“Thank you and please call me Rain.”
“Okay, Rain it is. Now if you could lie back so I can examine you.”
I did as she instructed. She examined me and then asked if I had been feeling any discomfort or pain recently. I told her that other then a few twinges on my right side, which have passed, I really feel good. I told her that I do have some morning sickness, but it’s not intense and it usually passes by mid-morning.
“Dr. Roth explained to me that you hadn’t had a period since November which places you at about eight weeks. I’ll give you a formal date after the examination. I would like to do an ultrasound now while you are both here to see how the baby is doing. You’ll be able to see and hear the heartbeat today. Is that okay with you?”
“That would be excellent, Dr. White!”Dominick jumped in.
“Are you okay with it as well, Rain?”Dr. White asked with a small smile that played on her lips.
“Yes, that would be great.”I agreed. How could I not be okay with it after seeing how excited Dominick was. The truth was that the doctor was going to have to do the first ultrasound today anyway, but I loved the fact that she was making him feel involved in every part of the exam. It was good to see him this happy.
The doctor took a few minutes and set up the screen. Dominick grabbed a nearby chair and wrapped his hands around mine and kissed my forehead. We watched the screen as Dr. White glided the wand over my stomach. She had to make several passes and then she stopped. I froze, because the look on her face worried me.
“Is there something wrong?”My voice shook.
“Doctor? Is the baby okay?”Dominick added.
“Everything is just how it should be.”She gave us both a comforting smile.
I felt the tension leave Dominick’s body, as well as mine.
“I do have to show you both something. Something that you would not have been aware of until now.”She stated.
“You said everything is okay. Please tell me what’s wrong.”I was getting upset.
“Calm down, Rain and let the doctor explain. Please continue, doctor.”Dominick’s voice was soothing.
“Look here and then look here. Now listen. Do you hear it?”
“I hear an echo.”I said
“I do too.”Dominick agreed with me.
“The sounds you’re both are hearing are not an echo. They are two heartbeats. Rain, you’re carrying twins.”Dr. White announced and gave a me a genuine smile.
I let out the breath I was holding.“Twins? I’m having twins?”I started to cry. In that moment, it all hit me. I was having twins. I was carrying Dominick’s children. I never thought having a baby was ever going to be possible for me and now twins. Tears ran down my face as I looked up at Dominick. His eyes were glassy and he had huge grin appeared across his beautiful face.
“I thought when you told me that you were going to make me a father, that I couldn’t be any happier. You did it again, Angel.”He whispered and kissed my lips gently.
Once we settled down, Dr. White explained the schedule we needed to follow and the tests that needed to be ordered for me and the babies. Due to the fact that I was having my first pregnancy at almost thirty five years old, there were extra precautionary tests in addition to the standard ones.
I explained to Dr. White that we had planned a trip to Capri and that we were hoping to fly out at week’s end. She told me that it was perfectly okay to fly, but should I feel anything out of the ordinary that I needed to contact her immediately. She then gave us each a card with a number that would reach her directly. She had colleagues that she knew in Italy and she stated that she would contact them should our trip run longer, that way I could call them for an exam; just to be on the safe side.
I did tell her that I had an art show at the end of February. She advised me not to lift anything heavy or strain myself, but I could exercise and that going to the event and appointments related to the show were perfectly normal to attend. She reassured Dominick that keeping life as calm as possible and very close to a normal routine was better for me and the babies. Dominick did have a question, though.
“Doctor, I understand that having a baby is a natural thing, but what about Rain’s blood disorder? How does that play into her pregnancy, especially now that she’s having twins?”
“She may become tired more easily, but she’ll just need to pace herself. Rain, I’m sure you know your body very well, so I think you know when to stop before you’re overdo anything.”
“Yes, I understand. But I do have one additional question?
“That’s is?”
“What are the odds of me having twins? I mean I know I’m a twin, but aren’t the odds pretty low? I asked with extreme curiosity.
“No, not at all. Although they can skip several generations. The odds are even greater if both parents are a twin. DZ or fraternal twins run in families. MZ or identical twins are by random. They can happen to anyone, but they are rare. You are having fraternal twins. They aren’t in the same sac. They’re going to develop separately. This is a good thing for you and for the babies.”
“I see, but my sister Raven and I are Identical twins and we don’t have a history of twins in our family.”
“Well, it’s still possible for you to have twins and it is quite possible that somewhere in both of your family histories there may have been twins, which might explain why you are carrying them today.”Dr. White explained and satisfied my curiosity.
“Is there any other questions that either of you have?”
“No, I’m good. Plus I have your number should something arise. I won’t call you unnecessarily,though.”I reassured her that I would not abuse the right to contact her after she gave us her private number. I just hoped Dominick didn’t drive her nuts.
