Dirty Sweet Cowboy

Aden nods, chewing the inside of his cheek. He makes a fist and presses his knuckles against the bar, hard, flexing his forearms. When he finally gets up, his face is confused, hurt .

“What? What did I say?” I ask, concerned he is going to hit me .

“I thought you were going to tell me you’re in love with me,” he growls, his voice cracking at the end as he breaks into a smile .

“You’re a real jerk, you know that ?”

His smile gets broader, revealing that chipped front tooth from the time he fell off his skateboard into the statuary the end of the driveway .

“You think I’m a jerk, you should talk to my landlord!” he laughs, his cheeks flushed. I can’t help it; I laugh along with him. I have missed this guy. Now that we’re talking, I can see the hole in my heart that I’ve lived with since we stopped being friends. A hole that feels a little less empty right now .

Chapter 42

AVA

D r. Lopez knocks on the door of the examination room, letting herself in with a flourish. Her white coat billows behind her, revealing her smart, professionally tailored dress and those killer pumps that she’s always wearing. Her ankles are so thin and bony, I’m instantly seething with jealousy .

“Ava!” she singsongs happily, so happily I want to strangle her with her stethoscope. “You look amazing !”

“I look like a hippopotamus,” I correct her, glaring at my own trunk-like area where my ankles used to be, before my calves and feet became one long cylinder .

“Oh, stop exaggerating,” she scolds me. “You’re carrying twins. You’re twenty-three years old. You could probably put on another fifty pounds and then drop it right away. Young people are so springy !”

“See? That’s what I keep telling her!” Bea interrupts. I wonder if the stethoscope is long enough to strangle both of them at once .

“Now just lie back and relax,” she instructs me, yanking out the familiar ultrasound machine. She squirts a big glob of goo on my belly and starts rolling the transponder around. Instantly little black-and-white silhouettes pop up on the screen, and my bad mood melts away .

“Oh, wow,” I say softly. I see two round heads, bobbing back and forth. I can even make out the ghostly images of fingers flexing, strangely small legs kicking out. My belly wobbles from side to side, in time with the visual image on the screen .

“That’s pretty freaking cool,” Bea observes .

“You are such a sweet couple,” Dr. Lopez sighs. “I wish all my ladies were as sweet as you two .”

Bea rolls her eyes dramatically, but I don’t correct her. I found that when people hear that I’m single and pregnant with twins, they can get pretty judgey. I think I am better off just letting her think I’m in a committed relationship, even if it is with this crazy broad over here .

“Everything sure looks healthy!” Dr. Lopez announces. “You’re moving right along at twenty weeks. They can probably hear you, so you could sing to them if you wanted. Play music for them, maybe. Some people enjoy that .”

“Seriously?” I ask, wondering what kind of music fetuses enjoy .

“You b

et! They’re almost getting to the real life people point of their development. As a matter of fact, you’re basically halfway. And you look amazing… just keep doing what you’re doing. Do you want to know the gender ?”

Bea squeals in delight. “Hell, yes, we do !”

“No, wait!” I interrupt. They both look at me, eyes wide, waiting .

“It’s just… I mean …”

Dr. Lopez pats my hand, drawing the gown modestly back over my swollen belly, which is now officially bigger than my giant boobs. I’m giant everywhere and only going to get bigger, if what they tell me is true .

“I know it’s a lot to process, Ava,” she says sweetly, in that voice people use when they think I’m being a crazy pregnant lady. “Why don’t I just write it down for you? I will put in an envelope and you can decide later what to do with it. Open it or don’t open it. It’s totally up to you .”

“I want the envelope!” Bea announces .

“Do not give her the envelope,” I tell Dr. Lopez sternly as she’s writing something down with her back to me. She dramatically inserts it in the envelope and licks it closed, then raises her eyebrows at Bea as she hands it to me. I tuck it safely under my left butt cheek, fairly certain Bea is not going to go after it under there .

“Okay! I’ll see you in a month. You can just make an appointment with the receptionist on the way out .”