by Sarah Havan
“Yeah, cramp.”
“Is that okay? Should we call Dr. Garcia?” He put his hand on my stomach.
“Nah, it’s actually pretty normal.”
“Is that like a Braxton Hicks contraction?”
“Yeah,” I said, shoving a spoonful of ice cream in my mouth.
“I finished reading those books. Have you thought more about delivery? Think you’ll go without an epidural?” he asked. I swear, he read up way more on pregnancy than I did. He was like a walking what to expect info board.
“Yeah. I think it’s best for the babies and me.”
“No drugs at all?”
“Nope.” Hopefully, I still felt that way when I went into labor.
“What about names?” Conrad asked, kissing my neck.
“I keep trying to come up with stuff, but I don’t know.”
“I just happen to have a handy dandy baby name website open on my phone.” Conrad reached over and pulled his phone off of the nightstand.
“What a coincidence. Do you have any names you like?”
“It just so happens I made a list in case we needed some help with that.”
“You are so cute. Read me your list.” Conrad really was the best.
“Let me pull it up. Okay, so for girls I have Bailey, Sarah, Katie, Emma, Emily, Ada, Willa, Ashlynn.”
“Ooh, that’s pretty. I like that one. Add that to my list. Any others on yours?” I asked. My list was pretty much just that one name. There were way too many to pick from that I couldn’t make up my mind on only a few.
“Yep. I also have Mila, Kendall, Samantha.”
“You have a pretty long list.”
“Only a few more. Maisie, Delilah.”
“That’s cute,” I said, trying to imagine calling my daughter Delilah.
“Okay, adding to your list. And my last one is Caroline.”
“Aww, add that one, too.”
“So Ashlynn, Delilah, or Caroline so far.”
“I think Ashlynn is number one for me,” I said, and I think the babies knew we were talking about them because they started to kick. I took Conrad’s hand and lay it on my stomach.
“Hello, babies,” Conrad said as a tourism commercial for visiting London came on TV. “What about Elizabeth?”
“That’s perfect.” I knew right away that was the one.
“It is.”
I put my hand my belly next to Conrad’s, feeling our little ones wiggle and kick. “Hi, Elizabeth and unnamed baby boy.”
“Oh my God, I’m so excited.” Conrad kissed me up and down the side of my face.
I swatted him away. “Have you talked to your parents again?”
“My mom thought it was a problem to be fixed. From the sounds of it she doesn’t want us to keep our babies,” Conrad said, his voice dripping with sadness.
“Maybe we should drive out there. Talk to them in person.” I suggested, trying to push for it again.
“They can be such narrow-minded people.”
“Maybe at least give them a chance.”
“I’ll think about it.”
***
“I want chicken wings. Oh God, I want some chicken wings.” It was a few days later, and my chicken wing craving came back hardcore.
“It’s almost midnight.” Conrad had just gotten back from fixing the Neilson’s clogged sink. He was the on-call maintenance guy for the week. Since school had let out a while ago for the summer, he spent his days fixing stuff, and I spent mine sleeping, reading, and strolling around Pine Wood Falls, and visiting Sam.
“But I want some chicken wings so bad.”
“You might get heartburn.” He had a point, but man, did I want some.
“I’m already popping heartburn tablets left and right, so I should be okay. I’m going to get some chicken wings.” I pushed myself up off the couch.
“Do you want them that bad?”
“You wouldn’t believe how bad I want some chicken wings right now.” I grabbed his car keys from the counter.
“Stay. I’ll go find you some.”
“Really?” I asked. I knew he would, but sometimes, I liked to be dramatic.
“Yes.”
“You’re the best, Conrad. Come here.” He walked over to me, and I squished him in a tight hug. “The best mate ever.”
He let out a little laugh. “My mate.”
“Your very pregnant mate who’s been doing some thinking about school. It starts before you know it.”
Conrad raked a hand through his hair. “It does. This summer is going by so fast.”
