"Welcome here, Mr Barlowe." The Doctor smiled when he sighted Callan and Orla.
He steered them towards the empty chairs in the office. They heeded and took seats on them.
Shortly after they sat, a nurse entered with the Fetal Doppler in her hands. She greeted Callan and Orla and walked down to the Doctor. They exchanged a few words before she left to set the examination table.
"If you're settled, may we begin?" The doctor asked Orla.
Callan turned to Orla. "Are you ready?" He held her hands and gave them a light squeeze.
He could see the terror that burnt in her eyes. But she didn't have to be afraid, the doctor already assured them that everything would go on well.
"Don't panic, everything will go well." The doctor said again, to convince her.
Orla nodded in understanding, "I am ready." She swallowed a lump that was gobbling up and down her throat, her eyes fixed on Callan. "As long as you're here with me, I am ready, Callan."
The doctor smiled, admiring them. He had noticed how Callan was always present for all of Orla's antenatal classes, patiently waiting until she was done. He loved their marriage and secretly wished he had something like that for himself.
"She's ready, Doctor," Callan informed the doctor.
Orla was properly positioned on the table. Once she was settled, her dress was slightly raised to reveal her bare belly.
“How do you feel? This is the first time in months?” The doctor tried to make the process tranquil, and captivating. He put her blouse up, massaging her belly with the gel.
The Doctor's hands lingered on Orla's belly, getting Callan so uncomfortable. Although he understood that he was doing his job, he still didn't want his hands on his wife like that.
They had waited so long for this moment. This should have been done a long time ago, but the doctors had advised that they waited up until now because the heartbeat was not detected in the early weeks of her pregnancy.
Callan didn’t know what he felt. Anxiety like Orla? Or his own was even worse, but he had to be strong for her.
After properly applying the gel on the belly, the probe was placed on her tummy, and he gently rotated it around to feel the heartbeats, but for a while, he heard nothing.
He tried again, and this time he heard the scampering sound on the external speaker. His face beamed with smiles, he was about to talk when he heard another sound.
His face strained, wondering what was happening for a while. He handled the probe again, and it was at that moment it occurred to him that the heartbeats were two distinct ones.
"There are two heartbeats. I can hear two heartbeats." The Doctor smiled, gesturing to Callan.
"What does that imply, doctor?"
The doctor smiled harder when he noticed the uneasiness on Callan's face. "The babies are healthy,"
"The babies?" Orla questioned, confused. "The babies?" She repeated.
"Yes, you're having twins."
Callan's hard face dissolved into a huge smile. "Twins?" He asked, still in disbelief.
"Yes, she's having twins."
Now he understood why her cravings were excessive. He could perfectly figure out the reason her bump was overly large, and her sudden increase in body mass. She was carrying his babies.
"We can fix a date for another ultrasound to determine the gender of the babies if you don't mind." The doctor suggested, but Callan didn't respond.
He was still overwhelmed with the news of Orla giving him twins. That alone was enough news for now.
"We will think about that and get back to you." Orla chirped in when Callan wasn't talking. She loved that he was even happier than her.
The Doctor wiped the gel off her belly and cleaned her up before letting her off the examination table.
"We're having twins, Orla." Callan looked at his wife.
"Yes," she lowered her head. "Twins,"
"Oh my goodness." He took her hands and squeezed them lightly. "Thank you, Orla. Now we have to make eight more babies."
She hit him on the shoulder, glaring at him, but he laughed. "You don't have to be aggressive, I will take care of you and the babies."
She laughed too. Her husband was the best thing that had ever happened to her. She looked towards the doctor and the nurse, they were still taking care of things at the table.
She turned back to her husband, certain that it was safe to admit. Sure it was the truth and couldn't be denied anymore. "I love you, Callan. I wouldn't have this any other way but with you. I love you so much."
Callan's heart melted. He felt a disruption in the beating of his heart for minutes, trying to process what she just told him.
He admitted o the fact that he wasn't perfect, he had hurt her. But he knew for sure that he loved her crazily and would do anything in the world for her.
He was about to give a response to her when the Doctor showed up. He gave them advice, and several minutes later, they left the office.
-
-
"About what you said in the…" Orla's phone beeped, interrupting Callan's words. She looked apologetically at him, but he urged her to check the phone.
She dug out the phone from her bag and quickly glanced through the text she had just gotten.
Callan expected her to put back the phone into the bag, but she stayed frozen on the spot, unmoving. Her mouth was wide open as she glanced through her phone again and again.
"Did something happen?" Callan asked, taking the phone from her.
"Callan, I…" she broke into faint sobs. "I got the park project! My submission was approved. I will be designing the biggest park in the city. This is big for me!"
Callan was stunned. "Really?" He smiled proudly as he read through the text.
He knew Orla could do big things, he had always believed in her and trusted her. He was glad he was a part of this success. He pushed her to her potential, and he made sure she didn't give up even when it was hard.
"You did this, Callan. I didn't give up only because of you." She sobbed harder. "This is a dream come through. I never thought I could do this in a million years. Thank you so much, Callan."
As a proud husband, he kissed her cheeks and consoled her until she had stopped crying.
"We have double celebrations. Triple celebrations even, where do we start from?"
Orla smiled heartily.
Wherever he wanted them to start from was good for her, she knew things were always right with him.
And with him, she was truly happy.