by CJ Azevedo
She laughs and hits my chest before walking out to find her clothes.
We have a great dinner, making plans for our wedding weekend. She wants to get married in a little church that she attended with Blaine and because the part of town that they live in is so small, Blaine just called up the pastor right there while we were at dinner and got an approval for us. I convince Macie to allow me to take her over to her parents’ house tomorrow to make the announcement and she agrees.
The next morning we wake early and I fix Macie a cup of tea and some toast since she isn’t feeling well. “Butterfly, maybe you should take another test if you’re still not feeling well. That one could’ve been wrong.”
“I’ve read about this. I was so sure that I was pregnant that I tricked my body into thinking that I actually am. It’s called pseudo-pregnancy. But I’ll take another just in case, because I feel awful.”
Unfortunately, we get another negative and I’m not going to bring it up again until we see her doctor to get a game plan. I’m not believing this whole pseudo-pregnancy phenomenon.
I put a blindfold on Macie in the car and she hangs in there for about thirty minutes, talking to me before she falls asleep for the rest of the way. When we arrive at our destination, I help her out of the car and then assist in getting her on my back, all the while keeping her blindfolded.
“I hate to be a party pooper, but I smell the ocean.”
“You do?”
“Yes. Is that why you’re giving me a ride? You don’t want me to feel the sand?”
Actually, I don’t want her tripping over the roots that stick out of the ground, but she doesn’t need to know that. “Yup. Now stop ruining your surprise.”
“Got it.” She lays her head on my shoulder and kisses my neck as I cross over the small pathway and then proceed to walk up the gravel walkway and through the tall birch trees. We’re out of the proper season, but just barely, so there are still several butterflies fluttering around just like I was hoping there would be. It’s also perfect because there is no one here.
I walk to the back side near the small creek where she and I had our first date kiss and find the bench. I sit her down then kneel in front of her on one knee. Pulling the ring box out of my pocket as silently as possible, I watch her hair blowing in the wind as she sits patiently waiting on me.
“I love you, Butterfly.”
Her smile appears, so bright and beautiful. “I love you too, Honeybun.”
I chuckle at the name. She never ceases to amaze me with her inability to come up with a good nickname for me. Or maybe she doesn’t want to anymore. “Can you please take off your blindfold?” I whisper as I prepare for her to see me down on one knee with a ring in my hand. This is much different than just saying what we’re going to do. This is making it completely official.
She raises both hands to her face and slides the blindfold up and over her head. She blinks a couple of times then gasps and her hands fly to her mouth dropping the blindfold beside her.
“Macie Marie James, you have been my best friend for many years, and I want to keep you as that for the rest of my life. I want to be the one who buys you bikinis for eternity, the one who helps you sleep when you’re having trouble, the guy that gets to celebrate all of your successes with you, and the one who gets to have babies with you. Macie, I promise to always stand by your side and to protect you every day of your life. Will you please do me the honor of becoming my wife? Will you marry me, Butterfly?”
“Yes, yes! I will marry you.” She falls forward and right into my arms, laughing as we tumble down onto the ground. She takes my face into her hands and kisses me all over. “You didn’t have to do this, but I love it. And I love you, so much.”
I sit us up on the bench, the same bench we sat at nearly nine years ago, and slip her ring on her finger. “Grey, it’s so beautiful. It’s perfect. You’re perfect. Today is perfect. Everything is perfect!” Macie cries as she holds her hand close to her face inspecting her ring through her tears.
I kiss her lips and hold her there. “You’re perfect. Thank you for saying yes and thank you for sticking around for so many years.”
We take some pictures before heading into town to buy her a bikini from the surf shop to commemorate this momentous occasion and take some more photos down on the pier and beach before we head back home to share the good news with our families.
Our mothers were ecstatic.
****
Macie
Saturday morning finally comes and I am more than ready to marry the love of my life. We both wanted to hurry and get married so we could start working on getting our family started, but I think secretly neither one of us wanted any more obstacles to get in our way, either.
