by Lane Hart
Fourteen
The week and a half before my ultrasound was spent in ten hours days in our murder trial, but at least time went by quickly. It was hectic and busy getting witnesses scheduled and exhibits prepared. Our client started talking to himself at the defense counsel table, which really did not help win over the jurors.
After three days of deliberation the jury found him guilty of murdering his wife. Not really a shocker but when he had the choice of life in prison or take a chance on a trial I couldn't really blame him for trying. It was a relief that the case was finally over so that things would calm down at the office.
On the morning of July 3rd Ben and I anxiously waited at the OBGYN office until they called us back for the ultrasound. We hadn’t invited our parents because we had an idea for how to surprise everyone, including ourselves, with the baby's gender. We went into the exam room and I hopped up in the reclined chair.
“Okay, are you ready to get started?” the young ultrasound technician asked.
“Yes, we can't wait!” I told her as she raised my shirt to put the gel on it.
“So, do you want to know what you are having or are you going to let it be surprise?” she asked.
“Well, yes and no. Would you write down the gender and then seal it in this envelope for us?” I asked her.
"Let me guess,” she said excitedly. “You're doing a gender party?"
"Yes, so we want to wait and find out if it's a boy or girl at the same time as our friends and family."
"Sure," she said. "I'm going to take a few measurements of the baby, check the heart rate and a few other things and as soon as we are done I’ll write it down and seal it up for you."
"Great, thanks," I said as I tried to relax. "Will you tell us if you see anything wrong with the baby?" I asked her.
"Of course," she responded as she started moving the paddle around on my now very large bump.
"Here's the face. Aw, look, the baby is sucking on its hand," she said.
It was one of the most wonderful things I had ever seen, watching this black and white image of our baby as it moved around, and it did look like it was sucking its thumb.
"Wow," I said since there were no words to describe it.
"That is amazing," were Ben's first words since coming into the room. He too seemed to be entranced with the screen.
"There's the little butt," said the technician. "And I think he or she has quite a bit of hair."
I loved watching the baby and I couldn't wait to hold this little girl or guy in my arms. But, just as every other time I thought about gender, the wash of worry came over me of the challenges we'd have with a boy.
At this point, it didn't matter. I knew we were going to love him or her more than anything in the world. We already did and had never even seen him or her until today.
"Everything looks great! I will print you out a few pictures for you to take with you and show off," the tech said as she finished up and wiped the goop off my stomach. "The baby is measuring exactly where it should for your due date, and I didn't see anything the doctor will be concerned about."
"Thanks goodness,” I said.
“Were you um, able to see the gender?" Ben asked nervously.
"Oh yeah!" the tech said with a smile.
She leaned over on the counter, scribbled something on the sheet of paper and then sealed it up in the envelope. "No peeking," she joked, as she handed it back to me.
The temptation to ask her to just tell us almost came over me, and it took a great deal of restraint not to tear open the envelope as we waited in the exam room for the doctor. I almost handed the envelope to Ben, but based on his pacing back and forth beside the exam table I was afraid he wouldn’t be as strong as I was to resist. While we waited we turned the black and white photos every which way trying to see if there was any noticeable boy or girl parts, which of course we couldn’t discern.
The doctor came in and was gone in about two minutes. She told us that everything looked great, and that I would soon start coming in every two weeks for check-ups.
After we left the doctor’s office we went straight to Bears, Balloons & More where we asked the florist to open the envelope after we left and then put appropriately colored balloons inside of a box and wrap the box up tight. She looked pleased to be responsible for such an important task, and I knew we wouldn’t be disappointed with the outcome.
Chapter
Fifteen
While we waited the ten to fifteen minutes for the florist to fix our surprise box we decided to grab an early lunch. Ben loved home cooking so we made our way to Jenn's Diner. As soon as we walked through the door I relaxed at the smell of greasy comfort food.
I had been craving meat lately, which was weird since I could hardly stand the stuff before I got pregnant. I ordered a mouthwatering hamburger steak with cheese and onions and a side of old fashioned crinkle fries. Ben went with his favorite, chicken and dumplings.
The waitress brought out our sweet teas and while we were waiting for our food I had a strange thought that had occurred during the ultrasound that I needed to ask Ben about.
"So, if it's a boy, is it possible the baby can shift into an animal in the womb?"
Ben's sip of tea went spewing across the table at me. He carefully looked around to see if anyone in the restaurant had heard my question, and then grabbed a stack of napkins and started soaking up the mess.
Uh oh, my bad! I didn't think about someone hearing it, I had been too concerned about what might happen in my stomach. Luckily it was only about eleven a.m., and besides us there were only two retirees sitting near at the bar near the door reading the newspaper.
"I can't believe you said that in a public," Ben whispered, but I could tell he wasn't really upset.
"I don't think those two senior citizens could hear me if I stood right beside them and yelled it in their ears," I said in my defense, although it had been an afterthought.
"So, is it possible?" I prompted him again.
