Modern Arrangements: Complete Trilogy (Modern Arrangements #1-3) (50 page)

"Yes. You must be Emily?" I
held out my hand. After sharing a light shake, I motion for her to follow me.

"Your home is lovely." Her
voice held the same awe I felt the first time I entered this house.

"Thank you."

As Emily began setting up in the cleared
out living room, voices filled the foyer.

"Let's get with the huffing and the
puffing." Dixon called out, his voice booming off the walls.

"Well, hello to you too, you big
bad wolf." I giggled. He pulled me into a hug.

Smiling widely, he put his large hand on
my stomach.

"Look at you." He rubbed large
circles.

Just as I was about to yell at Dixon for
rubbing my stomach, Elora, James and Aidan entered the room.
Aidan?

His typically warm eyes were replaced
with a glare. Swallowing down the lump of guilt in my throat as he approached,
I noticed how he never took his eyes from me.

Reaching my side, he leaned forward,
barely brushing his lips against my cheek.

"Can I talk with you for a
moment?" Before I could answer, he grasped my arm and walked me into the
next room.

Once behind a closed door, he released
me. "Care to tell me why you didn't tell me about this?"

"I, uh, tried to...but you were
working late and then..." The angry look on his face stopped my excuses.
"I'm sorry. Honestly, I was going to ask you, but you're so busy." His
face reddened and his nostrils flared. Before he had the chance to argue, I put
my hands up in defeat. "I'm sorry. I should have told you. I'm truly sorry."

He pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Lilli, I want to know about these
things." Reaching out, he took my hands and held them. "I want to be
a part of this. Please?" Pulling me into his arms, he held me tightly.

"I'm sorry, Aidan. I didn't mean
to—"

"Just, let me be here."

I nodded.

Reentering the living room, James and
Elora were already seated on the floor together. Dixon was talking with another
couple that sat a few feet away. Roughly four other pregnant couples, invited
by Emily to join the private session, occupied our living room.

"Are we all ready?" Emily met
everyone's eyes as she looked around the room.

Aidan and I walked toward an empty mat
on the floor.

"I threw that down for you."
Dixon walked over and kissed my cheek, patted Aidan on the shoulder and headed
toward the door.

"Thanks, Dixon!" I shouted.

"No problem, Lil!" He shouted
back.

"Hello everyone, my name is Emily.
Throughout the session, we are going to discuss childbirth options, techniques
and breathing, as well as pain and pain management. Also, we will be viewing a
natural birth and answering any questions and concerns you might have."
She smiled. "No question is stupid, so I want all of them.”

"Let's get started." She
turned to the large flip board she set up on an easel and started to go over a
diagram of a baby still inside the womb. Emily discussed everything from the
baby's position to the descent into the birth canal. "Any questions so
far?"

Emily nodded to someone. A small, dark-haired
woman with a large, round face shyly asked her question.

"Will the doctor physically
manipulate my abdomen to turn the baby? Or immediately choose the cesarean
option?"

"Great questions." Emily
responded with a smile on her face. "Honestly, it will depend on your
doctor and the situation of your labor. These are things you will want to
discuss before giving birth. I strongly suggest you put together a birthing
plan with your doctor well in advance."

"A birthing plan?" I snapped my
attention to Aidan when the question popped out of his mouth. "They have
plans
?"

Emily nodded.

"It's a plan you set up with your
doctor. For example, do you want an epidural or natural childbirth? Do you want
a midwife or a Doula? Those types of things are discussed and planned out so
that your doctor is well aware of your birthing experience wishes."

A snort from off to the left of us drew
my attention to a very pregnant red-haired woman

"Something you would like to
add?" Emily asked.

"Oh, no. I was just thinking that I
did the birthing plan for my first birth, but then threw it all out the window
once the pain started." She laughed.

Emily grinned. "What number is
this?" She motioned to her stomach.

The red-head rubbed her belly.
"This is number three." She smiled widely.

"But my first." Her partner
chimed in.

"Congratulations." Emily
smiled.

Emily went on to discuss relaxation
techniques and the benefits of the breathing exercises. I noticed James cringe
a few different times and had to stifle my laughter. Then she began the
discussion about birth assistance; labor support specialists, midwives and
doulas.

"What is a labor support specialist?
Or a Doula, for that matter?" Elora asked in a hushed voice.

"These would be professionals that
provide emotional support and encouragement while a woman is in labor. They
also can support the coach. However, a labor support specialist is usually
medically trained where a Doula typically is trained in a class and then
attends several births to get certification." Emily ticked each statement
off on her fingers.

"We need one of those." James
blurted. Aidan laughed. "Oh, dude, you know you want one too." James
winked.

"So, I would like to go through a
brief birth video so you can get an idea of what to expect." Emily took
back control of the class. "However, please keep in mind that all
experiences are different and personal." She turned to a small TV and DVD
player.

She pushed a button on the remote in her
hand and we were greeted to a sweaty woman rhythmically panting and puffing. As
her groans became screams, my eyes widened and I shuttered.

"Holy..."

"Shit." I finished Aidan's sentence.

The woman on the screen groaned and
grunted, pulling her knees toward her chest with bone white knuckles. I
swallowed hard.

Then came the graphic part. The camera
zeroed in on a large, round mound pushing through the woman's stretched vagina.
I swear my vagina puckered then clenched in refusal of natural childbirth.