The girls and I get ready in the carriage house out at Blaine’s, then take the cars over to the church. We opted to only have Ava and Dec stand with us today. Our getting married was quick in the eyes of many people, but it was a very long time coming for us and we didn’t want it to be about anything or anyone but us.
My only request was that he wear a tux. I’m wearing a very simple white satin wedding gown, but I see him in suits every day and I want our pictures to be special. He honored my request and I know he’ll look nothing less than delicious.
Before we leave for the church, my mom brings me a small white gift bag with silver tissue paper.
I smile and hug her. “But you’ve already given me your gift, Mom.” She had already given me diamond earrings from her and my dad so I’m confused when she says I need to open it before we leave.
“True, but you’re wearing a borrowed something old. This is your something old that you need to wear today.”
That had me more than curious, so I pull out the tissue. Wrapped inside is something I thought I had lost years ago and it made me tear up instantly. “Mom,” I whisper in disbelief. The girls came up behind me, looking over my shoulder at the silver heart locket I hold in my hand. “How?”
“I found it a couple years ago when I moved your furniture around in your bedroom. It was behind your dresser. Open it,” she encourages with a big, happy smile and teary eyes.
I click open the locket and inside find a picture of Greyden and me when we were teenagers. I don’t even remember the picture; it wasn’t a special day, but I could see how much in love we were even then.
Walking down the isle with my dad is everything I dreamed of, with Greyden at the end waiting for me. When we reach him, he takes my hand and kisses it, then reaches up and rubs two fingers over my locket with a wistful look.
The ceremony is sweet and tearful as we honor Grey’s dad. Grey wrote his own vows, making me swoon on the spot for a man that is completely and forever mine. Everyone laughed as I referred to Greyden as Babushka in my vows, including Grey. Afterward, we took pictures and then went to Tucker’s barn, which actually turned out to be a massive party hall. It had a dance floor and kitchen and his and Blaine’s moms set it as elegantly as possible, making it so beautiful and way more than what we were going for, though it made me truly happy that we didn’t miss out on any of this.
Monday morning wouldn’t be as ugly as it used to be because on this Monday I am Mrs. Greyden Michaels. He’s up way too early for me, but I just can’t let him shower without me, so I sneak in. Instead of getting ready for my day, though, I crawl back into bed with only my towel on as he gets ready for work. I fall back asleep as soon as he kissed me goodbye.
My phone ringing wakes me at eleven o’clock. I jump up and immediately regret that decision, as it sent my head spinning like a top.
“Hello?” I answer quickly, clearing my throat, trying not to get caught sleeping in until almost noon.
“Ms. James, this is Janelle from Dr. Lake’s office. We had a cancellation for this afternoon. Any chance you can make it by 1:30?”
“Yes, I’ll be there. Thank you.” Hanging up the phone, I feel sick again. For the most part, I’ve been okay this past week. I’ve been able to forget about t
he whole thing and move on with the exception of the middle of the night, but now that she’s called, I suddenly feel pregnant again. I swear I’m crazy.
I take my time getting ready and check in with Kevin, my new assistant, then make myself brunch. At 12:30, I head over to Greyden’s office to see if he can go with me.
Claudia springs around her desk and hugs me tightly. “Congratulations, Mrs. Michaels! I am so happy for you two. Here, I got you a gift.” She hops back around her desk and pulls out a box with a big bow on it.
“You didn’t have to do that, Claudia, but thank you very much. I hope Grey explained the guest list situation.”
“Oh, he did, no worries. I’m going to do exactly that, only we won’t be doing the larger wedding at a later date. Just the one tiny one, that’s it. Small, intimate and romantic.”
I laugh and set the gift down on her desk so I can adjust my purse. “Is he in a meeting?”
“No. I’ve stopped scheduling meetings on Mondays. The rest of the week is hell if he has to come back from a weekend with you and go straight into meetings. So now we wait ‘til Tuesday.”
