Invisible String

45

Travis pressed a cold cup of water into my hand and kissed my temple.

“I keep thinking about what the girls are gonna say,” he murmured. “Waking up thinking it’s just presents and cookies, and instead…”

“They’re getting a baby sibling,” I whispered.

A breath of silence passed between us, like we were both sitting in the middle of something sacred. Something impossible.

“I don’t even care what it is,” he said. “Boy or girl. I just… I already love them.”

Tears welled up in my eyes again, but I nodded, too overwhelmed to speak.

A knock came at the door just then, and the nurse peeked in with a reassuring smile.

“Alright, Taylor. Everything’s set up. We’ll keep monitoring closely, but if the pain gets too intense, we can talk options. For now, just breathe. You’re doing beautifully.”

As she moved around the room, checking machines and adjusting the fetal monitor, I felt Travis lace his fingers through mine again.

“Looks like this is gonna be the most unforgettable Christmas we’ve ever had,” he whispered.

And he was right.

Because by the end of today, we wouldn’t just be parents again.

We’d be a family of five.

I shifted on the bed, trying to get comfortable — which felt laughable at this point — and adjusted the tight band of the fetal monitor that was wrapped snug around my stomach. It kept slipping and riding up, clearly designed for a much more obvious baby bump than mine.

“Ugh,” I muttered, trying to tuck the strap lower. “This thing wasn’t made for surprise pregnancies.”

Travis looked over from the chair beside me, his eyes darting to the monitor and then to my belly. “You really don’t even look pregnant,” he said again, shaking his head like he still couldn’t believe it. “You just look like… you had a heavy lunch.”

I snorted, then winced when a sharp cramp hit me again. “Well, apparently lunch was a whole baby. Because I’m dilating.”

I looked down at my stomach, still flat by pregnancy standards, barely rounded at all. The monitor beeped softly as it picked up the baby's heartbeat, fast and steady, like it was mocking me.

“How do they even fit in there?” I said, half laughing, half groaning. “I swear, this has to be magic. Or science fiction.”

Travis reached over and smoothed his hand over my belly, gently pressing like he was trying to feel them kick. “I seriously don’t get it. No weight gain, no cravings, no baby bump. And yet here we are.”

“And yet here we are,” I echoed, my voice quieter, a little in awe. “It’s like my body kept a secret from me.”

He gave me a crooked smile. “Well, not anymore. Secret’s out.”

I smiled through another contraction, gripping the side rail of the bed. The monitor beeped steadily, tracking our little mystery baby’s heartbeat — alive, strong, tucked somewhere inside me like they’d always been meant to be here, even if we hadn’t planned for them.

“You ready to meet them?” I whispered, glancing over at Travis.

He gave a slow nod, eyes full. “I don’t know if I’m ready… but I want to. More than anything.”

Travis slid his hand into mine again, his thumb brushing gently over my knuckles. He leaned in close, his voice low, full of that steady calm he always pulled out when I was spiraling.