by Lisa Bilbrey
“Well, everything looks right on target,” Dr. Chan said, standing up and pulling off his latex gloves, tossing them into the trash. “Based on your dates, you’re right at eight weeks. I’d like to do a sonogram, just to double check. How’s that sound?”
“We’ll see the baby?” Travis asked, his voice full of excitement.
Dr. Chan nodded. “There won’t be much to see, but you should be able to see the baby’s heartbeat.”
“Sounds good,” Penelope said, tightening her grip on Travis’ hand.
Dr. Chan pulled the sonogram machine over and turned it on before lowering the lights inside the room. Travis tried to keep his breathing calm and even when the doctor pulled a hand-held probe. Dr. Chan must have seen the fear in Travis’s eyes because he was quick to explain that the tool was called a transducer and when placed on Penelope’s stomach, they would be able to see the baby. Once Dr. Chan had squirted some gel over Penelope’s ivory skin, he placed the probe down on her stomach and began to move it around, taking a few measurements.
“Are you ready to see your baby?” Dr. Chan asked, shifting his eyes between Penelope and Travis.
“Yes,” they replied together.
Dr. Chan turned the screen so that they could both see. Travis’s eyes flooded with tears. There in the middle of the screen was his son or daughter. He or she wasn’t much more than a small, grayish-green blob, but there were a pair of little arms and legs waving around like mad. In the middle of their baby’s chest was the heartbeat.
“The baby’s okay, right?” Travis whimpered, unable to take his eyes off of their child.
“He or she looks perfect right now,” Dr. Chan explained, printing off a handful of photos for them. He held them out to Travis, who was eager to accept them. “Congratulations.”
Travis nodded and took a deep, shaky breath. “Thank you.”
Dr. Chan smiled before turning back to Penelope. “I’d like to see you every four weeks, Penelope. If you have any problems — any at all — you’re to call me at once.”
“Yes, Dr. Chan,” Penelope promised and Travis looked down at her. She, too, had tears sliding down her face.
“Good.”
After bidding them goodbye, Dr. Chan left.
Penelope sat up and brought her hand up to Travis’s cheek, brushing the moisture away. “Our baby.”
“I love you,” Travis whispered, capturing her lips with his.
“I love you, too,” Penelope murmured.
Once she had changed back into her clothes, they made her next appointment and left. Now that they knew everything with the baby was okay, they needed to figure out how to tell Russ and Nadine, but most important, they had to share their news with Max.
***
Chapter Three
Mother’s Day Love
“You’re gonna wake her,” Max hissed under his breath. “Then she’s gonna be pissed.”
“First of all, language, little man,” Travis whispered. “Second, you’re the one that’s being all loud or whatever.”
“If you’d both keep it down, I’d appreciate it,” Penelope mumbled from the bed. Sighing, Travis looked over and saw her watching them with a wide, beautiful smile. He and Max had been trying to sneak in with breakfast for her, but they had woken her in the process.
“I told him not to be so loud,” Max chuckled.
Travis gaped at his son; the boy was throwing him under the bus. “Wow, for real?”
“Not my fault that you’ve got no sense of stealth.” Max shrugged his shoulders and placed the tray on Penelope’s nightstand. “I made you —”
“—We made you,” Travis interrupted.
Max rolled his eyes. “Fine, we made you your favorite: French toast, bacon, and eggs.”
“Wow, I feel very special,” Penelope murmured, sitting up in bed. Leaning over, she kissed Max on the cheek.
The boy groaned in protest, but Travis knew that he didn’t mind. He’d always be a momma’s boy.
Penelope sighed and looked at the food. “I don’t know where to start.”
“Well, Dad made the eggs, so you might want to start with the French toast,” Max teased and climbed onto the bed next to Penelope. “You remember what happened last time.”
“Undercook the eggs once and all of a sudden, you get a reputation,” Travis grumbled, walking around to the other side and joining them on the bed.
“Oh, poor baby.” Penelope smiled and picked up her fork. “Would it make you feel better if I try the eggs first?”
“Yes,” Travis replied, trying to hide his amusement.