“I can’t go like this. Look at me. I will be this giant beacon for prying eyes.”
“I know that it would be stressful for you. Maybe it would be best if you waited. You don’t ever have to go back if you don’t want to. I’ll take care of you.”
“I know I’d have some major anxiety issues. I want to get through this pregnancy peacefully. And maybe it is best to stay more private to help protect what everyone has here.”
“So maybe we should stay here until you give birth. We could even settle down here.”
“Yeah, so I think perhaps I’ll take the fall off or look into online classes, distant learning.”
“Maybe you should just rest and worry about school after the babies come, or like I said.”
“Or not go back. I’ll want to go back.”
“Okay, but maybe you should wait some.”
“Okay.”
“And I’ll go get you those chicken wings.” He gave me a quick kiss and left.
To occupy myself until he got back, I flipped on the TV and of course, fell asleep. I had become a champion of sleeping.
“Hey, baby,” Conrad said, coming back in.
“Oh, hi,” I said, trying to suppress my yawn, pretending like I wasn’t waking up.
“Chicken wings.” He smiled and shook the bag.
“Yes, please,” I said, holding onto the arm of the couch, trying to pull myself up.
“Don’t get up. Let me get you a plate.”
I settled back into the couch.
“Oh, and my mom invited us for lunch this weekend. She called me when I was out.”
“That’s great. When does our birthing class start?” I asked. My pregnancy brain liked to derail my thoughts, and sometimes, I found myself talking about something entirely different than what we started talking about.
“That’s on Thursday.”
“Okay,” I said, yawning. “Thanks for the chicken wings but I have to go sleep. I can’t keep my eyes open.”
“Go on, baby.”
I felt bad for making him run out, but I needed to crash.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Conrad
“Are you sure you want to do this?” I asked Mason for about the five hundredth time.
“Yes.”
“Okay. My brother Steve is going to be there also.” I parked at the top of the driveway, but we stayed in the car for a moment.
“Ugh, Steve.” Mason scrunched up his face.
“Hopefully, he’s matured.” Mason lucked out and had no siblings. I had Steve, the guy who was forever an ass-hat.
“He used to call me such derogatory names.”
“I always begged him to stop.” I had punched him a time or two, well maybe a few, over it.
“What if he says the same things to you that he said to me?” Mason looked so worried.
“Listen, if anyone is an asshole or makes you feel uncomfortable, tell me and we’ll leave. Okay?” I said, cupping the back of his head with my hand.
“Same goes for you.”
“I’m more concerned about you in all of this.”
“You have to think about yourself, too.” Mason looked into my eyes.
“I’m going to think about myself, thinking about you.”
He shook his head at me. “Shut up and help me out of this car.”
Mason was due in two months, and his stomach looked like it couldn’t stretch any further.
I
t led the way everywhere he went.
And it was the first thing that appeared as I grabbed his hand and helped pull him to his feet out of the car. I held his hand, and he squeezed my fingers tight as I rang the doorbell. My mom answered. Dressed in some fancy slacks and a blouse, looking more ready for a nice dinner than a casual lunch. She put her hand to her chest, and her mouth dropped open.
Her eyes were glued to Mason.
“Mom, you going to invite us in?” I asked, looking past her into the marble-floored foyer.
While Mason grew up in a small, modest house, I grew up in an obnoxiously large and expensive one.
“Oh, yes. Yes, come on in.”
She let us in, and the three of us stood in the foyer. Mason standing, holding his back with one hand and blowing out a breath.
“Jesus, baby, are you okay?” I asked.
Mason waved me away. “Yeah, I’m fine. I think from sitting so long in one position, just a bit of a cramp and sore back.”
“Deborah,” my dad called out. “Conrad, you’re here, and so is…” My dad’s mouth dropped open, and he stared right at Mason’s belly.
“Mom, dad, can you stop staring at Mason and maybe offer him a seat, something to drink?”
