Happy Reading Everyone!
Hope you have been having a great summer!
Welcome back!
Chapter 16
Is it a Boy or a Girl?
Tris' POV
"So are we wanting to know the sex of the baby today?" The technician asks, as she pumps out the blue goo onto my stomach. I flinch just slightly when my stomach feels the offensive cold gel. Tobias stands awkwardly next to my head. One hand is near my head, while the other stays digging into his pocket. I fight the urge to imagine how different this would be if we were…
"No. Um… I was hoping to do some kind of gender reveal with our friends." I explained to her.
"But if you accidentally let it slip… I won't hold it against you." Tobias says, his cheeks slightly brighter than they were a second ago. I laugh, knowing how anxious he is to find out if we have a son or a daughter.
"So I'll write it down and slide it into a special envelope for you. Separate from the pictures of the baby, of course." The technician, Stacy says smiling at the both of us. She begins to slide her wand over and over again.
"Well…. I think someone is very eager to share what they are." Stacy says, amusement in her tone. "Well baby has perfect measurements for 20 weeks." She mentions, glancing at me from the corner of her eye, she gives me a small smile of reassurance that all is going well. "See?" She says just as she pushes a button I hear the thumping of a strong heartbeat. My baby's heartbeat. I feel my heart melt into a million pieces, as a single tear falls from my eye. I glance over at Tobias seeing that he too is fighting some emotions threatening to escape. He loses himself in staring at our baby on the screen. Confusion laced in his eyebrows. "Are you trying to figure it out?" Stacy asks, laughing at Tobias' expression.
"Yeah. Sorry. It's hard to tell what part is what…"
"It takes practice." She says. I can hear a tone of pride in her voice. There is no shadow of a doubt that she loves her job. Looking at the screen, I can't imagine why she wouldn't love her job.
"Hey, Delila." I greeted the baker from over the counter. She looks up from her piping bag and smiles when she sees it's me.
Delila is what you would imagine a loving grandmother would be. She is short, hunched over from years of hard labor, she loves everyone and shows it in her baking. Everyone knows and loves her as if she was their grandmother.
"Ha, if it's not the mother to be…. How are we feeling today?" She asks, placing the piping bag down and grabbing a white rag to wipe her hands. She makes her way around the counter towards me, her smile never once faulting. Her arms widen when she reaches me, I don't even hesitate to accept her warm hug from her.
"How's the baby?" She says, rubbing her hand on my swollen stomach.
"Baby is great! In fact…" I say as I hold up the envelope with the baby's gender.
"Oh my goodness…" She says excitedly, taking the envelope from my hands.
Ever since I began to show Delila and I have been talking about a gender reveal cake. Nothing too extravagant of course. Just something special.
"I will take good care of it." She says, placing the envelope into the pocket of her apron. "When should I have it done by?" She asks.
"Friday?" I say in a questioning tone. Of course I wouldn't want to place any unnecessary pressure on her. If she needs more time, I would understand.
"Friday at 6… Just in time for dinner. We make spaghetti." She says, turning back around to head back to her side of the counter before the boss discovers her missing.
"Thank you, Delila." I call out to her as I make my way back out of the cafeteria. Could this day get any better?
A Special POV
I stand behind the shadows watching her. Everything inside me burns with anger for her while my eyes are drawn to her swollen stomach. My teeth bare down into my bottom lip, nearly drawing out blood. My nails dig into my palms, as my fists tighten more and more. I need to do something. Anything. Move.
My feet move forward on their own when Tris is out of sight. My mind is spiraling, processing what to do. Without thinking, my mouth opens, words begin to pour out.
"Hola, Delila." I call out in the most pleasant tone I can muster right now. "How are you, girl?"
"Oh Christina, how are you?" She says, coming around the counter with the same smile she just gave Tris a moment ago. I fight the urge to smack it off her face.
"I'm well. I'm well. Listen…Was that Tris that I just saw?" I point towards the doors.
"Si. She was dropping off the gender of her baby for her order." She says, gushing. She always was a sucker for babies.
"Oh really? Well that's great!" I continued. "So… what is it?" I ask. I quickly continue when I see the puzzled look on her face. She obviously doesn't know the whole situation and wonders if I have the right to even know such a thing. Little does she know what part I will play in that baby's life. In my baby's life. "I only ask because I'm throwing a surprise for her at the gender reveal party. It would make sense if it matched with the results. You know…" I explain, trying to sound innocent and excited like any friend would.
She smiles, digging into her apron pocket for the envelope that Tris slipped her. I smile gently, as she rips it open pulling the small piece of paper out. She turns the paper towards me, letting me see for myself if I have a son or a daughter. I prepare my plan for the best gender reveal party that my unconventional baby could ever have.
A/N
I want to Thank those of you that sent well wishes for my husband in the last chapter and all the readers for your patience. It all was unexpected and happened so fast. What was planned as a fun, adventurous summer turned into my husband needing Emergency surgery. It all happened so fast, one minute he was up and walking like normal… the next he was achy… and by nightfall he couldn't walk or stand straight. It took days for the hospital to realize what exactly was happening and why no amount of drugs could help his pain. They did have to perform back surgery, ever since it has been a healing process. Although there are still struggles, he is feeling a lot better
On Another note: Welcome back to school for those with students in school or even for readers that are in school. Have a pleasant and safe school year!
Thank you all again for your patience, and I am so sorry that our story was interrupted… But like the old saying goes…Let's get on with the show!
Check back next week to see what Christina has in store for Tris and her baby gender reveal.
Revised by: FDFobsessed
Like always, happy reading everyone, be safe and stay healthy,
Trini