The sad way he looked broke my heart, and I didn’t have the courage to tell Katie about our little chat. I told him he can always talk to me about anything and that I’ll keep it between us unless he says otherwise.
The situation with Anthony being at his mimi’s has been confusing for him too, and I wonder if it’s time we tell him that Anthony is his half brother. Surely, he’ll have more questions, but if I were him, I’d want to know.
Brittany was charged with attempted murder, kidnapping, and conspiracy to commit murder, so Loretta and Elliot have full guardianship rights. All Owen knows is Anthony’s mom got into a lot of trouble and has been in jail.
We arrive in Mobile, and soon, she’s parking at the clinic. I take her hand as we walk inside and sit in the waiting room.
“Did you know I was going to be a boy?” Owen asks Katie.
“Sure did, and I couldn’t have been more excited about it!” She beams at him.
“What about Daddy? Was he happy too?”
Katie cups his face. “Of course he was. He even picked out your name.”
Owen’s eyes light up. “He did?”
“Yep, and when you were born, I chose his name for your middle name so he would always live with you.”
Owen squeezes his eyes as if he’s trying to hold back tears. I remember when I lost my mother around his age and how devastated I was, knowing I’d never see her again. I have ten years' worth of memories, though, where Owen only has the stories other people share.
I try hard not to get choked up, especially since today’s already an emotional day, but luckily, Katie gets called back before that happens.
After Katie gives Owen a hug, we all follow the ultrasound tech to a dimly lit room. I can tell Katie’s getting anxious by how fast she talks and nods at the instructions.
Ten minutes later, she’s lying on the table with her shirt up. The tech explains all the measurements she needs to get and says she’ll print us some pictures. The two babies on the screen already have my whole heart, but the love I feel at this moment is so damn intense.
“Wow,” I whisper, sitting next to Katie and squeezing her hand.
“Baby A is sucking their thumb,” the tech says with a smile. “I think Baby B is sleeping, but if you want to know the genders, I can wiggle around a little bit.”
“Yes, please. We want to know,” Katie says.
The tech moves around to get where she needs to go. “Alright, ready?”
“Yes!” Katie and I say at the same time.
“Baby A is a boy!” she announces.
“Yes, I knew it.” I grin.
“And Baby B…” She narrows her eyes, moving the wand around before she says, “Another boy!”
“Oh my gosh,” Dianna squeals. “A houseful of boys.”
I glance over and see Owen smiling. Relief floods through me that he’s excited to witness this. Katie wipes the tears off her cheeks, and Dianna is over the moon.
“Twin boys, sweetheart. Can you believe it?” I lean over and kiss her.
“I think we should name one Darth Vader,” Owen says. “Or Anakin.” He shrugs as if it’s the best idea ever. “Or one Darth and one Vader.”
“Well, it would continue with the Star Wars theme.” I chuckle, flashing him a wink.
“How so?” Dianna asks.
“Owen was Luke Skywalker’s uncle’s name,” I explain.
“Okay, that I didn’t know.” Katie sighs. “But Luke is cute.”
“Funny enough, Walker is close to Skywalker, which is one of the most famous last names in the films. So it’s almost like we have to continue with it,” I say, teasing her about her maiden name.
Owen grins. “See? I was right!”
“Perhaps a different name than Anakin, though,” Katie muses as the tech hands her the printed ultrasound pictures.
“Okay, I’ll look up names on my tablet when we get home and make a list,” he says eagerly, and honestly, if he picked Darth Vader, I wouldn’t even care because I’m just happy he wants to be involved.
“No peeking,” I whisper in Katie’s ear as my hands cover her eyes. “Keep walking.” I do my best to guide her into the nursery. It’s a room I haven’t let her see in over a month, which hasn’t been too hard since I’ve taken over most of the remodeling.
“I’m not! Can I look now?” she begs.
“Just one minute.” I position her in the doorway and click on the light. “Okay, baby. Go ahead.”
I remove my hands and watch as her eyes flutter open. “Oh my God,” she gasps. “Where did all of this come from?”
“My dad and I built the bassinets. Belinda restored an old rocking chair and dresser.”
“I-I can’t believe y’all did this!” She walks deeper inside, running her fingers across the wood pieces. “It’s so perfect.”
Katie wraps her arms around me, and I pull her into a hug.
“The flooring and paint are beautiful. I can’t wait to decorate.”
“I have direct orders to tell you it needs to be a Star Wars theme.”
Katie chuckles. “I’m never getting away from that, am I?”
“I don’t think so. Though he said if we don’t like Anakin, he’d accept Finn or Ben.”
“Duly noted.” She groans, placing a hand over her belly.
After giving her the nursery tour, she talks about what we still need.
“My sister said she and Everleigh want to throw you a shower since it’s been so long since you’ve had a baby. We could register for anything else we need.”
“They do?”
I nod. “Of course. Any opportunity for Everleigh to drink.”
She chuckles. “Well, my mom mentioned wanting to throw us one too, so I guess the three of them could plan it together. I just feel bad because I had one with Owen.”
“Over ten years ago,” I remind her. “If your family and friends want to do this for you, I think you should let them.”
“Alright,” she agrees. “But can we please not have a Star Wars theme?”
I laugh, bringing her lips to mine. “I don’t think either of us has an option anymore.”
After I show Katie everything else I’ve worked on and what still needs to be finished, we go back home, and I can tell she’s getting tired.
“Sweetheart, go take a nap. I’ll pick up Owen and hang out with him for a bit. Actually, I’ll take him and Anthony to the park. We’ll play baseball and burn off their energy.” Since he’s at Loretta’s, it’d be easy to take them with me for the afternoon.
“You’re the sweetest man on the planet, Noah Reid.”
“Hold that thought…there’s something I wanted to discuss with you.”
Katie leans against the headboard and rests her arms over her belly. “Okay…”
I bring up my idea about telling Owen the truth about Anthony and sharing just enough so he understands they’re siblings. Since Anthony’s not going anywhere anytime soon, it’d only be a matter of time before he finds out. I don’t want him to be disappointed he didn’t hear it from his own mother.