“Yes. Yes. This way.” My mom walked toward the front room, and Mason looked over at me.
“You okay?” I mouthed.
He nodded and followed my mom. My dad stayed in place, staring at Mason as we walked away.
“Holy shit.” And my brother Steve came out from the dining room and stepped in Mason’s path.
“Real nice, Steve,’ I said, boring my eyes into him.
“I thought you two were somehow fucking with Mom and Dad, but Jesus. Little dude is beyond pregnant. Does that hurt? You look ready to explode. My God.” He made an exploding sound and spread out his hands in front of himself.
“If nobody can act like decent human beings, we’re leaving. I’m not going to stand here and let you call my boyfriend names and gawk at him.”
“Holy shit,” Steve said.
“What now?” I asked.
“You got a dude pregnant by sticking—”
“We’re out. Mason,” I said, holding my hand out to him.
“Can I use the washroom first?” he whispered.
And my mom started crying. “This way, honey. Please, come with me.”
“Thank you so much,” Mason said, holding his stomach and waddling after my mom.
“When he gets back out, we’re gone.” I turned to go wait in the foyer, but my dad grabbed my shoulder. Stopping me.
“I don’t understand any of this. Stay. I want to understand.”
“Do you really?” I asked. Somehow, I didn’t believe him. “When I talked to mom, she wanted to take care of the situation. Fix my problem.”
“There’s nothing here that needs to be fixed. Please, Conrad. Stay.”
“Yeah, I gotta hear about all this shit,” Steve said, rubbing his palms together.
My dad pinched the bridge of his nose and looked over at Steve. “You’re not allowed to speak.”
“Fly on the wall. I’ll be a fly on the wall.” Somehow, I was related to Steve.
My mom came back out with Mason. The two of them were talking and smiling.
I let out a deep sigh. “I guess we’re staying.”
“Good,” Mason said.
“This way, and I’ll bring lunch right out.” My mom led us out back.
Me, Mason, my dad, and Steve sat around the patio table out on the deck. My dad sat up straight, opened his mouth, and then sat back again in his chair.
“Hey, yo,” Steve said.
My dad whipped his head in my brother’s direction and slowly shook his head at him.
“Sorry, I’m being quiet. I needed a moment to gather my thoughts. You are now living as a gay man, Conrad?”
“It’s not like I just woke up one morning and decided to, Dad.”
“He’s gay. That’s how you say it, Dad. Your baby boy here is a gay dude,” Steve said.
My dad nodded, “Okay.”
“And have you always been gay with Mason?”
Me, Steve, and Mason all started cracking up, and as my mom came out with some pasta salad, I told the story of how I fell in love with Mason Donnelly.
“When is the due date?” my mom asked.
“October fifteenth,” Mason said, wiggling in his chair.
“Are you all right, dear?” my mom sounded like a concerned mother. Talk about a one-eighty.
“Yeah, one of them is sticking a foot or some kind of body part into my ribs.”
“So freaky,” Steve said.
“I thought you didn’t have permission to talk, Steve,” I said. “And there’s nothing freaky about it.”
“I’m not saying about him being a dude or anything, just pregnancy in general. There’s like people in his stomach all living and moving around in there. It’s kinda creepy.”
“It’s beautiful is what it is,” my dad said, surprising me. Maybe he was starting to understand.
“Can I ask you a question, Dad?” I asked, blowing out a shaky breath.
“Go ahead,” he said, taking a sip from his glass of lemonade.
“You always say we come from a long line of alpha males. What’s that all about?” Maybe he knew something that he never shared. Something that he kept secret.
“The Mayfairs are known to be strong men, leaders. Men to be looked up to.”
“Nothing else?” I asked.
“Listen, Conrad, you will always be an alpha. You’re a Mayfair, but there’s nothing wrong if you feel like it’s not you. Look at, Steve.”
“Okay,” I said.