Speaking of Dominick, by the look on his face, I knew he had a question he wanted answered and I knew exactly what he wanted to know. The thought made me smile.
“Dominick, do you have a question for me?”She urged him forward.
“Yes, as you are well aware of by Rain’s current condition, we are obviously are having sex. Now that she’s pregnant and with twins; what is the likelihood that sex would be safe for her and the babies?”
“Sex during pregnancy is perfectly fine, but Rain could feel during certain hormonal fluctuations that she is not interested in sex during those times. This is where you as her partner must respect her wishes. Also all forms of sex are acceptable, except for anal sex. It’s not recommended and can cause distress to the and the babies.
“Thank you for clearing that up,doctor. I can assure you that I will respect anything that Rain will or won’t want. My mission in life is to keep her and our children safe and healthy. That’s exactly what I intend to do.”Dominick was adamant. Dr. White seemed very pleased with his response.
“Rain, you can get dressed and then schedule our next visit. I’d like you back in two weeks to check the fetal heart rate again. If you are still in Italy, just let me know and I will have one of the doctors there examine you. In fact, that may be a good idea to establish a connect there, being you have a second home in Capri. Dr. Roth had explained this to me during our initial phone conversation. Call me tomorrow and I will get you all of the information on the physician I have in mind for you out there.”
“Thank you so much, Dr. White. I’m so happy Dr. Roth referred me to you.”
“My pleasure, Rain. We’ll talk tomorrow. Nice to meet you, Mr. Kane.”She said, before she left us alone.
“Pleasure to meet you, doctor.”Dominick said goodbye to her as well.
We were finally alone. I went to get my clothes and Dominick pulled me to him.
“Do you have any idea what you’re doing to me?”He was intense.
“I hope that’s a good thing.”
“I’m finally alive, Rain. Until I met you I really thought I was living, but now I know I was just existing.”
“I love you, Dominick.”I said and kiss him softly.
“Baby, I love you
more. Now let’s get out of here and plan our trip to Capri.”He said with a wide smile and a bigger spring in his step.
Twins….
****
CHAPTER TEN
A FAMILY AFFAIR
Dominick secured me in the passenger seat of the Hummer and paused for a moment. He smiled and kissed me gently. After he closed the door and got himself seated, and he belted himself in and turned towards me. He had something on his mind and I wondered if I was going to like this.
“Baby, let’s not tell anyone you’re carrying twins.”He didn’t ask.
“No, I will not let you ruin this for me. I want my family, Tommy, Joseph and Anna to know. I want Mema and Antonio to know, for that matter.”I was annoyed.
“Rain, I don’t mean forever. I mean until we get to Capri.”He seemed excited, but I wasn’t following.
“You’re not making sense. You want Mema and Antonio to know, but not the rest of my family? Dominick, you’re not controlling this. I don’t want it to be like this for the entire pregnancy. If you continue with these insane..............DEMANDS, I’ll have our babies on my own. It’s not what I want, but DO NOT push me.”
Just then he stopped the truck in the middle of the side street. So far it was quiet and he wasn’t blocking any traffic. Now what?
“That’s not what I meant and don’t ever say I can’t be near you or our children.”His voice cracked.
“Then stop acting crazy. My family has a right to know and I want them to share this with us. I don’t want them to be left out. You see how that felt, when I said I would leave you out of this equation? It didn’t feel good, did it?”I said, trying to make my point. I did feel bad after hearing the pain in his voice, but I won’t let him continue to takeover or I’ll have no say.
“Baby, I just meant that I wanted everyone to come to Capri. Then we can make the announcement there. I love you, Rain. I know that you thought you could never have children and the last time we were there it got ugly. I don’t want an ugly memory of us in Capri. I need to fix this. Will you let me?”He said, anxiously waiting for my answer.
I shook my head and looked down. I was so wrong. I realized I didn’t even give him a chance, because of the way he acted in the past. I was allowing the advice and opinions of others to cloud my judgement. Sure Dominick was controlling, but this wasn’t something bad. It was so considerate. He was trying so hard. I needed to make this right. I turned towards him and grabbed his hands.
“I’m so sorry. I love you and I should have heard you out.”
“No, Rain. I’ve given you every reason to question everything I do. I’ll tell you though that from now on my intentions are all good. If you would rather tell everyone now then that’s fine. I’ll honor your wishes.”
“No, you’re right. It would be amazing to have everyone there to celebrate with us. I do have one question, though.”
“What is it, baby?”Dominick seemed worried.
“Well, we intended to go to Capri to find your birth parents or at the very least find out what happened all of those years ago. How are you going to explain this to everyone?”I questioned.
“I’m not. I going to proceed with our plan as we discussed. During the day I’ll investigate with Marcello. The evenings will be spent with our family. We all need to get to know each other better and on firmer ground. Plus, with your dad there, we may be able to get more info than we first thought.”He explained everything.
