Page 86 of Echoes

“I’m pregnant,” Rachel repeated and covered her mouth with both hands.

About Four Months Later

“Wow!” the doctor said.

“What’s wow? Is everything okay?” Rachel asked as she looked down at her belly.

She was starting to show, and Violet wasn’t sure she could love this woman more until she watched her belly expand ever so slightly, indicating that there was a baby in there. Rachel was carrying their child, and she couldn’t wait to meet them. She ran a hand through Rachel’s hair as she stood up next to the bed and waited for the doctor to answer, but the doctor was staring at the ultrasound screen.

“Well, we’ve talked about the possibility of multiples before, but I think it’s time we talk about the reality of them because I see two babies in here.”

Rachel turned to Violet, who smiled at her, leaned down, and kissed her forehead.

“Can you tell the sex yet?”

“Looks like one was hiding behind the other there, but now, I can see them pretty well. I think we’ve got two baby girls in here.”

“Oh, thank God,” Rachel let out.

The doctor laughed and said, “Didn’t want two boys?”

“No, we’d love baby boys just as much as baby girls. We just… had our hearts set on a girl for our first one, and now, we’re having two at once,” Violet tried to cover before she kissed Rachel on the lips. “I love you. You’re amazing.”

“I love you, too,” Rachel said, smiling up at her. “At least, we already have two names picked out.”

The doctor gave them some instructions now that they were having two babies instead of one. Rachel would need to take it easy probably earlier than she would have had to, and they’d monitor her a little more than they already would since gestational diabetes ran in her family. So far, everything had been okay, though. The morning sickness had been intense for a couple of weeks but had died down sooner than they’d anticipated it would. Rachel had been more tired, but that was to be expected. Other than that, everything else had been fairly normal.

“I want to start on the nursery now,” Rachel said as Violetdrove them home. “We know it’s two, and we know it’s them, babe.”

“Okay. We have the cribs picked out, so we just need to order them. I know we chose yellow for the paint, but I’m not so sure. I’m thinking green might be better.”

“I can go with green. Light, pastel?”

“Yes,” Violet replied. “And my dad is hard at work making that rocking chair for us, but should I tell him to make two instead?” she checked.

“Two rocking chairs,” Rachel said as she looked out the window and placed her hands over her belly. “God, there are two of them in there. I still can’t believe it’s happening.”

“Are you regretting not trying the device yourself so you could see them how I did?”

Rachel looked over at Violet and said, “No. We don’t even know if I would’ve seen them or if it would’ve been the same vision. When we got home and I saw that button, I just felt like I didn’t need to press it for myself. I believe that you saw what you saw. I mean, how could I not? But the thought that I could’ve seen something different, confusing, or something that would’ve messed up the future we want was just too much. I wouldn’t risk what we have for anything.”

“Neither would I,” Violet replied and took Rachel’s hand. “I’ll order the cribs we picked out when we get home. You lie down on the sofa and let our boys lay their heads on your belly. You know they know there’s a baby in there.”

“Babies, babe,” Rachel corrected and squeezed Violet’s hand.

“Right,” Violet said and sighed in relief. “We’re going to be moms.”

She turned the corner and saw their house. Then, she noticed two cars parked in the driveway. She didn’t recognize either of them, and as they pulled in beside them, she didn’t open the garage door because she didn’t know their intentions.

“What’s going on?” Rachel asked.

“No clue. Stay in the car. I’ll check.”

“No, you stay in the car, too. I don’t want you–”

“Wait. Is that–” Violet stopped herself.

She watched as two women got out of one of the cars that were now parked next to theirs, and she recognized both of them but only knew one name.