Growing Grounds

Chapter 7: The News

The shower was exquisite; the hot water and scented body wash relaxed Tammy more than she had thought possible. Now the thought of telling Matt about the baby was less formidable than before. It was still life-altering news, but easier for her to handle. As she showered, she pondered baby names. Isaak for a boy—spelled with a “k” because it would be the German spelling. Coraline for a girl.

As she stepped out of the warm, steamy shower, a thought formed. Something she had not considered until that moment. What if it’s twins? Or triplets?

Okay, one thing at a time. You’re pregnant. Don’t worry about having multiples right now. Good idea. Pushing that thought back into a dark corner of her mind, Tammy smiled at her reflection in the foggy mirror. Rubbing her still flat belly, she said, “I think this is going to be just fine. We will be better than okay, little one.” Something moved deep inside her abdomen, as if in agreement with her. Dismissing the movement, it was obviously too early in the pregnancy to feel any sort of movement, Tammy flipped off the overhead light as she left the bathroom.

Dressed in her robe, hair dangling wetly against the collar, she found her husband in the kitchen with coffee ready and waiting at the table. The sunlight poured through the over-sized window that looked out toward the woods and Tammy had a moment of trepidation, a feeling that something was not right in her world, as she looked deep into the shadowy places of the forest. The trees gave her a chill as they stood there looking innocent.

Best way to put it behind me and consider this an episode like the one's my sister used to have is to throw myself into the future of my family here. Don't let the crazy get a foothold. And so, she smiled at Matt, thanked him for the coffee and sat with him at their little table to watch the birds fly in the chilled November afternoon.

"Okay, so I have something to tell you that I'm not sure how you will take, but it is life-changing." She sipped more coffee, wondering if it would hurt the baby, and then thinking probably not.

Matt slid to the edge of his seat, looked sternly at Tammy, and reached for her hand. "What did the doctor tell you? What is it? Whatever it is, we can get through it together. I knew something was wrong when he kept you in there so long after I left." He squeezed her hand almost painfully tight.

She laughed. A sudden burst of joviality; completely unexpected but not totally unwelcome. After the chair episode, which everyone around her had said was some kind of drug-induced psychosis even though the doctors at the emergency could find no trace of drugs in her system, Tammy decided she could use more laughter. Truth be told, so could Matt.

Matt’s expression turned quickly from worried to confused as he held onto Tammy’s hand. Not joining in on her sudden burst of happiness, Matt pulled back a bit, sitting straighter in his chair and relaxing his grip on her hand. “I’m sorry… What’s so funny? Did I miss something?”

Tammy finally wrangled the laughter and got it under a modicum of control. Clearing her throat, she sighed, looked at Matt as levelly as she could, and said, “No, you haven’t missed anything. I don’t know what came over me. I just feel so happy all of a sudden. Maybe it’s the stress of whatever happened to me.” To stave off another laughing fit, Tammy cleared her throat again. She flipped her hand so that she could grip Matt’s hand, which had gone so lax that he barely had a hold on her hand anyway. “We’re pregnant, Matt.” This time the laughter could not be staved off.

Matt’s expression changed in ways that Tammy had never seen before. It settled on astonished happiness, she thought. Wide-eyed and smiling broadly, Matt stood and walked around the little table. Pulling her into a hug, Matt laughed with Tammy and kissed the top of her head, her cheeks, and the tip of her nose. Pushing her away to arms’ length, Matt laughed and then pulled her into a tight hug; he spun around, lifting her feet off the floor. Tammy squealed at the unexpected move and Matt set her feet on the floor. “Did I hurt you?” He put his hand gently on her tummy. “I shouldn’t do that now, I guess. I don’t want to hurt you or the baby. Oh, Tammy! We’re going to be parents, finally!”

“You didn’t hurt me, us, at all. It’s just been a while since you swept me off my feet.” Tammy cupped Matt’s face in her hands and kissed him several times on the lips. She loved him more than she ever thought possible. Her heart threatened to burst from all the love stored there for him. Silent tears slipped down her cheeks unchecked. Unsure what reaction she had expected from her husband, Tammy was overjoyed with the reaction she got from him. To see him so thrilled, so genuinely ecstatic over the prospect of becoming a father, made her happy.

For those few moments, Tammy was more alive than she had been in her entire life. Nothing else existed in those few moments—only her, Matt, and the promise of their family. Within a few minutes, the exuberant happiness ebbed to a level that would allow them to get on with their everyday lives. Tammy thought it was a good thing that happiness, like everything else, ebbed and flowed. Living in a state of heightened joy as theirs was, would be impossible.

“What about names? We have to pick a name…oh, whoa! Do you know if it’s a boy or a girl yet?” Matt sat momentarily perched on the edge of his seat.

