by MF Isaacs
“Yes sir. It won’t be much of a change from our current set up. Although today there are supposed to be a few scouts in the audience. I might need some help assisting them while I coach.” I wasn’t sure who they were coming to watch or even what schools they were coming from.
“I’ll manage the scouts if you can handle everything on the field. I can’t make this official until I can meet with the Super on Monday. I already called him, so he’s aware of what we’re doing today. Ultimately that means no extra money for you, yet.” He spoke the last sentence quickly, apparently worried that money was going to be an issue for me.
“No worries, I am not here for the money. I do need to make a couple phone calls before the guys get here. I think my sister is going to bring coffees if you want me to have her grab you one?” He lifts his travel cup letting me know he was covered.
NATALIE
I was shocked at the crowd that sat in the stadium seats watching the guys play soccer. I alternated between watching Curtis on the sidelines and watching Kyler on the field. I had overheard everyone talking about Kyler’s athletic abilities but I was not prepared to see him in action. I was blown away. They won, and after watching them, I am willing to bet a good chunk of money that they will be the team still standing at the end of the season.
The whole McMann clan was in attendance, which warmed my heart. They cheered for Kyler, along with all the other guys out on the field. When the game was over, it was clear the scouts weren’t in a hurry to leave. I watched as two made their way over to Luke, it wasn’t until that moment that I realized they were scouting Kyler. Never mind he is only a Junior. I didn’t realize they would scout someone knowing he has another year of school.
Since they won, it was agreed the gang would all go to Jack’s for lunch. All eyes immediately flipped to me when Curtis announced, “You can’t have that.” When Calvin poured me a beer without asking.
There wasn’t a single thing I could do to stop the automatic assumption every person at the table made. So, what if it was a correct assumption, they weren’t supposed to know yet. We didn’t even know everything yet. Curtis didn’t even realize what he’d done. I cleared my throat trying to get his attention, but he just kept looking at the menu. It wasn’t until I pinched the inside of his thigh and he yelped, “ouch!”
My raised eyebrow did nothing. He looked at me like I was crazy for pinching him. When Steve finally asked the question, everyone was waiting to hear the answer too, “You need to tell us something bro? Did we miss the announcement that you’re having a baby?”
Curtis froze, looking at me with his wide eyes. There was no denying it now so I shrugged my shoulders, giving him the go ahead to tell everyone. “Since we have you all in one place, we are. We found out Thursday morning. We have her first Ob appointment on Monday morning.” He kept his eyes on me as he spoke but as soon as we heard Sierra squeal he looked away.
Sierra was the first to speak, “I knew it! There was no other reason for you to asked me about my doctor.” She’d made her way beside us hugging me from behind. “Can I come?”
“Oh, me too? Please, I’ve never seen an ultrasound.” Hannah surprised me. I shrugged my shoulders, it didn’t bother me any to have them along.
As soon as I shrugged, Amy pipped in too. “Me too, please!”
That is how we ended up taking up over half the waiting room Monday morning.
CURTIS
I knew she didn’t want to tell everyone until after our appointment, I honestly didn’t mean to blow it. I’d been overwhelmed with everything that morning, but it is still no excuse. The game was amazing; it was hard to know how much of our success as a team had to do with individual players and how much had to do with coaching. I knew the guys who showed up Saturday morning where not the same guys who had been at my house the night before. They came prepared and I couldn’t have asked for more.
The scouts, four in all, were there for three of our seniors and early scouting for Kyler. I’ve never heard of early scouting for high school, but Kyler definitely deserved it, the kid is a natural.
Natalie picked at her lunch Saturday and spent the rest of the day lazing around the condo. Sunday morning I agreed to take her to breakfast if she would help me grocery shop afterward. I now understand why she hates grocery shopping, she is so easily distracted by all the end caps. She is the prime example of what marketing experts hope people will do while shopping.
Now, here we are sitting in the waiting room with, Hannah, Amy and Sierra there with us. I almost feel like I have sister wives or something. I help her fill out the paperwork including family history. For a brief minute, I realize how much I wish my parents were here to experience this with me, with us. Without realizing it I zoned out until Amy looped her arm through mine, ultimately pulling me back into the present. Without me needing to say anything or her ask anything, she knows, “They are watching over you. They know. They are here.” I couldn’t have asked for a better fill in parent.
I leaned over and kissed the top of her head before telling her, “And you are here.” I didn’t miss the hitch in her breathing when my words hit.
The nurse called for Natalie and I instantly stood with her, as did Amy, Hannah and Sierra. The nurse looked overwhelmed and I did what I could to ease the freak out. “Stay here until they do the ultrasound, then we’ll have you guys come back.”
The nurse agreed immediately when she realized why they were here. “Of course, I will come get you all personally when it’s time. Besides, the first part of the appointment isn’t nearly as much fun.” She smiles until she turns to see the look of panic on Natalie’s face. “Oh, it’s not that bad. It just isn’t something you want to sit and watch. Let’s go, we’ll get your weight and urine sample.”
