*Thank you for your comments. The story needed an ending. Hope you enjoy this one as well.*
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"Where are you?"
I've been waiting now for over one hour. Steve is meant to be here with me, by my side, while they do the ultrasound.
"On my way!"
Lies. The noise in the background. Mark, but of course it's him.
"You promised. Steve, you said you wanted to be here!"
He swears from the other side. "Dad," I recognize his voice, sweet Mark, "come back."
Come back?
"Theresa, we can't wait any longer."
The doctor in her white coat signals from the door. A tear runs down my face, a tear of rage and knowing that Mark didn't really buy the whole "we're going to be dads again" thing. I'm just a cheap whore for my son.
There's a visible bump already, and I can feel my breasts enlarging. Gosh, what am I thinking? I'm too old to have a baby.
"You promised Steve. You should be here with me. You told me you would."
"Theresa, I know, but Mark needs me."
"I need you too!" and hang up the phone. The doctor was still standing there.
"It's the hormones, Theresa. They mess us up. Come on in, lots of women go through this alone."
She lays me down, and turns the machine on, spreading some cold gel on a probe. Just when she's about to start, a gentle knock on the door. The receptionist opens the door ajar, and peaks through.
"What is it, Amelia?"
"Doctor, there's a man here."
"A man?"
"Mum?"
Another tear falls from my eyes, recognizing Gilbert's voice. "Oh let him in, he's my son," I say, proudly, to everyone. I see how Amelia and the doctor look at him, with his gray sweatpants and almighty bulge. They know how to identify a bull when they see one, or it's simply the shine in my eyes, lighting up the whole room.
"Oh, you must be Mark," Doctor Cordelia says.
"This one is Gilbert," I correct her straight away.
The conversation flows for a minute or two, and Gilbert doesn't take his eyes off my belly. He has been away for the last month but is very well aware that he is the father. The joy when I told him Steve and I were expecting.
He rubs my belly and then holds my hand when the cold gel touches my skin and makes me squirm.
Like a real father, he will be there for the whole procedure, giving me the strength I need to start wrapping my head around a pregnancy this late in life.
"Theresa, you are not old. It's a late pregnancy, but you'll be monitored very closely."
Gilbert will monitor me very closely, I know that. He is looking at everything with big eyes, discovering paternity so early in life, brushing his hands on my body. I know he desires me, so much more than Steve does.
And Gilbert gets tense, his heart starts to race, as soon as his son's heartbeat fills the room.
"Is that?" and the doctor confirms it.
"You two are very lucky," she says. And she freezes the image on the screen and repeats the last sentence. "Very lucky." When she turns to Gilbert and I, she stands motionless. "Even your son got emotional, no wonder."
"Is everything ok with the baby?" he asks, his voice wet from listening to his son's heartbeat.
And she moves to the side, letting me have a clear look at the image on the screen, and was slightly confusing.
"The babies, Theresa. You are having twins."
"I'm what now? Oh fuck."
She points at the screen and explains things I can't hear. The shock of having twins, as if a normal pregnancy wasn't a challenge already. I'm absolutely fucked.
"You can do this Theresa," she says.
Can I?
He opens the door for me. The whole world is a foggy place since I heard that word: twins. There are no cases of twins on my side of the family, and the same applies to Steve's. But, of course, Antonio's family is riddled with it.
I bend down, place my head between my hands, and take a deep breath. The car seems so small all of a sudden.
"You ok Mom?" he asks in a worried voice.
"It's just... too much right now," I say, without thinking I can do this. And neither Gilbert is ready for any of this, he's only nineteen for fuck sake.
"Mom, you heard the doctor. It's going to be fine."
"Fine? I'm not young anymore Gilbert! And to carry twins, oh what have I done."
He searches for my hand, making me return to a sitting position, and looks into my eyes. "You'll be fine, I'm here for you."
Like a man. He spoke like a true man. But couldn't he see he was just a boy?
"Gilbert, you are not here for me. You are my son, ok? Steve and I will manage, I'm sure of it, while you carry on with your studies."
"I'm more than just your son. It's because of me you had this ultrasound just now. It's because of me you look even more beautiful with each passing day."
Lie to yourself, Theresa. For one month I've been repeating, this is Steve's son.
"My dear, no. I can't let you be a father, you are far too young."