Lakeside Love

The Countdown

It was an early-morning on Wednesday. My dad was taking just a few hours off work to take me to all my appointments, so we had to get the earliest possible. I was half asleep on the car ride back to Oak Falls. What kind of office starts appointments at eight in the morning?

We arrived at my OBGYN's office. I got checked in and my dad waited in the lobby when I was called in. I was with Britney, the same ultrasound tech I had from last time.

"So, how have you been, Miss Kimi?" she asked, putting the gel on my stomach.

"Not too bad. Hanging in there," I said.

"Hey, when it comes to twins that's all you can do sometimes," she said. "Ready to see these babies?"

"Yup. Oh, and my friends are planning a gender reveal for me," I said.

"That was going to be my next question. I always have an envelope ready just in case," she said, pressing the wand onto my belly. "What kind of reveal are you doing? People come up with such cool ideas these days."

"I don't know. It's a complete surprise. I don't even know where it's happening!"

"Oh wow. So the whole thing will be one giant surprise. That's a lot of fun!" She turned the monitor towards me. "So here's Baby A."

"Wow! It's so much bigger than last time."
"You're a lot farther along," she said. She moved the wand to the other side of my belly. "And here's Baby B kicking around, probably jabbing the other one in the side. Ready to hear the heartbeats?"

"Of course!"

She pressed a button on the machine, letting me hear one heartbeat at a time. Both babies were looking good. I imagined them in my arms. That whole situation with their father really sucked, but seeing them made it so much better.

"Okay, say bye for now. I'm going to turn the monitor around and get the genders for you," Britney said.

"Aww. Bye babies!" I said.

"I took lots of pictures for you," she said, turning the monitor around. "Okay, so Baby A is spreading eagle for me so that's an easy one. Now let's go find Baby B...come on little one!"

"I wish you could just tell me now," I said.

"Honey I'd love to but I think your friends would hate me." She paused. "Alrighty. I've got it for Baby B."

She looked around a little more, checking for any anomalies. Both babies looked perfect. Britney turned the monitor off and gave me a rag to wipe up the gel. Then I was taken back to see Doctor Andrews, who did an exam and talked to me about setting up a time to get tested for Gestational Diabetes. I apparently had to drink a really gross sugary thing and get my blood drawn a bunch. It sounded awful.

"But the good news is, there is a lab about twenty minutes from your summer place, so you don't have to drive your dad all the way out here for it," she said.

"Oh, that'll be great."

"You do have to stick with the early mornings, because you can't eat beforehand."

"You're killing me," I said.

"I'm sorry sweetheart. But everything else looks good. I'll see you in a month, okay?"

"Sounds good. Thanks again."

"You're welcome. You're doing great. Halfway there, almost!" she said as she walked out the door.

I went to the checkout counter with my dad to set up a time for next month. We got an appointment for the very end of the day so he could leave work early instead. Score.

After that we went ten minutes away to the clinic where I'd get my blood drawn for the paternity test. They needed it to prove that Christian was the father of my babies. I just felt really ashamed and uncomfortable. The other people there were getting tested because they didn't know who their baby daddy was. My story was completely different, but all the staff there probably thought it was the same as theirs.

Once that was all done, it was time to grab some fast food and go home. I texted my friends the pictures of the ultrasounds and then walked to Opal's place, where I handed her the envelope and we hung out in her room for a little while.

After that, my dad was done with work, so it was time for dinner. I tried out my cooking skills with some basic mac and cheese and frozen veggies. Hard to mess up, right? Wrong. I used too much milk, so the mac and cheese was all runny. My dad didn't seem to care though.

The next morning was Friday. Only one more day to my gender reveal. Opal told me it was going to be at night. Nine o'clock, to be specific. I was literally counting down the hours now.

I got ready for the beach, then knocked on my dad's door. I didn't wait for him to answer. I just opened it.

"I'm heading to the beach, Dad," I said.

"Okay. Have a good t—" He blinked a few times. "You're...going out like that? I'm just surprised."

"Well I'm going to the beach and I want to swim. With the wind and the sand and the water I don't want to wreck my wigs. Those things can get expensive," I said.

"Okay. I just haven't seen you go out without it, so that's why I asked."

"I know people are probably gonna stare but...I really don't want to destroy my wigs just so people don't stare at me."

"If you feel confident, then you go rock your true self! Just don't forget to put sunscreen up there."

"I'm going to leave my hat on."

"Just making sure. I'll see you later."

"Okay. Have fun at work."

"I'll do my best. Bye Kimber."

"Bye, Dad."

I closed the door and headed down to the beach, opening the group chat as I walked.

Me: Hey guys. Just FYI I really can't wear wigs to the beach. I know you all don't care but I wanted to let you know anyways so you're not surprised that I don't have my hair on.

Opal: QUEEN! You look gorgeous no matter what!

Me: Lol thx.

I wanted down towards the beach and tightened the strap on my sunhat so it wouldn't blow away. Brayden was there first, then Opal. DJ rode in on his skateboard once we had our spot all set up.

"I like how you brought a skateboard to the beach, which is full of sand," I said as he sat down.

"Well how do you think I'm gonna get here? Walk? I live all the way over there!" he said, pointing in the direction of the huge houses across the way.

"Wait, you live in one of those?" I asked.

"That big brown one with the sunroom and the deck is his," Brayden said.

"Dude, that's your house?" I asked.

"Told you he was loaded," Brayden said.

I checked my phone. Thirty-two hours until my gender reveal. I just had to get through this beach day and the rest of tomorrow. Almost there.