“No, thank you,” Luke answers with a smile. “We’ve talked it through at great length, haven’t we, Becky? And we both feel it would spoil the magic to find out.”
“Very well.” The sonographer smiles back. “If that’s what you’ve decided, I won’t say anything.”
She “won’t say anything”? That means she’s already seen what the sex is. She could just tell us right now!
“We hadn’t actually decided, had we?” I say. “Not for definite.”
“Well…yes, we had, Becky.” Luke seems taken aback. “Don’t you remember, we talked about it for a whole evening and agreed we wanted it to be a surprise.”
“Oh right, yes.” I can’t take my eyes off the blurry print of the baby. “But we could have our surprise now! It would be just as magical!”
OK, maybe that’s not exactly true. But isn’t he desperate to know?
“Is that really what you want?” As I look up I can see a streak of disappointment in Luke’s face. “To find out now?”
“Well…” I hesitate. “Not if you don’t want to.”
The last thing I want is to upset Luke. He’s been so sweet and loving to me since I’ve been pregnant. Recently I’ve had cravings for all sorts of odd combinations — like the other day I had this sudden weird desire for pineapple and a pink cardigan. And Luke drove me to the shops especially to get them.
He’s about to say something, when his mobile phone starts ringing. He whips it out of his pocket and the sonographer puts up a hand.
“I’m sorry, but you can’t use that in here.”
“Right.” Luke frowns as he sees the caller display. “It’s Iain. I’d better call him back.”
I don’t need to ask which Iain. It’ll be Iain Wheeler, the chief marketing honcho of the Arcodas Group. Luke has his own PR company, Brandon Communications, and Arcodas is Luke’s big new client. It was a real coup when he won them and it’s given a fantastic boost to the company — he’s already hired more staff and is planning to open loads of new European offices on the back of it.
So it’s all wonderful for Brandon Communications. But as usual, Luke’s working himself into the ground. I’ve never seen him so at anyone’s beck and call before. If Iain Wheeler calls, he always, always calls him back within five minutes, whether he’s in another meeting, or he’s having supper, or even if it’s the middle of the night. He says it’s the service industry and Arcodas is his mega-client, and that’s what they’re paying for.
All I can say is, if Iain Wheeler calls while I’m in labor, then that phone is going straight out the window.
“Is there a landline I can use nearby?” Luke is asking the sonographer. “Becky, you don’t mind….”
“It’s fine.” I wave a hand.
“I’ll show you,” the sonographer says, getting up. “I’ll be back in a moment, Mrs. Brandon.”
The two of them disappear out the door, which closes with a heavy clunk.
I’m alone. The computer is still on. The ultrasound probe thing is resting next to the monitor.
I could just reach over and—
No. Don’t be silly. I don’t even know how to use an ultrasound. And besides, it would spoil the magical surprise. If Luke wants us to wait, then we’ll wait.
I shift on the couch and examine my nails. I can wait for things. Of course I can. I can easily—
Oh God. No I can’t. Not till December. And it’s all right there in front of me…and nobody’s about….
I’ll just have a teeny peek. Just really quickly. And I won’t tell Luke. We’ll still have the magical surprise at the birth — except it won’t be quite so much of a surprise for me. Exactly.
Leaning right over, I manage to grab the ultrasound stick. I apply it to the gel on my stomach — and at once the blurry image reappears on the screen.
I did it! Now I just have to shift it slightly to get the crucial bit…. Frowning with concentration, I move the probe around on my abdomen, tilting it this way and that, craning my neck to see the screen. This is a lot easier than I thought! Maybe I should become a sonographer. I’m obviously a bit of a natural—
There’s the head. Wow, it’s huge! And that bit must be—
My hand freezes and I catch my breath. I’ve just spotted it. I’ve seen the sex of our baby!
It’s a boy!
The image isn’t quite as good as the sonographer’s — but even so, it’s unmistakable. Luke and I are going to have a son!
“Hello,” I say aloud to the screen, my voice cracking slightly. “Hello, little boy!”
And now I can’t stop the tears rolling down my cheeks. We’re having a gorgeous baby boy! I can dress him up in cute overalls, and buy him a pedal car, and Luke can play cricket with him, and we can call him—
Oh my God. What are we going to call him?
I wonder if Luke would go for Birkin. Then I could get a Birkin to be his nappy bag.
Birkin Brandon. That’s quite cool.
“Hi, little baby,” I croon gently to the big round head on the screen. “Do you want to be called Birkin?”
“What are you doing?” The sonographer’s voice makes me jump. She’s standing at the door with Luke, looking appalled. “That’s hospital equipment! You shouldn’t be touching it!”
“I’m sorry,” I say, wiping my eyes. “But I just had to have another quick look. Luke, I’m talking to our baby. It’s just…amazing.”