“You’re kidding.”
“I am not.”
I sigh and shake my head. She really is amazing. “I’m just going to see if I can borrow him for a bit then.”
“He’s all yours.”
Greyden and I walk down to my doctor’s office since it’s only a couple blocks from his building. We hold hands and people watch in silence as he drinks his coffee and I try to ignore the fact that I suddenly can’t handle the smell of it. I’m embarrassed. I can’t very well tell him that I have fake symptoms to a fake pregnancy and his coffee is making me sick…can I? No, no, I can’t.
“It’s nice to see you again, Macie,” the nurse says, “it’s been a while. Who’s with you today?”
“Hi, Janelle. This is my husband, Greyden Michaels.” I imagine the silly smile that comes with that introduction will probably stay there for at least the next several years. Greyden catches my eye and winks at me with a smile of his own.
“Your husband? When did you go and married?” She smiles widely. “And Greyden, it’s very nice to meet you.”
“Saturday, actually, and it’s a pleasure to meet you as well,” Greyden replies with all of his charm hitting me heavily even though he’s not talking to me.
“Well, congratulations, you two. Now let’s get you in a room so we can see what’s going on.”
After peeing in a cup, which is way more difficult than I ever imagined, I dress in a paper gown while my husband makes sexy noises that are inappropriate for where we are, so inappropriate that I have to admit I’m getting turned on and he needs to stop.
He laughs at me for a minute, but once he figures it all out he kindly stops his efforts and stands in front of me, holding my waist and resting his forehead on mine. “Whatever they say today, we’re going to have our family just like we planned, right?”
“Right.”
“Doesn’t matter how those four kids get to us, just as long as they do, right?”
My eyes get teary and I look up to the ceiling and breathe deeply. This is the man of my dreams, dreaming the same dreams of mine, and I’m absolutely smitten. “Right.”
He brings my head down and kisses me softly just as Dr. Lake knocks and comes in, chuckling a little.
“Sorry to interrupt there, newlyweds. Shall I come back?”
Greyden laughs and turns to shake his hand. “No, sir. I’m Greyden. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you too. So we’re trying to have a baby, huh?”
“Trying? So you got a negative too?” My heart sunk. I knew it was going to be, I had the proof of my own two sticks, but I was still really hoping.
The doctor nodded and sat on his stool as Grey wrapped an arm around me. “Yeah, we got a negative. Why don’t you tell me your symptoms?”
I take a shaky breath and thought back to everything I’ve been experiencing, then list them in a rush, knowing I sound like a loon. “But I’ve read all about Psuedocyesis. I’ve been really trying not to focus on it all and did pretty good last week when I was preparing for my wedding, but the symptoms aren’t gone.”
“Were your symptoms gone completely last week?”
“No, they were just easier to ignore, I guess.”
“Have you been experiencing any vomiting?”
I look quickly over at Greyden, who looks back at me, waiting for my answer. “I have. I get sick in the middle of the night or really early in the morning.”
The doctor makes notes. “How often?”
“Just about every night with the exception of a few nights over the last two weeks.”
Greyden scowls quietly at me and I mouth “I’m sorry” at him. This whole thing is so crazy. That was one thing I haven’t been able to admit.
“Have you had any cramping or bleeding?”
I shake my head as I answer. “No.”
“And your fatigue level?”
“Extremely tired, but I figured that’s because I’ve been up sick most nights.”
The doctor laughs lightly and continues to scribble notes. “That could have something to do with it, yes. But for now how about we check you out? I’ll do a quick physical exam and then, although your theory of a Psuedocyesis pregnancy is a good one, I would put more stock in it if your menstrual cycle wasn’t so late, so we’ll go ahead and do an ultrasound here in the office just to be sure.”
