never thought of Ethan as not being mine, but there was something amazing about the fact that another person might have my nose shape or my eye color. Brandon kissed Quinn on the cheek and apologized for being mixed up before shaking Ray’s hand. Ethan leaped into his arms and kissed him on the cheek.
“Hi, Papa, where were you?”
“ Getting his mack on with a surfer ,” I wanted to say, but I kept my mouth shut.
“I was delivering the other babies.”
“Out of the baginas?” Quinn and Ray chuckled; Brandon looked at me, and I shrugged.
“Is everyone ready to get started?” the technician asked. We all gathered around Quinn and the ultrasound machine as the technician spread jelly on her stomach. She moved the wand around, trying to get a view of the little being growing inside her.
“There we are,” she said, and everyone leaned in closer to see the image.
Brandon pointed to the screen. “Look at that, little dude. That’s your baby sister or brother in there.”
“It’s in the machine?” he asked, confusion appearing on his face.
“No.” Brandon laughed. “The baby is in Quinn’s tummy, but the machine is able to take pictures so we can see it.”
The technician pressed more buttons on the machine, and we heard a steady thumping rhythm. “Heartbeat sounds good and strong. Would you like to know the gender?”
“Yes!” I blurted out before anyone else got the chance to answer. The tech looked at everyone, and they all nodded. She moved the wand around Quinn’s abdomen a few more times and then stopped.
“Congratulations, Mr. Keller and Dr. Ford. You’re having a little girl.”
7
Ryan
T he next few days after the ultrasound were par for the course. I got up, took Ethan to his new preschool, took care of chores around the house, picked Ethan up, and then Brandon would come home late from work. My frustration with the situation continued to grow, and it started to show.
“Daddy, I want cookies.”
“No.”
“Pleeeeez!” He stuck out his pouted bottom lip.
“No. You’ll start with a few and then gorge on them, eating your emotions until you become a fat moose and no one will love you. Except maybe another fat surfer moose, who is a total contradiction because he says cowabunga . Why would a moose say anything related to a damn cow? It’s a moose, for God’s sake.”
By the time I was done with my tirade, Ethan had gotten a stool, grabbed a box of animal crackers, and slipped out of the room. I ran my hand over my face, hoping I could magically erase my stress.
I still was in shock that we were having a girl. When we found out during the ultrasound, I may have jumped up and down, screaming the names of all the designers I would dress her in. Aside from playing dress-up, I was excited we would be getting some estrogen in this testosterone-driven house.
I walked over to the refrigerator to get some juice for Ethan. On it were the sonogram pictures the technician gave us at our appointment. My little girl. I let my imagination take flight as I thought of playing Barbies, putting bows in her hair that took up most of her head, and having tea parties with her stuffed animals. But then I thought about how Brandon would miss those opportunities if he kept up his current work schedule. He would be so busy helping others create their own families that he’d miss out on the growth of his own at home. The thought of this made me jealous of those people and jealous of Brandon’s job. But how could I possibly take what he did away from him? I understood that Brandon loved being a doctor, and he was fantastic at it. But he had to understand that we needed a bigger part of him, too.
I needed a change of pace and knew what I wanted to do. I also knew the person to do it with. I took my cell phone from the counter and found the number I needed.
“What the fuck, Ryan? I told you Saturday mornings were reserved for sex. Why are you calling this early?”
“Moxie, first, it’s ten
“Hi, Papa, where were you?”
“ Getting his mack on with a surfer ,” I wanted to say, but I kept my mouth shut.
“I was delivering the other babies.”
“Out of the baginas?” Quinn and Ray chuckled; Brandon looked at me, and I shrugged.
“Is everyone ready to get started?” the technician asked. We all gathered around Quinn and the ultrasound machine as the technician spread jelly on her stomach. She moved the wand around, trying to get a view of the little being growing inside her.
“There we are,” she said, and everyone leaned in closer to see the image.
Brandon pointed to the screen. “Look at that, little dude. That’s your baby sister or brother in there.”
“It’s in the machine?” he asked, confusion appearing on his face.
“No.” Brandon laughed. “The baby is in Quinn’s tummy, but the machine is able to take pictures so we can see it.”
The technician pressed more buttons on the machine, and we heard a steady thumping rhythm. “Heartbeat sounds good and strong. Would you like to know the gender?”
“Yes!” I blurted out before anyone else got the chance to answer. The tech looked at everyone, and they all nodded. She moved the wand around Quinn’s abdomen a few more times and then stopped.
“Congratulations, Mr. Keller and Dr. Ford. You’re having a little girl.”
7
Ryan
T he next few days after the ultrasound were par for the course. I got up, took Ethan to his new preschool, took care of chores around the house, picked Ethan up, and then Brandon would come home late from work. My frustration with the situation continued to grow, and it started to show.
“Daddy, I want cookies.”
“No.”
“Pleeeeez!” He stuck out his pouted bottom lip.
“No. You’ll start with a few and then gorge on them, eating your emotions until you become a fat moose and no one will love you. Except maybe another fat surfer moose, who is a total contradiction because he says cowabunga . Why would a moose say anything related to a damn cow? It’s a moose, for God’s sake.”
By the time I was done with my tirade, Ethan had gotten a stool, grabbed a box of animal crackers, and slipped out of the room. I ran my hand over my face, hoping I could magically erase my stress.
I still was in shock that we were having a girl. When we found out during the ultrasound, I may have jumped up and down, screaming the names of all the designers I would dress her in. Aside from playing dress-up, I was excited we would be getting some estrogen in this testosterone-driven house.
I walked over to the refrigerator to get some juice for Ethan. On it were the sonogram pictures the technician gave us at our appointment. My little girl. I let my imagination take flight as I thought of playing Barbies, putting bows in her hair that took up most of her head, and having tea parties with her stuffed animals. But then I thought about how Brandon would miss those opportunities if he kept up his current work schedule. He would be so busy helping others create their own families that he’d miss out on the growth of his own at home. The thought of this made me jealous of those people and jealous of Brandon’s job. But how could I possibly take what he did away from him? I understood that Brandon loved being a doctor, and he was fantastic at it. But he had to understand that we needed a bigger part of him, too.
I needed a change of pace and knew what I wanted to do. I also knew the person to do it with. I took my cell phone from the counter and found the number I needed.
“What the fuck, Ryan? I told you Saturday mornings were reserved for sex. Why are you calling this early?”
“Moxie, first, it’s ten
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