Page 127 of The October Arrangement

“Yes.” Bella smiled.

She grabbed a bottle next to the ultrasound machine and squeezed some gel over Bella’s belly.

“Ready?” The technician smiled.

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” Bella said.

The technician moved the wand across Bella’s belly, and all I saw on the screen were a bunch of gray shapes. I swore I saw something.

“Is that it?” I pointed to the screen, not knowing what the hell I was even pointing at.

“Not yet.” The technician smiled, and Bella squeezed my hand.

“Let her do her job,” she said.

“I’m letting her do her job.” I frowned.

“You’ve been looking at the screen for eight seconds,” she said.

“There we go,” the technician said as she stopped moving the wand. “Right there.” She pointed.

“That’s our baby?” Bella asked.

“That’s your baby.”

“Holy shit,” I whispered. It was small and blurry and looked nothing like a baby to me, but it was ours.

I glanced at Bella and noticed the tears in her eyes. I brought her hand up to my lips and kissed it.

“Here’s the baby’s heartbeat,” the technician said, turning up the volume.

“Simon,” Bella said, and I squeezed her hand as we listened to our baby’s heartbeat.

For the last month, we knew Bella was pregnant. But hearing our baby’s heartbeat for the first time felt different from seeing two pink lines on a stick.

“That’s our beautiful baby, sweetheart.” I leaned over and kissed her forehead.

The technician continued the ultrasound, taking measurements while I still tried to understand what I was seeing. She paused, and a strange look crossed her face. She moved the wand back, and instantly, my stomach tightened.

“What is it?” I asked as she kept looking at the screen.

“Is something wrong?” Bella asked nervously.

“No. Nothing’s wrong,” she said. “Okay. There we go.” She smiled.

“There we go what?” I asked.

“Everything’s fine. I just saw something I wasn’t expecting.”

“Oh, God. What? Bella asked.

“Another baby.”

“I’m sorry. What?” I shook my head.

“What?” Bella lifted her head from the table.

“You’re having twins.” She grinned.