Giving a dramatic sigh, Penelope scooped up a forkful of eggs and shoved them into her mouth, making a point of moaning and showing Travis just how good they were. He knew she was lying, but he’d take it. His ego was on the line, after all.
“Best eggs ever, babe,” Penelope said once she’d swallowed her mouthful.
Travis snorted. “Yeah, yeah, whatever. Just finish eating.”
“Okay, okay. Stop being so pushy.” Winking at him, Penelope began scarfing her food down.
She could pretend all she wanted, but Travis knew she was just as excited and anxious as he was to tell Max about the baby. After their doctor’s appointment, they opted to wait till Mother’s day to tell him, Russ, and Nadine, but the wait had been hard. There were so many small moments every day where Travis found himself on the verge of sharing their news. Because Penelope’s parents, Sherman and Wanda, lived several hours away, Travis and Penelope had already told them, but keeping this secret from their son had been difficult.
Once Penelope popped the last piece of bacon into her mouth, Travis pulled the tray off of her lap and set it on the dresser. Looking back at her, he lifted an eyebrow, silently asking if she was ready. Penelope bit her lip before shifting her eyes to Max and nodding. Travis opened the closet and reached up onto the top shelf, grabbing the two packages that were hidden. Penelope only knew about one of them.
Taking a deep breath, Travis walked out of the closet and held one of the packages out to Max.
“Oh, thanks,” Max mumbled and took it from Travis before turning to hand it to Penelope. “Happy Mother’s Day.”
“Um, Max that’s not for me,” Penelope said with a smile. “It — it’s for you.”
“But it’s Mother’s Day, not Max’s Day,” he argued.
Penelope laughed. “I’m quite aware of that, but just indulge me for a moment and open the damn gift.”
“You have to put a dollar in the swear jar,” Max muttered under his breath. With a glance back at Travis, Max shrugged his shoulders and ripped the shiny, blue paper off the box. Letting the wrappings fall to the floor, he shimmied the top off the box and looked from the contents up to Penelope. “What the . . . heck?”
Penelope snorted. “Yeah, nice save, little man.”
Max reached into the box and pulled out a toddler-sized maroon football jersey and matching cheerleader outfit, complete with mini pompoms. “Um, I’m pretty sure I can’t fit into either of these.”
“Just pretty sure?” Penelope teased. “Turn them over.”
Max did as his mother instructed and snapped his head up to look at her. His eyes were full of tears. When he opened his mouth, his lips began to tremble. “Why do these say ‘Max’s baby brother’ and ‘Max’s baby sister’?”
“Because you’re gonna be a big brother,” Penelope cried, unable to contain her own tears any longer.
“Are you serious?” Max asked, trying very hard to keep himself together. He looked from Penelope, who had nodded, over to Travis. “Dad?”
Travis brought his hand up to his mouth, trying to stop a sob from pouring out as he said, “Yes. We’re having a baby.”
“Oh, wow.” Max gave a shaky laugh. “I, um, always wanted a little brother, but I guess I could handle having a sister, too.”
“Well, that’s good because there’s a fifty percent chance that you’ll get a sister,” Penelope replied. Reached up, she brush
ed the tears off Max’s face. “Are you excited?”
“Yeah,” Max whispered. “Just don’t expect me to change diapers. That’s not my job.”
“Nah, you’ll just to be our baby sitter,” Travis taunted and climbed back on the bed. Sitting with his legs crossed in front of him, he held the other package out to Penelope. “This is for you.”
“Travis,” Penelope murmured, shaking her head. “You weren’t supposed to get me a gift.”
He smirked. “Yeah, well, I don’t listen very well.”
Sighing, Penelope opened the small, square package. Once she had the pale, pink wrapping off, she slipped the top of the box off, shooting her eyes up to Travis. Inside, rested a soft, velvet box.
“What did you do?” Penelope breathed.
“Open it,” Travis prompted.
Penelope turned the box over, letting the smaller package slide into her hand with ease. Max reached out and took the white cardboard from his mother. She closed her eyes and released a deep breath as she opened the velvet box. When she saw what was inside, she gasped and looked up at Travis.