Natalie made me turn around while she stepped on the scale, as if I give a shit what she weighs. The nurse was kind enough to her not to announce her weight for all to hear. She showed me to the exam room while Natalie gave her urine sample. Heartrate and temperature done and the nurse told us that the doctor would be in shortly. Sitting there silently with just Natalie I want to freeze time, we are still in the dark about the pregnancy and it’s just the two of us.
I know the chair in the corner is for me, but I am too anxious to sit and I can’t reach her from there. Instead, I am standing off to the side of the exam table, where I gently rub from her shoulder down her arm and back. When the doctor comes into the room, she introduces herself as Dr. Donna. She’s younger than I expected but instantly, I can feel her calming presence.
She asks Natalie a handful of questions and then has her lay back on the exam table. Step by step she walks us through what she is doing. When she measured her stomach, she asked if there was a possibility that she could be further along than we thought. If Natalie was further along, it means that she was with someone else before me. Natalie didn’t even pause before she declared that being further along was not a possibility. I slowly released the breath I didn’t realize I had been holding. Dr. Donna confirmed that we would know for sure one way or the other when she did the ultrasound.
While Natalie undressed in preparation for the possibility of needing to do an internal ultrasound, I grabbed the other women in my life from the waiting room. I’m sure they were entertaining the staff, but as a first-time dad they were embarrassing. Hannah sat in the chair with Amy standing right beside her. Sierra stood at the head of the exam table while I held her hand.
“Okay, wow. We got the whole family here. What do you say we take a peek at the baby? Figure out what your due date is.” Getting right down to business, she squirted the blue gel on Natalie’s stomach and started rolling the wand across her stomach. She clicked away as she went. I’d seen the ultrasound pictures from Sierra but it didn’t mean I knew what the hell it was we were looking at. Dr. Donna kept a straight face as she continued to work. I kept glancing back and forth from the screen, to the doctor, to Natalie. Natalie did the same and every once in a while our eyes wo
uld connect. “Okay folks, I got a few images, but I’d like to get a better look by doing the internal ultrasound.”
I stood back and watched as she took the wand under the paper sheet Natalie had covering her lower half. The instant she had inserted the wand the image on the screen appeared much clearer than the one that had been there before. She clicked then moved, and clicked again then moved, and clicked again. Just as it dawned on me, my eyes connected with my sister; she already had tears rolling down her face. I leaned over next to Natalie’s head and told her what I thought I was seeing, while posing it as a question for Dr. Donna at the same time. “Hot Stuff, I think we made more than one.”
Dr. Donna laughed at my comment. “You’re a smart man. I wanted to get a better image with the internal ultrasound. I wanted to make sure I knew what I was looking at. It appears you have two separate sacks, which means they are not identical. This one here is slightly bigger than it’s sibling. You are still very early in the pregnancy which means it’s hard to tell for sure when the due date is. Twins make it harder to determine. Twins also make this pregnancy higher risk than a single, so we’ll see you bi-weekly in the beginning instead of monthly. We will want to monitor you closely.”
We’re all shocked, but none more than Natalie was, as we walked out of the clinic with our ultrasound pictures. Dr. Donna did an ultrasound of Natalie’s leg, which she’ll send over to the other Dr. for a second opinion before telling Natalie she can finally ditch the cast.
The ladies agreed to take my girl for a late breakfast and some light shopping while I headed to the school to finish out my day student teaching and coaching the guys on the soccer field. I’m not sure I’ll be any good at any of it because all I could think was ‘holy shit we’re having twins.’
NATALIE
Never in a million years did I think I would have twins. I sat through breakfast with Hannah, Sierra, and Amy; their conversation went on all around me while I tried to wrap my mind around it all. Amy finally pulled me from being stuck inside my head when she asked, “Do you think your wedding plans will change now that you’ll definitely be showing by May? Do you still want a beach wedding with a baby belly?”
Damn I hadn’t even thought about the wedding. I was still stuck in the ‘holy shit I have two babies growing inside me’ and ‘my body will never be the same again.’ Shaking my head to clear the pending freak out, I take a deep breath before turning to their waiting eyes. “I hadn’t even thought about the wedding. I think we might have to wait until after the babies are born. I don’t know. I guess I need to see what Curtis wants. I should also tell my parents, my sister is going to have a hay day with this.” Reality is setting in and I think the three of them are gearing themselves up to help me avoid a major panic attack.
Sierra was the first to respond, “I can tell you exactly what Curtis wants, he wants the wedding to happen as soon as possible. He will give you two choices: get married as soon as we can get it organized or stick with your original plans. Waiting until after the babies arrive will not be an option for him. Now, in terms of telling your family we know the perfect place to get your personalized announcement presents. Your sister won’t be able to freak out because she’ll be excited about her present.”
