“Would you like to know the gender if the baby’s in the right position?” Dr. Goodwin asked us.“Yes,” we said in unison and laughed.He started the ultrasound and let us listen to the heartbeat which was a hundred and forty. Normal. I looked at the screen as he did the ultrasound.“The brain and heart look normal. The spine is developing nicely, kidneys and stomach looks good, I’d say the crown-rump length looks to be about five inches,” I said.“Are you a doctor?” he asked me and Charlotte chuckled.“No. I just do a lot of research,” I said.“Well, let’s see how accurate you are,” he said. He took all the measurements and looked at the baby’s organs and smiled at Charlotte. “Five inches.”“The baby’s growth is normal even if Charlotte’s not gaining all the weight she should,” I said and he nodded.“Can you guess the gender?” he asked me as he pressed a button and the ultrasound picture started printing.“It’s a girl,” I said. Charlotte looked at me and then at the doctor, like his co
“Would getting married make you feel better,” Kiran said and burst out laughing.“I didn’t mean it like that,” I said, wondering if they’d heard every word. Of course they had. Charlotte had been yelling pretty loudly.“You’re so clueless,” he said and Adara gave him a look.“That really wasn’t necessary, Kiran,” she said and looked at me.“It’s still funny,” he said and held his arms in front of his face as the apple hit his arms.“Nothing I do is right. I bought her a house and it’s a problem. I bought her a car and that’s not right either. I give her access to money and that’s the worst thing I could have done apparently,” I said.“Levi, seriously. I’m surprised she didn’t slap you,” Adara said.“What do you mean?” I asked her and Kiran started to laugh again.“She wants you to do the big gesture thing,” Kiran said.“What Kiran means to say is, she wants to feel that she matters to you. Asking someone to marry you should be special, it should be special to her because she’ll always
“Am I cold and unfeeling?” I asked Adara.She wasn’t blunt like Jessica but she was open and honest and probably the nicest person in the Sinclair family.“Sometimes,” she said and smiled. “You are who you are, Levi, but at the core, you’re a good person. You care about the people closest to you, like William. What you did for him is…I don’t even have words. Then, at other times, you get that look in your eyes like you miss your old life.”“I do sometimes. It’s all I’ve ever known,” I said. “How do you do it? You married into this crazy family.”“It hasn’t always been easy, believe me, well you know, because Kiran gave you all his memories, but I love him enough to see it through every day. I didn’t have much of a life before I met Kiran, but every day with him is an adventure,” she said.“Charlotte doesn’t talk to me about everything and neither do I with her. I’m not always sure what she wants or what she’s thinking. I kind of just took her whole life away from her and dragged her a
I walked back into the house and headed down the hall to the study and opened the door. Adara was sitting on the desk with her legs wrapped around Kiran who stood directly in front of her.“Don’t you knock?” Kiran asked.I knocked on the door and Adara started to laugh as she buried her face in Kiran’s chest. “It’s called a bedroom, you know.”“What do you want, Levi? I’m kind of in the middle of something,” he said and I chuckled.I turned half away from them. “Charlotte took my car, so I need wheels.”“Why don’t you just buy her a car? It’s not like you can’t afford it,” he said and threw his car keys against my back.“Thanks,” I said and turned to pick up the keys. “Carry on, soldier.” Kiran started to laugh as I closed the door behind me. I went upstairs and texted Jennifer. She got a job. She felt insecure and she had told Jessica but not me and Jessica had told Malachi, hence the speech. I had kept myself so busy with the renovation of the house that I hadn’t really thought of
I looked at Malachi like I was trying to read his mind. “Married, not married, there’s not much difference in how we’ll live or how we’ve been living.”“Wow, Levi, how can you be so stupid and smart at the same time?” Malachi asked me with a smile and shook his head. “She won’t feel part of this family until you marry her, until then she’ll feel like a guest in this house.”“She was married before. It didn’t end so well, I doubt she wants to walk that road again,” I said. “Besides, have you seen how bossy she is? She doesn’t feel like a guest here, she knows I love her.”“Then why not?” Malachi asked me. He had me there.“You were raised differently than I was. I’ve never seen the point. Nothing changes if we get married,” I said and Kiran gave me a look. A real ‘what the hell’ type of look.“She’s going to give birth to your child in roughly six months, trust me when I tell you she wants that security feeling of being married. It creates something sacred between the two of you, stren
“William, did your mother ever tell you that you’re different from other kids?” I asked him. He got this guarded look in his eyes and I thought to myself that she had.“It’s okay, William, because I’m different like that too,” I said as we drove back to Seward.“You are?” he asked me.“I grew up not knowing my family. I thought my parents didn’t want me and my life wasn’t always easy, just like yours,” I said.“Did people hurt you too?” he asked me.“Yes, they did, sometimes very badly. Do you remember I told you once that you won’t always be the underdog?” I asked him.“Yes.”“Do you think I’m an underdog?” I asked him and he shook his head.“No, you’re strong and brave,” he said.“So are you, William, because we’re the same,” I said.“My mom and Ava said I’m good for nothing,” he said and more guilt hit me.“That’s not true, kid. You’re special and kind and I love you,” I said.Before meeting Charlotte, I doubt I would have said that to anyone. I hadn’t said it to Nataly even when s