“You . . .” Penelope shook her head, dislodging a few tears.
Travis took the box from her and pulled out the small, heart-shaped locket. He moved so that he sat next to her, prying the heart open. On the inside, to the left, was a photograph of Max the day he was born. The right side was blank.
“I figured that after the baby was born, we could add his or her photo. Then, you’ll always have them close to your heart,” Travis explained, feeling his ears turn red.
“Ugh, that’s so sweet,” Max mimicked, using a sweet, girlish voice.
Travis laughed and pushed him off the bed.
“Oy!” Max yelled. “That’s child abuse!”
“Nah, it’s not abuse until someone sees it.” Travis winked at his son before turning to Penelope, who was both laughing and crying. Sliding the chain around her neck, he clasped the locket and kissed the side of her neck. “Happy Mother’s Day.”
“Thank you,” she whimpered, bringing her hand up to the side of his face. “I love you.”
“And that’s my cue to leave,” Max grumbled before he scrambled to his feet and walked out of their bedroom.
Travis laughed and looked back at Penelope. “I love you, too.”
~*~*~*~
Late in the afternoon, Travis, Penelope, and Max climbed into the Suburban and headed out to Russ and Nadine’s house for dinner. This would be the first year that Nadine would get to celebrate Mother’s Day and everyone had wanted to make it special. Penelope held the gift they had selected for her against her chest as she climbed out of the car. Walking around to her, Travis placed his hand on the small of her back and they followed Max inside.
Russ and Nadine were standing just inside the door when they walked in. The moment Nadine wrapped her arms around her, Penelope started crying.
“Honey, what’s wrong?” Nadine fretted, releasing her into Travis’ arms.
“N — nothing,” Penelope stammered. “Just so h— happy.”
“Yeah, you look it. Nothing says joy like tears pouring down your face,” Russ muttered.
Travis opened his mouth to tell his father to shut up, but Penelope started laughing hysterically.
“Oh, Russ, you’re such an ass. Good thing we love you,” she teased.
He gasped. “You cussed!”
“So?” Penelope snorted. “I’ve heard worse words come out of your mouth, Gramps.”
“Touché, my dear,” Russ chuckled, sliding his arm around her shoulder. “Now, I’m starving, so let’s go eat.”
Nadine muttered something under her breath about him being an impatient old goat. Travis and Max followed everyone into the dining room and settled down around the table. Russ and Nadine were on one end, with Max next to Russ. Penelope and Travis shared a look as they sat on the opposite side.
“Um,” Penelope started, “before we eat, Travis, Max, and I would like to give you a gift, Nadine.”
“Oh, sweetheart, you didn’t need to get me anything,” Nadine fussed. “Just having you here is enough.”
She smiled. “Well, thank you for that, but we’d like you to have this.”
Standing up, Penelope walked around the table and handed the gift to Nadine, who sighed and took it with grace. Once Penelope returned to her seat, Travis reached over and took a hold of her hand. Max had a goofy grin on his face while Nadine peeled away the silver wrapping paper with care, laying it on the table.
“Hurry, woman!” Russ complained, breaking through the silent tension that had filled the room.
Laughing and shaking her head, Nadine pretended to glare at her new husband. “Don’t rush me. The food’s not going anywhere.”
“It’s getting colder by the second,” he grumbled, as she ignored him and turned back to box in front of her.
Nadine pried off the lid, and peeled away the white, tissue paper. Gasping, she snapped her head up and looked directly at Penelope. Tears filled her eyes and she whimpered, “Sweetheart?”
“Yes, Grandma?” Penelope cried.
“Grandma!” Russ roared, standing up so fast his chair fell backward against the wall behind him. He grabbed the box from Nadine and lifted out the silver picture frame that held one of their ultrasound photos. Russ’s chin began to wobble. “If this is a joke, I will beat your asses and, Max, I don’t care if I said a bad word.”
“I wasn’t gonna say anything,” Max snickered.
Russ shifted his eyes over to Travis. “Boy?”
