Margot nodded and I stepped forward to grip her hand. “I think so.”
“It’s just an image,” I told her. “The baby isn’t gonna start crying and demand you feed him or her.”
“Funny,” she snorted.
I went completely still at the throbbing through rushing water sound that filled the room. “What is that?”
The doctor smiled. “That is the heartbeat,” she said and leaned forward to squint at the screen.
Margot’s grip tightened on my hand and she tried to sit up. “Is something wrong? Something is wrong isn’t it? That sounds too fast and I’m too old, and it’s all wrong isn’t it.”
I rubbed her shoulder in gentle circles and dropped a kiss on top of her head. “Doc, tell Margot she’s wrong and that nothing’s wrong.”
Sympathy swam in the kind doctor’s eyes. “He’s right, which is something every father longs to hear,” she laughed. “He’s right though, nothing is wrong. And you’re right, that heart beat does sound too fast. For one baby.”
“What does that mean?” My gaze narrowed at the doctor as my growled question echoed in the room over the rapid beating of our baby’s heart.
“It means that I would be very worried about that heartbeat if it were just one baby. But it’s perfectly expected with twins.”
“Twins!” We both shouted at the same time.
Nonplussed, the doctor smiled. “Yep. There’s a heart here and another one right there. Look at the little black flutter,” she instructed and pointed at the screen.
“That’s the heart?” I asked in shocked.
“The hearts,” she answered, pointing to a second flutter. “Two hearts.”
“Holy shit. Twins.” I smiled and looked down at Margot who stared at the screen with a terrified, half-blank expression. Her face never moved, not once throughout the rest of the appointment. She was in shock. “Say something,” I implored her once we were settled back inside the car.
“I don’t know what to say Grady.”
“Okay,” I started the engine and pulled out of the parking space. “That’s enough to let me know you’re all right. Just don’t panic and we’ll both be fine.” I drove her straight to my house without another word and guided her inside. “Have a seat.”
I knew things were bad when she nodded and dropped down on the sofa without arguing or telling me I was being too bossy.
I rushed up to the main bathroom and started a bath with the bubbles Beth sent because she thought it would be funny. I made my way back downstairs and into the kitchen for a cup of tea. “Come on.”
She shook her head. “I’m not tired,” she said and followed me up the stairs.
“Good, because I wouldn’t want you to drown in the bath. Come on before the water gets cold.”
She froze behind me. “You drew me a bath?”
“Yeah, I figured you needed to relax or decompress, or whatever. Here’s some tea instead of, you know, champagne or wine.”
She smiled. “Thank you Grady. This is incredibly sweet.”
I nodded and left her alone, a t-shirt on the bed for her to change into afterwards, and made my way downstairs. The pregnant woman with the braids came to mind and her words of advice, and I made a beeline for the kitchen.
My mama cooked almost every night and made sure both Beth and I knew how to feed ourselves properly for the fateful day when we moved out on our own. I didn’t often cook at home, but I’d learned to enjoy it, and now that I had someone else to cook for I settled into the process of crushing tomatoes and chopping garlic and herbs.
The silence above me told me she must have fallen asleep, which was probably just what she needed, so I took my time in the kitchen, enjoying the novelty of making a meal in the middle of the day.
“It smells incredible in here.” Margot’s sweet voice sounded behind me and I turned to her with a smile. “What are you cooking?”
“My famous chicken riggies, of course.”
“Of course,” she joked. “What the hell is a riggie?”
“It’s a rigatoni. Spicy chicken rigatoni, but not too spicy because you’re pregnant.”
“Am I?”
“Funny. Did you have a good nap?” She was sexy and adorable in my oversized t-shirt, her hair half dry and wavy as it stuck up all around her head. Her legs looked long even though my shirt hung down to her knees.
“I did. Thank you for the bath and the big comfy bed. I guess that’s what I needed.” She stepped inside the kitchen and closed her eyes, inhaling deeply. “Twins.”
“Yep. Twins.”
Her stomach growled, loudly, and Margot smacked a hand to cover her face. “Oh. My. God.”
“Hungry?” My lips twitched and her cheeks flamed.
“It would be silly to claim otherwise. Food would be great thanks. How can I help?”
I pointed to the cabinet above the coffee pot. “Plates are over there.”
She nodded and moved around the kitchen easily, skirting around me as I stirred and added herbs and spices to the tomato sauce. It was like a well-choreographed dance, one we’d performed hundreds of times even though this was the first time. Margot set the table perfectly, because of course she did, lining up the silverware and even setting two glasses in front of each place setting. “Perfect.”