“Not yet. I just found out I was pregnant at the hospital.” The wide loopy smile still stretched her face and she did not fight it.

“Really? So, how far along are you?”

“I don’t know that, either. I told Dr. Harvey I would get Dr. Allison to recommend a doctor for the pregnancy and that I would find out all that stuff when I saw the new doctor. I didn’t know what to do because you didn’t know, I didn’t know how you would feel about knowing the s*x—if we do it, I want you to be there when I find out; and I want you to be there when the doctor tells us how far along I am, too.” Forcing her mouth to shut against more babbling, Tammy reached for her coffee cup, thinking she needed no more caffeine, but wanting the coffee just the same.

“Of course I’ll be there. I want to be there. We can find out everything together, just like we planned before.” Matt poured more coffee into his cup and offered more to Tammy. She refused. “We should go see Dr. Allison first thing tomorrow.”

“We have to make an appointment, silly. We can’t just walk in and announce ourselves as if we’re King and Queen of England.”

“Why not?” Grinning like a mischievous teenager, Matt sat across from Tammy at their little table again.

“You’ve gone goofy.” Tammy stood and walked to the phone. She dialed Dr. Allison’s number and waited for someone to answer.

Five minutes later, with the appointment made, she rejoined Matt, who was writing names in columns labeled BOY and GIRL on a sheet of blank paper.

“We have an appointment for Friday morning at ten.” She waved the piece of paper with the appointment written on it.

“That long? Wow. I’m glad it isn’t an emergency or anything.” Rolling his eyes dramatically, Matt pushed his paper across the table to her. “What do you think? Any of these names strike your fancy?”

Tammy took the paper and went over the names Matt had written there as he walked around the table to stand behind her. “I was thinking Isaak, spelled with a “k” if it’s a boy. And, maybe Coraline for a girl. What about those names?” She was hopeful he would think they were good names. She saw none on the list that she really thought she would like to name her child. Or children, a voice deep in her mind called. A chill ran down her spine at the thought of having multiples.

“Hmmm. I don’t know. I’ll have to think about them. Of course, it doesn’t have to be decided today, right this very minute. Right? We have some time to decide.” He leaned over and put his palm on her belly, where the baby bump would be in the coming months.

“Yes. We have some time, honey. Plenty of time, I would think. We’ll find out just how long this Friday, I suppose.” She hugged Matt’s arm and he placed a kiss on top of her head.

“Now, what do you say we go look over the spare rooms and pick one for the nursery?” Matt’s smile was contagious as was his enthusiasm.

“I hadn’t even thought of that yet. This was just so sudden that it hasn’t sunk in properly yet.” She stood and walked with him up the stairs. Halfway up, she suggested, “What about a baby room downstairs, too? I mean, during the days, especially when you’re away at work, I’ll be spending most of my time downstairs. Sometimes I even sleep down on the sofa when you’re gone.”

Urging Tammy to go on up the stairs, Matt tilted his head to the side as if in deep consideration of the idea. “I don’t know why not. We’ll have a playroom down there anyway. We could put a crib and changing station in there as well. That actually is a really good idea.” He slipped his arm around her waist and they walked to the end of the hall farthest from their bedroom.

Tammy shook her head and wrinkled her nose. “Nope. Too far away from our room. I’d never be able to sleep with the baby all the way on the other side of the house.”

“I agree.” Matt took the lead and stopped at the room closest to theirs. Pushing open the door, he gave a grand gesture. “And how would this suit you, My Lady?”

Giggling, Tammy wrinkled her nose and shook her head again. “Too close. I don’t think we want a kid this close to our room when he or she is older.” She gave him a suggestive look to emphasize her meaning.

“We could always soundproof our room. Or, buy the kid a really loud surround sound system.”

Laughing, Tammy took the lead and stopped at a room near the stairs. “I think this one. What do you think?”

Matt seemed to consider this a moment, looking to their bedroom at the end of one short hall on the north side of the house and to the left of the stairs, and then to the end of the other hall, on the south side of the house and the right side of the stairs. “I guess this is prudent. Your office is down there,” he pointed to the right, “and our room is there,” he pointed to the left, “and this room is close enough to the stairs that you should be able to hear baby all the way into the kitchen and living room.”

Tammy went to the window of the room. Immediately she understood that the view of the dense woods was the reason she had been drawn to this room. There was no prudent reason. The baby wanted to be able to see the woods. That sounds like crazy on crackers, Tammy. You better never say that where Matt can hear it. Touching the windowpane, she chuckled under her breath and a small fog patch appeared on the glass.

“What is it, honey?” Matt was at her side in an instant.

“Oh, nothing. I was just noticing that the view from here is great. I think it’ll be nice when the baby is older for him or her to have a pretty view.” She turned into Matt’s hug, relishing the feel of him.