I lie back and Grey takes the chair by my head. The doctor walks out and I turn to Grey. “I’m so sorry. This whole thing has been making feel so crazy. I knew if I admitted out loud that I was having morning sickness over a hypothetical baby, I would need to be committed to a mental institution. I literally feel crazy Grey.”
“You’re not crazy. We’ll get it all figured out. It’s okay. I hate that you’ve been so sick and you haven’t said anything. I should be pissed, but I’m too worried that it might be something else now.” He kisses my hand and the fear washes over me. I had been so focused on a false negative and really hoping to be pregnant that I hadn’t even thought of it being something else or worse…something seriously bad.
Janelle and Dr. Lake come back in with the ultrasound machine and move it to the side of the room. Dr. Lake does the physical exam first, but doesn’t say anything. Once he finishes, he sits back down to write in his notes.
“Okay, Macie, you know how this goes,” he says when he pulls over the ultrasound machine. “Take a deep breath and just relax.”
I try not to laugh when Greyden looks totally freaked out at the wand they use for the transvaginal ultrasound. He lets go of my hand to scrub his face before grabbing it quickly again and I just smile at him. I’ve had this procedure done several times while monitoring the cysts on my ovaries, so I know this is no big deal at all.
I look over at Greyden and he smiles softly, bringing my hand to his mouth, where he keeps it. We look at each other rather than at what the doctor is doing, since the fuzzy screen means nothing to us anyway.
“I love you,” Greyden mouths to me as he lowers my hand and I mouth it back to him.
“I see what’s been causing so much havoc in your life, Macie,” Dr. Lake says softly.
Greyden and I turn to him. I look at the screen and my heart sinks when I don’t see anything. I was positive I was going to see a little jumping bean up there by the way he spoke, but I don’t.
“What is it? Is it bad?”
Dr. Lake and Janelle both chuckle a little before he answers me. “No, my darling girl, it’s a couple handfuls is what it is. Look right here.” He points to a dark spot on the screen, a dark circle with a white spot inside. “That there is your Baby A.” Then he points over to a spot that looks just like it next to it.
My head goes fuzzy. Did he just label a spot Baby A?!
“This here is Baby B.”
“But the negative tests…” I say softly.
Greyden’s chair screeches loudly as h
e stands up, quick as lightning, holding onto my hand tightly. “She’s okay then?” Grey asks in disbelief as I watch, still stunned by what’s happening.
Dr. Lake smiles and Janelle offers him a Dixie cup of water, which he refuses with just a shake of his head. “She’s perfectly healthy, Greyden, and from the looks of it so are your two little babies.”
His hands go to his hair. “My two little babies,” he whispers, then he comes to me and says across my lips, “Our two little babies. You’re not crazy, Butterfly.”
I laugh along with Dr. Lake and Janelle. “Thank God!”
“Ultrasounds don’t lie. It looks like it’s just too early for the hormones to be picked up in the urine test,” Dr. Lake explains. “I imagine in a few days, maybe even tomorrow, you’ll see a positive test. Let’s get some measurements here and give you a due date, then Janelle can load you up with information before we send you on your way to celebrate.”
We watch our two tiny white spots on that screen like they’re the most magnificent things on the planet. Greyden holds my hand and runs his fingers through my hair, never uttering a word. When they print our pictures he asks for scissors and cuts one small enough to put in his wallet right there in the doctor’s office. My eyes haven’t been dry since Dr. Lake said “a couple handfuls is what it is.”
How did we go from imaginary pregnancy to twins?
After we collect all of our pamphlets and get our next appointment date and lab work prescriptions, Grey picks me up and carries me through the waiting room full of expectant moms as I nuzzle my nose in his neck and giggle. They look on happily at us and I just smile back as bright as possible because I feel like I might burst with pride and joy.
I’m living my life.
I’m living my dreams.
I’m living the future we created and the one that was meant to be. Greyden Michaels is everything I have ever wanted and ever needed and together we will continue to live our lives to the fullest and let the future come to us.
The End.
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