He thought about it for a minute and then said, "You know, I have no idea. They didn't really use ultrasounds when my mom was pregnant with me, and as far as I know, my father’s relatives and I were all born," he looked around and quietly whispered even lower, "human".
"Well, I hope for my sake as well as his that he can't," I said. "If it is a he," I quickly added.
Ben thought about it for a moment and then his eyes bulged. I guess he had finally come to the thought that some, if not all animals had sharp teeth, claws or beaks. I could tell by the look on his face that another dark thought had come to him.
He hesitated and then said, "I don't want to scare you but, maybe that's another reason why there are so few of us."
For the love of God! Now I have to add, "the baby can rupture the protective little bubble he is in and kill me and him both” to my list of things to worry about if it’s a boy. Swell.
"I don't feel so well," I told him. Now I wouldn’t be able to eat my lunch.
"Don't panic,” he said. “We’ll sit down and talk to my parents and see what else they may know about us."
Chapter
Sixteen
I was feeling down and depressed when we walked back into the florist, but I immediately cheered up when I saw our box sitting on the counter. It was huge, at least four feet wide and four feet tall, wrapped in a beautiful shimmering paper with little blue and pink foot prints. There was a large pink and blue bow on top, with spiraled ribbons streaming down around the sides.
"Wow, it's perfect!" I told the florist who was beaming.
"I'm glad you like it,” she said. “And congratulations!"
We thanked her and then gently squeezed the box into the back of Ben's SUV. On the way home we stopped by the grocery store to pick up everything we needed to cook steaks for our cookout tonight. We had invited our parents, friends, and coworkers over to celebrate the big announcement with us.
My parents were the first to arrive. I knew my mom wanted to be earl
y to see if there was anything else that I needed help cooking or cleaning before everyone else arrived. She brought some cute plates and napkins with pink and blue baby prints on them, and had made a yummy looking cheesecake and key lime pie for dessert. Her and my dad had on their "World's Greatest Grandma" and "World's Greatest Grandpa" shirts, which made me smile. I had a feeling the shirts had become their new "uniform".
"Are you okay sweetie?" my mom asked ten seconds after she walked in the door.
"I'm just anxious is all," I lied to her.
"Uh huh," she replied doubtfully as she rolled her eyes, but there was still work to be done so she left me alone.
I thought about what the conversation was going to be like with her and my dad if the balloons in the box were blue. It might actually be funny since it wouldn’t be me hearing it for the first time. I'm sure their reactions would be priceless.
Everyone arrived a little while later, and the house was packed with the sounds of chatter and laughing as we passed around the ultrasound pictures for everyone to make final gender guesses. When it was time for the big reveal we herded all our guests out into our backyard.
It was a beautiful clear summer night with a few more hours of daylight left. The heat of the day was finally dying down to pleasant warmth.
Our fathers were standing in their assigned places since they were in charge of recording everything on the camera and camcorder.
With Ben’s hand in mine we made our way to the big box sitting in an open area in the grass.
"Hurry it up already," my mom yelled teasingly to us.
"Alright," I said. "Here we go. Cameras ready?" I asked. Ben's dad and my dad nodded and gave the thumbs up sign.
Together we started untying the maze of bows, ribbons and wrapping paper. When we had removed the last piece of paper we each grabbed our side of the box lid.
"On three?" Ben asked, and I nodded. "One, two, three," we counted together.
Blue balloons came pouring out of the box. Everyone cheered and hugged and yelled that they had known all along.
"It's a boy," I, Captain Obvious, said as I looked up at Ben. He only smiled and swallowed me in a huge embrace.
"He's going to be awesome, you know?" he said as he held me close.
"I know, and just like his dad," I whispered back as I shed a few happy tears.
I just hoped he would be healthy and not hurt himself in utero. I was going to optimistic and hope for the best. Ben's parents had survived his birth and childhood, and if they could do I knew we could too. I also loved the thought of a little Ben with his good looks, kind heart, and sweet smile, and maybe a little bit of me thrown in there too.
To be continued ...
###
PART
TWO OF THE WILD SERIES
Wild & Out
Part Two of the Wild Series
By Lane Hart
Chapter One
I used to think that my life was as close to normal as it could get. I was madly in love, recently married, and I had an exciting job that I enjoyed going to each day. Even though it may have seemed somewhat boring to others, I was happy. I'm not saying I would go back and change anything if I could, but in the last few months, the world as I knew it had been turned upside down.
Six months ago I found out I was pregnant. Big news in and of itself, but little did I know that when I sprang that news on my husband, Ben, he had his own surprise to share with me. Although we’d been together for three years, he had failed to mention that there was this little genetic anomaly in his family that was hereditary. It wasn't simply a cleft chin or his beautiful eye color. It was the ability to become an animal, or what my husband calls being a "shapeshifter".