“Penelope and I are having another baby,” Travis confirmed.
In a heartbeat, Nadine was on her feet and around the table, enveloping both Travis and Penelope in a tight embrace. “A baby — a sweet, little baby!”
“Yeah,” Penelope wept.
Nadine leaned back and brought her hands up to her face. “Oh, sweetheart, I am so happy for you.”
“Thank you,” Penelope murmured. “You mean so much to us — both of us. Since this is your first Mother’s Day, we wanted it to be special.”
“Oh, well, this made my day alright,” Nadine giggled.
Russ came up behind his wife, laying his hand on her shoulder and staring at Travis and Penelope with wide eyes that were filled with a mixture of fear and amazement. Travis laughed and opened his arms to his father. Russ almost fell into the embrace, gripping his shoulders.
“Congratulations,” Russ whispered. “I’m very happy for you, boy. Now you get the chance to be there for the hormones, morning sickness, and backaches.”
Travis laughed. “I can’t wait.”
“No, I know you can’t,” Russ murmured, leaning back. Turning to Penelope, he smiled. “Well, I guess since you’re giving me another grandchild, I can forgive you for using foul language around me. I am a delicate man, after all.”
“Um, yeah, you said the exact same curse word as I did about three minutes ago,” Penelope replied. “And you’re about as delicate as a cactus, Russ. But it’s one of the many things I love about you.”
Russ pursed his lips together. “I should be offended, but I’m not.” Leaning over, he kissed her cheek. “Congratulations, honey.”
“Thank you, Russ.”
Everyone moved back into their chairs and they began to fix their plates. Russ and Max teased each other about how much food they were taking, both of them piling more than they would be able to eat. Nadine started questioning Penelope on how she was feeling, her due date, and if they had thought of any names yet. While they were chatting and enjoying their meal together, Travis observed his family. Now, he had a mother and father, a son, a wife, and a new baby one the way. Life was pretty damn perfect.
***
Chapter Four
A Father’s Pride
“Mom, come on!” Max whined, tapping his foot with impatience and scowling at the bathroom door.
Travis shook his head as he tied his shoes and stood up, walking over to his son. “If I were you, I wouldn’t r
ush your mom, little man. She’s not feeling good today.”
“I know,” he muttered.
The door to the bathroom opened and Travis and Max looked over to find Penelope standing there, with a washcloth covering her mouth and a light layer of sweat on her forehead. She had just pulled her yellow tank top on when she bolted for the bathroom with one hand clamped over her lips. Travis followed, but Penelope slammed the door shut before he could do anything to help her.
“We don’t have to go today,” Travis suggested, reaching out and slipping his arm around her waist, pulling his wife into his arms. “We can stay here and lounge around the pool.”
“Thanks, but I want to,” Penelope insisted, though he could hear the tremble in her voice. “I’ll be fine.”
“Are you sure?” Travis asked.
Penelope nodded.
Sighing, Travis looked over at Max. “Get her a bottle of water from the fridge.”
“Yes, sir.” Max scurried over to the mini-refrigerator and pulled out one of the bottles of water they had put in there last night. Walking back over to his parents, he held the bottle out to his mother. “Here.”
“Thank you, sweetheart.” Penelope took it, unscrewed the lid, and took a small sip. When Travis cleared his throat and lifted an eyebrow in her direction, she sighed and took a bigger gulp. “Happy?”
“A little,” he admitted. “You know I worry.”
“I do, but I’ll be okay. We still have some crackers in the car. They should help settle my tummy.”
While Travis still wasn’t sure they should venture away from their hotel, he let the subject drop. Keeping his hand on the small of her back, he led her and Max out of their room, through the corridor, into the lobby, and out of the hotel.
They had spent the last few days driving from Texas to Florida, and had pulled into Miami late the night before. Since they were on summer break from school, Travis and Penelope thought it would nice to bring Max to Miami, but they wanted to take their time and enjoy the trip. His time in Miami had been such a big part of Travis’s life before he had found his way back home. He wanted to share these moments with his son, but not at the expense of his wife’s health.