“I guess you’re right. What about Joseph and Anna?”
“What about them?”
“Why can’t you just ask them about what went on?”
“I think at this point they would have told me something if they knew. I mean both my parents are dead. There’s no reason for them to remain loyal to Vincent or Elise. They’ve been with me for years and nothing has ever surfaced that would make me think that they know anything.”
“I guess so. Are you going to tell them what you’re searching for?”
“Eventually I’ll explain everything to them, but for now I just want to get the information I need.”
All at once a loud horn and a big mouth caused a huge ruckus from behind. I started to giggle. Dominick smirked and kissed my cheek.
“See the traffic problems you’ve caused, Miss Medici?”
“I know. It’s terrible isn’t it. No one has every heard of traffic issues in New York.”I smirked.
Dominick grinned and got us safely home.
Once home and settled, I called Tommy and Marcello to explain the change in plans. I mean the addition to our plans. Tommy thought it was a good idea. Marcello didn’t have an opinion either way. Then I called my dad and Raven, while Dominick spoke with Anna and Joseph.
Raven already knew I was pregnant, but she didn’t know I was having twins. This was going to be happy news for everyone. Both Raven and my dad agreed to me us out there on Monday. This would give us plenty of time to look around before they arrived. We were flying out in two days, on Thursday. Anna and Joseph needed to make arrangements with friends to take care of Max, so they would be leaving on Friday. It was all set. Everyone would meet at our family’s home. I was going to plan a dinner for Tuesday and we would make the announcement then. I was overwhelmed and flooded with feelings of happiness. I never in a million years thought my life would have turned out this way, but I’m glad it did.
The flight to Naples and the boatride to Capri were uneventful. Although I did get slightly sick to my stomach, it passed when we finally got to the house where Antonio and Mema were waiting to greet us. We left Marcello back in New York. He had some business to attend to and would fly in on Sunday. Dominick said we would meet him at the ferry in Naples on Monday morning, so we could get started on our quest to solve the issues in Dominick’s past.
Dominick and Tommy carried the bags into the house. Antonio joined in to help. Mema and I followed behind them. It was really good to be home and it would be even better once the house was full and we made our announcement about the twins.
I knew that it would be a surprise to everyone and maybe bitter sweet for some. Specifically my dad. I think once he sees how happy I am, that will all pass. At least this was my hope. Once the guys placed our bags in our rooms, they came downstairs and joined Mema and I in the kitchen for some espresso. I couldn’t have any, which raised a red flag to Mema.
“Rain, what’s wrong? Are you sick? You never refuse espresso.”Mema asked.
“I don’t think I’m coming down with anything. I’m just tired and I may go lay down and take a nap. I don’t want the espresso keeping me awake.”I explained nonchalantly.
“Let me feel your head. Now you want to lay down in the middle of the afternoon. You haven’t done that since you were a little girl.”
“Mema, stop. I take naps all the time. I’ve been very busy with the holidays and the art show and now traveling for a family vacation here. I’m just tired, that’s all.”I tried not to sound annoyed and raise a red flag.
“Alright, Rain. You need to tell me if you’re sick. You’re here now and I will take care of you my way.”Mema was firm.
“I promise, Mema. If I’m sick, you’ll be the first to know.”I said, getting up and giving her a kiss before leaving the room and heading outside to the patio room, so I could sit by the fire.
The temperature in Capri is usually 55 degrees this time of year. Today felt unseasonably warm. It was 62 degrees. It felt great after leaving the winter cold and snow in the states. The fireplace felt so good. I was starting to drift off, when Tommy walked out with a cup of hot cocoa for me. He settled down next to me near the fire.
“Here, Rain. I thought you could use this to warm you.”Tommy handed me the mug.
“Thanks. Where’s Dominick?”I wondered why he didn’t come out with Tommy.
“Marcello phoned him and they are going over their itinerary for next week. When are you going to tell Dominick about the trunk?”
“I think I’m going to go through it first. No need
to add any worry to what will probably be a very difficult journey into the past for Dominick. Whether I find anything or not,I’m still going to tell him about the trunk. I think I’ll take a look at it on Tuesday after my dad gets here. I may have some questions and I want to be face to face with him for the answers.”
“Do you really think that your mother’s trunk holds more than just old memories?”
“I don’t know for sure, but my mother and Vincent had a past long before she married my dad. I have a funny feeling that her trunk holds a lot of unanswered questions?”
“Rain, what if the trunk holds secrets you aren’t prepared for? Do you believe it’s wise to go through all of this in your condition.?”Tommy was concerned.
Identity: …………..People aren’t always who you believe them to be (Miss Taken Identity Series Book 2) Page 14