“You can’t drink coffee when you’re pregnant,” he says softly, and I realize that I just sounded like a total bitch. It must be the hormones.
“That’s not funny, Asher.”
“Baby,” he starts laughing, “It’s the truth. No coffee when you’re pregnant.”
“Is that a rule? Where did you see this?” I ask, starting to panic. This can’t be true. What was I going to do if I couldn’t drink coffee?
“It’s in that book that you brought home yesterday.”
“Did you check Google?”
“Baby,” he says again, shaking his head, and I can tell he’s fighting a smile. “We, can ask the doctor today and see what he says about it. But for now, come eat something so we can shower and get ready to go.”
“Fine,” I grumble, getting out of bed. Once I’ve eaten breakfast and showered, we head out to the doctor’s office.
“Well, there you go,” the doctor says, pointing at the screen beside my head. We had been at the doctor’s office for a while. First, they ran a urine test to confirm what I already knew. Then, we had to wait for the ultrasound machine to free up. Now, I am looking and listening to our baby. Tears start to pool in my eyes from the overwhelming emotions I’m feeling. I can see little arms and legs and the heartbeat is so loud in the background, it drowns out all the other noise. Asher is squeezing my hand so hard that I’m losing the feeling in my fingers. He has a look of amazement on his face. He bends his head and kisses my nose, smiling. The doctor types some information into the computer then clicks several times on the screen.
“From the measurements, I would say you’re about fifteen weeks along,” he says, looking at me. I immediately feel guilty for not knowing sooner that I was pregnant.
“Is everything okay? I mean, is he healthy?” Asher asks.
“Everything looks perfect.”
“I was on the shot and had no idea I was pregnant,” I blurt, not wanting him to think that I'm going to be a horrible parent.
“You would be amazed at the number of times I’ve heard that story. It’s not as uncommon as some might think.”
“Really?” I am so glad I’m not the only one this has happened to.
“Really!” He chuckles.
“You’re far enough along to know the sex, if you would like to find out?” he says, looking back at the screen.
“Um.” I bite my lip and look at Asher. He nods his head, so I take that as a yes.
“Yes, please.”
“Okay, let’s have a look,” the doctor says, moving the wand around a bit. “I hope you like the color pink.” He smiles.
“Oh my God,” I whisper, looking up at Asher’s pale face. “Babe, are you okay? You look sick,” I say, trying to sit up. I didn’t expect this from him. He seemed so excited.
He swallows and shakes his head. “I'm having a daughter.”
“Yeah,” I say slowly, hoping that he isn’t going to start freaking out. I need him to be together. I didn’t even remember that I needed to make an appointment. I didn’t know that I couldn’t drink coffee until he told me. He had to be the one to hold it together.
“Look at you.” His hand frames my face and his eyes roam all over me. “Jesus, God is fucking playing a joke on me.”
“What?” I whisper.
“You’re so beautiful. I was not a good guy before you. God is getting even.”
I can’t help it, I start laughing. I grab his face and look into his worried eyes. “Honey, you’re going to be able to pick out the bad boys from a mile away. She will be a total daddy’s girl, and you will keep her safe. I love you, okay?”
He takes a deep breath and kisses me, bringing his hand to my stomach where we know our daughter is. His eyes come back to me. “I keep thinking that this is all a joke, that no one should ever be this happy.”
“I know,” I laugh, shaking my head. It feels unreal.
“So, I read in that book that you should wait to tell people until you’re twelve weeks. We’re past that so who do we want to tell first?” he asks with a smile.
“Miss Alice,” I say right away. She has been so happy since me and Asher got together. I know that she will be excited to hear that we’re having a baby.
Asher smiles and I know that I chose the right person.
I am standing in front of the barbecue with the lighter in my hand and I’m getting ready to set the stupid pregnancy book on fire. It’s been four weeks since we went to the doctor and confirmed that I am pregnant. Everyone has been so excited. When we told Miss Alice that we were having a girl, I thought she was having a seizure. She started jumping around in her chair, clapping and mumbling incoherently. Then she told me that I needed to go to her old house and pick up all the stuff for the baby’s room. I looked at Asher and he shrugged his shoulders.