Hannah is nodding in agreement, “She’s right. After we finish eating, we’ll head over there and you can pick out gifts. Tonight, you and Curtis can decide on when to tell your family and go from there with wedding plans. Valentine’s day is coming; we could totally have your wedding planned and perfect by then.”
The excitement between the three of them was freaking me out a little. “Hannah is right, we had each of their weddings planned within a week. Actually it was less than a week. I’m not being smug when I say that both weddings were perfect. We can do the same for you. And just think, we’d have her mom and sister to help this time.” The last comment was directed at Hannah and Sierra, since I hadn’t been around for either of their weddings.
Then, it was as if I wasn’t even there, Hannah turned to them as she spoke. “I should probably call Mary right now. I don’t know what her schedule is, but she will need to be here. Oh, we’ll need to add the twins to her schedule as well. What did the doctor say, 38 weeks is typical for twins to arrive?”
I was getting overwhelmed by everything they were talking about. I’d heard of Mary, both Hannah and Sierra had talked about her. I’d also seen her work, I knew I would be extremely lucky to have her take pictures of either the wedding or the twins; getting her for both events would be amazing. In the back of my mind I am worried about putting my parents on the spot for our wedding. They do okay financially, having our wedding in May is allowing them to pay for it in phases. If we rush it, there is no paying as we go. I certainly don’t have the money and I would never expect Curtis to pay for everything.
My phone buzzes in my purse while sitting in the back seat of Amy’s car.
Baby Daddy: How are you doing? Shock wore off yet?
Me: Not yet. Just leaving breakfast for a shop they said I’ll be able to get ‘I’m pregnant with twins’ presents for my mom, dad & sister. Not sure anything will soften this blow for them.
Baby Daddy: You don’t think they are going to be happy? I’m over the fucking moon Babe. I know it’s overwhelming, but we have a few months to prepare for them.
Me: Amy asked about the wedding, as if my mind wasn’t already twisting like crazy.
Baby Daddy: I don’t want you to worry about the wedding or the babies.
Me: Easier said than done.
Baby Daddy: What part of this is making you worry most?
Me: What part isn’t?
Baby Daddy: I just text Sierra, she’s going to give you my other credit card. Please don’t let money be any part of your worries.
Me: Money isn’t the only thing. But thank you for that, she just gave it to me.
Baby Daddy: We can talk about it tonight. I’ll be home right after practice. Call me if you need me. I love you.
Me: Love you too.
Getting out of Amy’s car, Sierra was waiting for me with a giddy smile. “You do realize our babies will get to grow up together. Cousins. I maybe further along than you, but since you have two babies they might actually be born pretty close together. Won’t that be nice? We’ll be able to help each other or at least understand each other.”
I couldn’t help but laugh at her excitement. She’s had time to come to terms with her pregnancy. I was just getting there, then had to go find out that I’ve got two babies. “Yeah, you’re going to help me. I’ll see what you have to go through and panic because I’ll have to go through it twice. Seriously. Two babies. I don’t know how I’m going to do it.”
“You won’t have to do it alone. Curtis will be there. He’s going to be a great dad and husband. When I was little, I mean really little, I told my mom that I was going to marry Curtis.” That made me smile, I knew she didn’t talk much about her parents so I listened anytime she did. “She told me I couldn’t marry him, and I remember crying. She told me that I could use him as my guide to finding my husband. I should look for someone just like him. I love Calvin more than I thought I would ever love someone, but even I can say he isn’t as good as Curtis. You are very lucky to have him.”
Well shit, that made me cry. The two of us stood just outside the shop hugging while tears rolled down our faces. Amy popped her head out of the shop door to tell us, “Get your pregnant butts in here. We have some shopping to do.” We followed her orders.
They helped me pick out twin gifts. Buy one get one free t-shirts; keep calm at least I’m not having twinsshe is; #twinning bibs; double trouble onesies; future drinking buddies onesies. We bought it all. I special ordered a couple of coffee cups with ultrasound pictures on them. Getting to openly pick out baby items made me feel a little less anxious about what was happening.
After shopping, we all went back to Amy and Luke’s house. I was secretly thankful for not being dropped off at the condo to be alone
with my crazy thoughts. I was also thankful for the phone call from the doctor telling me he reviewed the ultrasound of my leg and I was free to go without the cast. The day was getting better and better.
I sent Curtis a message to meet me there then spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out with the girls. Sierra let me borrow a couple of her pregnancy books that she’d already read. I fell asleep in Luke’s recliner, when I woke up I found Sierra sleeping next to me in Amy’s matching recliner.
Luke was the first one to get home, I was thankful for the opportunity to talk to him before Curtis got there. He was surprised to hear that I was ready to get back to work. I’d been out of work long enough. Without paying for rent or food, I’d been able to use the money I did have to pay my credit card bills and my student loan payment. Without having access to my missing car, I was almost ready to cancel my car insurance. My checking account was nearing empty, so the cast coming off couldn’t have come at a better time. I’ve got approximately twenty days before my next payments are due, so getting back to work within the next six days is critical.