The Unstoppable Zuri

The Big Reveal

I was so excited for my gender reveal that I'd stayed up all night. It resulted in me napping all the way up until party time. Today was finally my gender reveal. It made things feel so much more real.

    At sixteen weeks, I'd just had my monthly ultrasound, and baby's legs were "wide open." Brittany put the results in an envelope and gave them to my dad, who would be the one making the colored filling for the cupcakes.

I put on my gray and white maternity dress while everyone chatted down the hall, then brushed my hair out. I had a feeling there were going to be a lot of these pictures on social media. I did my makeup as well.

It was a big occasion, even though my gender reveal party was going to be pretty small. Emmi, Lucy, and Trish were here. My Oncle Marc and Tante Lisa were here with my three rowdy little cousins from Montreal. My dad was just happy he didn't have to make and fill several dozens of cupcakes.

I walked down the hall and saw everyone in the living room. Trish gave me a hug so big, I thought the baby would get squeezed out of me. She was back in the group home in these coming weeks before school, and I was so glad they let Lucy pick her up and bring her here.

I greeted everyone else in the room, which was decorated with super cute, pink and blue hot air balloon decorations. I'd always wanted to travel in the future, so we went with a travel theme. The invites we sent out said, "The Adventure Awaits!" on them.

I'd seen so many cringe themes online, like Buck or Doe, Guns or Glitter, Bows or Badges, Tutus or Touchdowns (which was seriously offensive to a female football fan like myself), Bows or Free Throws, and even Nuts or No Nuts. Just stop.

We got little buttons for "team blue" and "team pink." We actually had a pretty even mix of people selecting the blue and the pink ones. I chose not to wear one, because I really was clueless. Some days I felt like it was a girl, and others I felt like it would definitely be a boy.

As I sat on the couch eating some chips, I wondered, but only for a split second, if Elliot cared that he was missing this. Or was he too busy with the true love of his life, Paisley? Almost three months had gone by since we last spoke. I wondered if he was starting to forget me, like I was starting to forget him.

"Okay everyone, are we ready for cupcakes?" my dad asked.

"Oui, Papa!" I said.

He brought in a plate of chocolate cupcakes that were swirled with pink and blue icing as he grinned from ear to ear. I took one off the plate, hoping I wouldn't drop it and ruin this whole thing.

"Remember, no one eat theirs yet!" he said.

I looked down at this little cupcake in my hands. How was my life going to change, knowing whether I was having a boy or a girl? I hadn't even picked out names yet. Actually, I hadn't even been shopping. My dad and I would browse on the weekends when he was home, but that was about it.

"Do we all have cupcakes?" I asked everyone. Everyone held up their cupcakes. "Does anyone other than me want to do the countdown?"

"Oh, me me me!" Tricia said, raising her hand and leaping out of the rocking chair near the fireplace.

"Okay Trish, go ahead. Count backwards from three and we'll all take a bite," I said, a bit of a shake to my voice.

This was real. This was really happening. The suspense was killing me.

"Here we go, everybody!" Tricia said. "Three...two...one!"

I closed my eyes and took a bite. I heard gasps and cheers all around me. When I opened my eyes, I saw the inside of the cupcake and the color of the filling.

It was pink.

"Oh my gosh, it's a girl!" I said, my mouth still full of cupcake.

Everyone came over and I got hugs one by one. I was still trying to take everything in. A girl. Wow. I was really going to have a little baby girl.

"I'm gonna buy her so many dresses!" Tricia said, giving me another one of her squeezy hugs.

    "Zuri, you want present now?" asked Oncle Mark.

    His English wasn't as fluent as my dad's, and his accent was much thicker than my dad's.

    "Oh, oui, si vous plat!" I said, finishing my cupcake, cleaning my hands off with a nearby napkin and going to the other side of the room.

    There was a small little area with a couple bags of things. We told everyone not to get gifts since my dad was going to throw me a baby shower, apparently one much more lavish and with more people. Apparently people didn't get the memo of not getting me things.

    I sat down in the rocking chair and picked up the first present, which was a yellow envelope. It was a fifteen dollar Target gift card from Emmi. Lucy got me the same thing. I moved on to the bag that was on the floor. It had big, glittery letters that said, "Oh Baby!"

    "That's mine!" Tricia said.

    I opened the bag and my heart dropped. It was every single outfit she took off the racks when we went shopping with the Best Buddies club. I knew she'd started a vocational program at the group home and had a little bit of an income, but these onesies, sleepers, hats, booties, and bibs must've cost almost a hundred bucks.

    "Trish, this is so kind of you! You didn't have to get me so much!" I said.

    "What? Yes I did! You're having a baby! You need a lot," she said.

    I moved on to the last present, which was from my aunt, uncle, and cousins.

    "Big one first, then small," said Oncle Marc.

    I set the smaller box aside, then started unwrapping the big box on the floor. I gasped. It was a beautiful, futuristic-looking bassinet. The box said "HALO" on it, along with "BassiNest Swivel Sleeper."

    "Whoa, this is amazing!" I said.

    "We wanted to get one that swiveled for you," said Tante Lisa. She grew up in Alberta, then moved to Quebec when she met Marc. "It has the buttons to vibrate and make different noises, too. Wish I could've had one when I had babies! It has great reviews, so Oncle wanted to get it for you."

    "Merci tres, tres beaucoup Oncle Marc!" I said. I opened the next package. It was a pack of bright pink sheets for my bassinet. "Hey, how did you know?"

    "Your Papa can't keep a secret. He texted us last night," said Tante Lisa.

    "Papa, how could you?" I asked, giggling.

    "Sorry, I was just so excited when I opened the envelope. I had to tell someone else, and I knew I couldn't tell you, of course," he said.

    "Well anyways, thank you guys for the gifts! I'll put them to good use, for sure!" I said.

    I looked at my little starter pack of baby stuff. My little girl had a place to sleep and some clothes to wear. Now all she needed was a name, and figuring that out was going to be easier said than done.