I was initially skeptical of my husband's admission, until he turned into a penguin, and then later a large dog, right before my eyes. And what do you know; it's passed on to males, from one father to the next, with fertility decreasing over time. So, we were pretty lucky to find out we were actually going to be able to have a baby. Then there were a few weeks of anxiously waiting to find out if we would be having a "normal" little girl, or a "shifter" little boy.
Last week we had our ultrasound appointment, and then a gender party, to find out which future we were headed for. Ben and I had already decided that we were ready and fully capable to take on the challenges of having a boy, but seeing those blue balloons float out of the box was when the reality of what was coming finally hit me.
Worries and concerns had been at the forefront of most of my thoughts since the big reveal. I'm sure every new parent has their own set of worries, mainly that the baby will be healthy and born full term. But I had my own unique prayers - that the baby couldn’t or wouldn’t shift in utero, that after he was born he wouldn’t shift and injure himself, and that he wouldn’t shift in front of anyone, giving away the carefully preserved family secret. I tried to remain optimistic without dwelling on the difficulties ahead of us, but they always seemed to creep right back into my mind.
So tonight, Ben and I were headed to his parents' house to have a talk with them. We wanted them to tell us everything they knew about the history of Ben's father's family. Ben had a small family since fertility was so low. I knew that he was an only child, as was his father. His grandfather apparently had a sister, but his great-grandfather had also been an only child.
Ben had been quieter than usual since we found out we were having a boy. I knew he was happy, but he also shared my worries - him knowing way better than myself the difficulties of being a shifter. He was also dwelling on a question I had recently posed - was it possible for the baby to shift during the pregnancy? We had both endured a few sleepless nights, worrying about the baby making it full term without shifting and hurting himself. Ben was especially concerned about what it would mean for me if the baby was to shift during pregnancy.
"Are you okay?" I asked him, as he put the car in park in front of his parents' house.
"I’m doing the best I can with all these unknowns," he said with a sigh.
"Come on, I'm sure your parents will know more and can help ease our minds. We’ve just never thought to ask them about it," I said as I pulled on his arm, urging him out of the car.
Susan and David Hunter's house was out in the middle of nowhere. They had a decent little drive to get to the closest neighbor's house, and it took them at least twenty minutes to get to a grocery store. Given our situation, I now wished we had bought a home more isolated and suited for our up and coming adventure.
Ben’s dad was waiting for us at the door, probably wondering why we were taking so long.
"Come on in kids," he yelled out to us, waving his hand for us to get a move on.
"Hi, David and Sue," I greeted them as we walked into the foyer.
"How is our little boy doing?" Sue asked, and I knew she was no longer talking about Ben. He didn't seem to mind one bit.
"He's doing great!" I told them with a smile. "And Ben has felt him kick twice now, so you may get a chance to feel him soon."
"Oh, that would just be wonderful!" Sue exclaimed.
We all sat down in the living room, Ben and I beside each other on the couch and his parents in their two recliners.
"So, Ben said you have some questions for us," David said. "We'll try and tell you all we know."
Ben jumped right in and asked what had been weighing heavy on his mind.
"So, can the baby shift during the pregnancy? I can't believe I didn't consider that as a possibility before now," he said as he shook his head.
His parents thought it over for a minute.
"You know, I worried about that too when Sue was pregnant with you," David said as he reminisced. "Your mom had been with me for almost seventeen years by the time she got pregnant, and I never hid what I was from her. She and I both knew the range of animals that I could shift into and how dangerous that would have been for her. But our worries were unfounded, and she went right on through her pregnancy without a single problem. You were bor
n pink and screaming just like all the other babies in the nursery." He let us digest that for a moment before he went on. "I can't think of any of us that didn't make it to term, not that there's been many to go by. But I've never heard of miscarriages or anything that you two need to worry about."
Whew! That was a load off.
"Oh thank God!" Ben said as he hugged me to him.
"That's really, really good to know," I told his parents around him as he all but smothered me.
"Sweetie, I know you have enough to worry about without all of this we've thrown at you, but with Ben I didn't have anything out of the ordinary with the pregnancy or his delivery," his mom told me.
"And I can't say for certain, but Ben, back me up on this. When you have had spontaneous changes, wasn’t it usually into an animal in front of you, or one that you've recently seen?" asked David.
Ben thought it over. I could see him going back to all the times in his youth when he had shifted without the control to stop it.
"Yeah, always," he finally answered. "So, you think the baby doesn't change during pregnancy because he’s never seen or been around an animal before?"
"Exactly," his dad answered. "Shoot, even when I let myself shift it's usually an animal that I've recently seen unless I really focus on a different one."
Ben nodded in agreement. Well, that was good to know too. But I had a somewhat silly question. "Does it have to be a real animal or can it be just a picture or video of one?" I asked hesitantly.
Ben and his dad looked at each other as if the other had the answer.
"Oh, it can be a picture or one on TV," his mom spoke up and answered. We all turned to look at her as she explained.
"David, don't you remember when Ben was around three or four-years-old and he was watching Bugs Bunny?" she asked with a smile.