Suddenly, a large baby head emerged,
covered in blood and goo. I shivered again and Aidan pulled me closer.

"Turn it off. I can't watch
anymore." James hid his head in his hands.

Elora's face flushed with embarrassment,
as the rest of the room laughed.

The next scene was the doctor rotating
the baby by its poor little head until the shoulders popped out, one at a time,
and then the baby was placed upon the woman's chest. Nurses wiped the baby down
while the doctor continued to work between her legs.

I was still sitting wide-eyed with shock
when Emily turned off the DVD and dismissed everyone till next week’s class.

"Oh, hell no. I'm not going through
this again." James groaned.

"Are you okay?" Aidan
whispered into my ear.

I shook my head. I twisted around and
locked eyes with him.

"Don't you dare think that you are
videotaping anything, mister!" I shouted.

Aidan looked shocked.

"I-I won't." He stammered.

"I can't do that!" Elora
panicked, grabbing onto James.

"Baby, I'm sorry! I can't do it for
you and I sure as hell don't want to!" James shook his head, helping Elora
stand up.

"I want drugs, James. Lots of
drugs!"

"Me too." James said and
hugged her tightly.

"You'll do fine." The red
headed woman had stepped over to Elora and patted her on the arm. "Trust
me, it looks bad and you get nervous, but you will be amazed at the strength
you find in yourself." Smiling, she walked toward the foyer.

"Baby, you have the strength to
pull that off." James pointed toward the darkened TV, "and I will
never again say a word about the number of shoes you have. Ever! In fact, I
will personally take you to buy however many chimmaroos or whatever the fuck
they're called."

"Jimmy Choo's." Elora grinned.

"Whatever." James pulled her into
his arms.

"Lilli, I...I don't even know what
to say or—"

I placed my hand on his chest to stop
him.

"There is nothing to say." I
shrugged. "It's going to happen, no matter what you say or do." Then
a thought crossed my mind and I started to laugh, though it wasn't exactly a
funny thought.

"What?" Aidan asked as he helped
me from the floor.

"I'm going to…have…to…do that…twice."
I howled.

Aidan raised his eyebrow. "That's
funny?"

"No…not really." I snorted.

Taking a deep breath, I tried to calm
myself.

"I just…can't…help…but laugh".
If I didn't laugh, I would panic and tears would burst through instead.

A smile formed, then grew larger across
Aidan's face until he too was laughing.

"I don't know what you find so
funny." James came over shaking his head. "This shit is just
medieval. You would think they would've figured out how to make it less—"

"Natural?" Emily questioned, a
smirk turning up one side of her mouth.

"Hey, I'm not knocking the whole
natural
thing, but hell...that was brutal. Next time, give a guy a warning. My balls
will never descend again."

James's rant only made my laughing
increase and Aidan basically had to hold me up.

Once everyone left, most with fear or
panic across their faces, Aidan and I ate then went to bed.

"So, I just wanted to tell you that
I am really sorry about tonight." I apologized as I slipped into bed next
to Aidan.

He wrapped his arms around me, pulling me
against him.

"I know you are, and I forgive you,
but don't leave me out again." As he said it, he nuzzled my neck.
"When is your next doctor appointment?"

"In two weeks." I said.
"It's the ultra sound."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Two weeks later, Aidan was helping me out
of the car and into the new doctor's office. I'd taken an OB/GYN referral from
Doctor Munthers. When I initially met Doctor Baker, I immediately liked her and
reveled in the fact that I chose my doctor, not the Iverson family.

"So, Lilli, how are you
feeling?" Dr. Baker asked.

"Good. I'm not getting sick
anymore." I smiled.

"That's good to hear." She nodded.
"Well, I think you know the drill. Lie back for me."

I lay back, Aidan at my side. Doctor
Baker performed the internal exam as well as manipulation of my abdomen. Then
she pulled out the fetal heart monitor and the whooshing of heartbeats filled
the room. Aidan's grip on my hand tightened.

"Give me your hand, Mr. Iverson."
Furrowing my brow, I watched her take Aidan's hand and place it on my stomach. The
pressure of their hands on my abdomen wasn't uncomfortable.

"Do you feel that?"

"Yes." Aidan whispered,
amazement all over his face.

"That is the rump of one of your babies."
She smiled warmly.

"That's..." He couldn't
finish, his hand tightening on mine even more.

After she removed her hands, Dr. Baker
helped me sit up.

"Let's get you over to the
ultrasound technician, shall we?"

Aidan helped me down from the table and
we followed the doctor through a few sets of doors.

I laid back on the padded table. The
technician draped a sheet from my hips down and lifted my gown up over my
stomach. The gel she squeezed onto my abdomen was warm.

"Alright..." the technician
said, "let me get some measurements and then I will give you both a look
at your babies."

After some clicks, taps and bleeps, she
turned her attention to us.

"So, would you like to have a
look?"

"Yes." I nodded.

"Before we begin, do you want to
know the sexes?"

"I-I'm not sure." I hesitated.

"Okay. Let’s just begin with taking
a look." She smiled and turned the monitor for us to view.

"Here is baby number one. There is
the spine, the head, eye socket..." She continued to point things out. I
stared in awe at the screen, shocked that there were two lives inside of me.
Then she moved on to the second baby and we viewed the same parts of our child.

"Well, you have yourself fraternal
twins." She smiled.

"Fraternal?" Aidan questioned.

"That means that they share separate
sacks."

Aidan still looked confused.