arrived at the jewelry store, Tony held open the door for Angela. The store owner greeted them and remembered them from a few months ago.
"Welcome back! How can I help you two today?" he asked.
"We'd like to see your engagement rings please" said Tony. They were led over to a section across the store filled with engagement rings.
"Now Tony, I don't want anything extravagant. Something simple is really all I want" she said.
They walked hand in hand through the sections, looking at different settings and stones. Tony saw a ring in one of the cases that caught his eye. He asked the jeweler to bring it out for them to see. Immediately, he knew this was her ring. It was a diamond flanked by four sapphires, two on each side. The band had the infinity design on each side.
"Oh Tony! That's beautiful!" she gushed. "But it's too expensive. Let's keep looking" she said as she tried to move past the display.
"Eh oh, oh eh Angela! Let's see how it looks on you" he said as he took the ring and placed it on her finger. It fit perfectly and looked absolutely beautiful on her hand. She lifted her hand and couldn't help the tears now falling down her face as she smiled at the beautiful ring.
"You like it?" he asked. "Oh Tony, it's absolutely beautiful. One sapphire for each of our children" she said.
"Ok Angela, keep walking I'll meet you up at the front of the store" he said. "But Tony…" she started but Tony put his finger over her mouth. She realized there was no point in fighting it and walked away.
"I will take that ring but I won't be able to take it today. Is it possible to put down a deposit and come back next week with the rest?" asked Tony.
"Yes of course sir. We will hold it for you and have you pick it up next week" said the jeweler. Tony paid the deposit and then found Angela at the front of the store.
"That ring was beautiful. I can't wait to marry you Tony. I love you so very much" she said as she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him passionately. They eventually walked back to the car and Tony dropped her off at work. He stopped to get her lunch first to make sure she had something to eat before her client meeting. They agreed to tell the family at dinner about the twins. They kissed each other again before Angela reluctantly got out of the car and headed into the building. Tony drove back to Connecticut, thinking about his plans to propose and marry her, wondering how he was going to make it another few weeks without caving in and eloping. He was lost in his thoughts as he drove to school.
Later that evening, Tony and Angela sat the family down at dinner to tell them the news. They had just finished dinner and were about to clear the table when Tony stopped them and told them to sit back down.
"So Angela had her appointment today with the doctor for the eight week sonogram. Everything went really well and looks to be right in track. All good news thankfully! She will go back in two weeks to her regular doctor from here on out" said Tony.
"They gave us some print outs of the sonograms we put in a little album. Do you want to see them?" asked Angela.
"Yes!" they all said practically in sync with one another. Angela pulled out the album and flipped to the page with the first sonogram.
"It looks like a gummy bear!" squealed Samantha.
Both Tony and Angela laughed. "We thought the same thing today. See this is the head and these are the arms, legs and body. The heartbeat was really fast but that's normal" said Angela. Tony and Angela looked at the family staring at the photos then at each other for the big reveal.
"So here's another one they printed out. You can really see the profile on this one. Turn to the last page for the best view" she said as she waited for them to see both babies.
"I think they made a mistake with this one Mom. They took a picture of the baby twice" said Jonathan.
"No buddy, that's not a mistake…" said Tony. They waited for the family to come to the realization, which didn't take long. Three sets of eyes turned towards them, their mouths hanging open as they were at a loss for words.
"It's twins?" asked Mona.
"Yes it is. There's two of them in there!" beamed Tony as he put his hand on Angela's stomach.
"Oh my gosh! That's so exciting!" shouted Samantha as she jumped out of her chair and hugged Angela followed by Tony.
"Yeah! Two siblings I can boss around not just one! Alright!" said Jonathan.
"Only the two of you would go to a fertility clinic to get pregnant, then get pregnant on your own and end up with multiples!" laughed Mona. "Those swimmers of yours must really be good!" quipped Mona.
"Mother! I will admit that the odds of that happening are slim. It was just meant to be I guess" she said.
The family continued to talk about the soon to be newest additions to the family. Tony couldn't wait to get Angela alone upstairs to show her just how deep his love ran for her, their family and the new babies. He started to massage her leg and slowly moved up her thigh. It didn't take long for Angela to realize Tony's true intentions. They excused themselves from the table and spent the rest of the night showing each other just how deep their love ran.