Inseparable

“And I have to be the bigger man here,” John said. “I want to tell you both how sorry I am that I brought that load of bullshit into your lives and tore you apart like that. If I had used my big brain and not my little brain, I would have realized right away what kind of woman I was dealing with. But I didn’t, and I hope that the two of you can forgive me. Nathan is like my brother, and I could see every day how much it tore him apart to be without Amanda. That makes me feel terrible.”

&nbs

p; “Of course, brother,” I said, reaching over and shaking his hand.

“You were acting in the best interests of Nathan,” Amanda said. “And though your truths were misguided, it makes me feel good to know that a man of such strong character is standing beside him, watching out for him. I think that you will be able to teach our child some fantastic things about being a stand-up friend. I hope that one day, you have my back like you have his. He is a very lucky guy. So, of course, I accept your apology. We made it back together, and that is all that matters in the end.”

“Thank you,” he said with a smile.

“And as far as Sarah goes, trust me, I know how manipulative the girl can be,” Amanda said. “She has taken some of the best people I know and turned them into monsters. I hate that she got ahold of you like that, and I’m sorry that she used you. I know that doesn’t feel good. I just hope that you have learned your lesson in all of this. Stay away from that girl, and try not to judge them by their looks. She may be pretty on the outside, but she is rotten on the inside.”

“Trust me, I won’t be seeing anymore of Sarah ever again.” He chuckled. “I definitely did learn my lesson. In fact, I am going to start being a little more selective of the women that I bring into my life.”

“Wow,” I said, shaking my head. “It seems this wedding has changed all kinds of things, even the people that we thought were written in stone to be douche bags for an eternity.”

“Hey, hey,” he said. “I deserved that, but everyone can change.”

“Well, here is hoping,” Lindsey said, raising her mimosa in the air.

“Here, here,” everyone repeated with laughter.

I sat back in my chair and watched as everyone talked and joked. The girls cuddled up and whispered, the food steamed hot, and the mimosas bubbled in their glasses. My eyes met Amanda’s, and she smiled, leaning over and kissing me on the cheek. I felt like I hadn’t been happy for a very long time, but there, sitting with the people I cared about the most, I could feel the depression just evaporate away. Amanda did something amazing in my life, and I would spend the rest of it showing her just how much I loved her and that baby in her belly.

Chapter 27

Amanda

I reached over and took Nathan’s hand in mine, squeezing it tightly and smiling at him. My legs dangled over the edge of the examination table. We were at the first doctor’s appointment, waiting for the ultrasound tech to come in. I was really nervous, but I was excited to see our baby for the first time. Nathan had been talking about it all morning, and I found it so adorable how well he adjusted to the idea of being a father. There was never any pause, and he had jumped right in with both feet, researching, looking online, and finding out everything he would need to know in the coming months. He was the first person awake that morning and had rushed me out of the house because he was excited to see the baby.

We looked up as the door opened and a small older woman walked into the room. She smiled kindly at the both of us and walked to the back, grabbing my file. I looked over at Nathan and squeezed his hand again, giving him an excited grin.

“Good morning,” she said. “My name is Eleanor, and I will be your ultrasound tech today. This is your first well visit, correct?”

“Yes ma’am,” I said, smiling.

“Exciting,” she said. “You will get to see that baby for the first time and, hopefully, hear a heartbeat.”

“Will this hurt her?” I asked.

“No.” She smiled. “I’ll be super gentle. Just go ahead and lie back on the table, and I’ll get you all set up.”

She turned on the machine and got the wand ready. I laughed to myself, watching Nathan’s eyes grow big as she rolled a condom down the stick and lubed it up. Once she was inside, she moved it around quite a bit, measuring different things and taking pictures of the inside of me. Finally, it was our turn. She turned the monitor toward us and pointed to what looked like a little bean wriggling on the screen.

“There’s the baby,” she said excitedly.

Instantly, my whole body went calm, and I looked up at Nathan with tears in my eyes. He had teared up, too, and bent down, grasping my hand and kissing it. We watched as the little life inside of me moved to the beat of its own drum. She clicked a button, and we could hear a muffled beating.

“And that is its heart beat,” she said, smiling. “So, strong.”

“Do you hear that?” I asked through tears.

“I do,” he whispered. “It’s perfect.”

She took a couple pictures of the baby and printed them out for us. We sat there staring down at the little baby on the paper. She finished up all of her measurements and then cleaned me up, letting me know I could get dressed and get ready for the next part. I pulled myself up on the examination table, and Nathan got up, bringing my clothes over and helping me get dressed. He was always so careful and caring toward me, and I could tell that he was going to make an amazing father.

After I had gotten all my clothes on and washed my hands, I sat down in the chair next to him and looked at the pictures in awe. Neither one of us could believe how much of a miracle it was to be pregnant. Everything seemed so real at that moment, but instead of being nervous or scared, I was really excited.

“Can you believe we are going to have a baby?” he asked, shaking his head. “It looks so funny, but I love it already. When do we find out whether it’s a boy or a girl?”