“Nice one, Dad,” Steve said. He got up and stormed off. I tried not to laugh. Steve barely squeaked by in college and lived at home. He hadn’t even bothered to try to get a job, so my dad was pretty spot on for using him as an example.
The rest of the time we spent talking about Mason’s pregnancy and how we were going to be the fathers of twins.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Mason
“I’ll be back. I’m coming home right after class. Call or text if you need anything, or call The Welcome Center or—”
“Conrad, I turned twenty last week. I think I can manage on my own for the morning.”
“All right, but still.”
“Yes, I’ll call you if I need anything.”
“Bye, baby, back soon.” He came over and kissed me on the lips and then kissed my belly. “Bye, babies.”
“We all say bye, Daddy.”
After he left, I went back to sleep because even though I had just woken up, I was already exhausted. My back hurt. My breasts throbbed, and I had a headache.
When I woke up again, I lay staring at the ceiling. Besides sleep, I didn’t know what I planned to do with my day. It felt weird not going to school and being home and resting. Resting, that’s all Conrad seemed to think I needed to do. Rest all day and night. After I got up and ate breakfast and then a second breakfast (being pregnant turned me into a hobbit), my phone rang.
“How are you doing?”
“I’m fine, Conrad. Just finished eating.”
“Good. I love you.”
“I love you, too. Now go back to class.”
A few minutes later my phone rang again. I picked it up without looking, assuming it was Conrad. “I’m still fine,” I said.
“Good to know,” my mom said back to me.
“Oh, I thought you were Conrad. Leaving me at home while he goes to class appears to be tough for him. He’s barely been gone, and he’s already checking in on me.”
“Aw, he loves you.”
“He hovers so much. He treats me like I’m this fragile thing and seems to think I can’t do anything for myself.” I plopped down on the couch. Our living room was pretty basic: couch, end table, coffee table, TV stand, and a small TV. Conrad started stashing away some money each paycheck so we could get a bit more furnishings and
maybe decorate the house some.
“I’m sure he wants to make sure you’re comfortable and well-taken care of.”
“He’s obsessed with taking care of me.”
“I think it’s sweet. But if you don’t like it, talk to him.”
“Maybe.” I pushed on the left side of my stomach as one of the babies pressed into my ribs. Baby didn’t move, though, only kicked back. “I don’t want to upset him. He seems so happy.”
“You deserve to be happy, too, Mason.”
“I know, but what can I complain about, really?”
“Mason, think about yourself, too.” She sounded like me talking to Conrad when we went to see his parents.
“Okay,” I said.
“But how have you been feeling otherwise?”
“Well, I feel like a blimp. My stomach is huge, and I still have seven weeks to go. I might explode.”
“You’ll be fine. Plenty of people have had twins, but you do have a slim frame, and since you’re carrying the babies all the way to forty weeks, you will be larger. Most people with twins don’t go past thirty-six weeks. A lot would even be delivering them at thirty-three weeks like you are now. So you’ll have two full-sized babies in there.” Something about being an omega let us carry our babies until full gestation. Even those who had triplets or quads. Quads didn’t happen all that often, but when they did, Dr. Garcia said they too went to forty weeks.
“And I’ll tip over.” Main reason why I’d prefer not ever to have triplets or quads.
“You got this, Mason.”
“Thanks, Mom.”
When I hung up with my mom, I fiddled around the house some. Then went and looked in our almost bare baby nursery. Conrad painted it beige and white stripes, but we had yet to get the furniture. Slowly, we had begun ordering some baby items, and some people from the community had donated a few things to us, but we still had a ways to go before we had a fully stocked nursery. Supposedly, you got a lot of stuff you needed from your baby shower, but I hadn’t heard any mention of one, and I wasn’t bold enough to throw one for myself.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Conrad
I rubbed my hand over Mason’s belly, bending over and kissing it.
It would never cease to amaze me.
His skin pulled taut over his round abdomen and veins ran up the sides, and a light brown line went down the middle. His belly button also popped out.
