All those thoughts disappeared from her mind when she realized that the thump-thump filling the room really was her baby抯 heartbeat. That little peanut she was seeing on the screen was a human being, and right after the first of the year, she was going to be a mother. The full impact of it all hit her with such force that it brought tears to her eyes.
揟he heartbeat won抰 tell us a thing.?Mary Nell handed her a tissue. 揑 did some research and found out that anything below 140 is a boy and anything above is a girl. If I抦 reading that number on the screen right, it抯 right on the button at 140. Guess you抎 better pick out a name for a boy and one for a girl.?
揂 healthy baby would be enough for me,?Haley answered, almost breathless with emotion. That tiny little thing that looked like a lima bean was her child, and it already had a heartbeat. She fell in love in that moment in a way that words could not describe, and wondered if Risa had felt this surge of emotion when she heard the twins?heartbeats for the first time.
揑t looks like you抳e got your wish for a healthy baby at this point for sure.?Dr. Jeannie removed the wand and turned off the monitor, which made Haley even more emotional. She wanted to stare at her baby moving around a little longer.
Gloria took a couple of black-and-white images from the printer and handed them to her. 揌ere you go. The first pictures for the baby book.?
Haley hugged them to her chest and wished that January would hurry up and get there so she could hold the baby instead of a picture. 揟hank you.?
Then she heard a sniffle and turned to see Mary Nell dabbing at her eyes.
揟hat was the most beautiful thing,?Mary Nell said. 揑抦 so glad I got the long straw.?
揑t is, isn抰 it,?Dr. Jeannie said. 揟here抯 just something about this first time that fills a mother抯 heart with love. I抣l see you in a month, and Gloria will explain our scheduling to you, but if you have any problems, call us. Or if you have a worry about something, we抮e always ready to listen.?
揟hank you,?Haley said around the lump in her throat. Nothing had ever affected her like the images she held in her hand.
Dr. Jeannie wiped the gel from Haley抯 stomach and helped her sit up. 揑抣l see you in a month. By then you might be feeling a few little flutters.?
揟hank you, again.?Haley suddenly couldn抰 wait for every stage of the pregnancy, and planned to record every day in a journal so her baby would always know how much he or she was wanted.
Haley taped the pictures of the baby to the mirror above her dresser that evening. Her friends had looked at the two images so much that she was surprised there was anything left of them. Before she went to bed, she kissed her fingertips and touched the image. 揋ood night, sweet baby. We抮e going to have a wonderful life together, I promise. You抣l have Wade for a male role model and Oscar will step in for a grandparent, and you抳e got three wonderful aunts, and two cousins that can抰 wait for you to arrive.?
She was still too wound up from the afternoon to go right to sleep, so she reached for the book she抎 been reading on the nightstand. She didn抰 have a good hold on it, and it fell on the floor and scooted under the dresser. Haley dropped down on her knees and felt under the piece of furniture that had sat in the same place in her folks?bedroom since she was a toddler. Her hands closed around the book, and she eased it out.
But the book in her hand was not the one that she had been reading. It was a worn copy of Dr. Seuss抯 ABC. She rolled over to sit with her back against the dresser and stare at the book, a faint memory coming back to her. Just before Frannie had left home to go off to college, she had set Haley on her lap and read the book to her. When she finished reading, she had hugged Haley tightly, and explained that she was going away, but that she would always, always keep her in her heart. She had even laid Haley抯 little hand on her chest and said, 揧ou will always, always be right here, my precious little girl.?
揘ot sister or daughter,?Haley muttered, 揵ut precious little girl. I think she did love me. When I kissed her good night, her face tasted salty.?She opened the book to the yellowed pages. 揑t seems fitting that I should read this book to you today since my biological mother read it to me,?she told the baby growing inside her. She began to read.
When she reached the part about camels on the ceiling, an envelope fell out into her lap. She picked it up and found her full name on the front of it: Vanessa Haley Macall. She didn抰 recognize the handwriting as her mother抯。 Her hands shook as she carefully ripped it open and removed a letter written on lined paper with three holes in the side. She just knew it was from Frannie梐nd she was right.
Her eyes scanned the page, then went back to the beginning to read each word: