How We Met Juliette

Infinite Season Ep. 2 The baby bet

Barney's POV...

Mommy and I waited the appropriate amount of time before we told our friends that we were expecting you, but when we did we made sure that it was a moment they would not forget. There's something you should know about me, princess. I like to make bets with people; especially Uncle Ted. One thing I learned during my twenties was never make a slap bet with Uncle Marshall. That dude has quite the arm. Sometimes when I look back on it, I can still feel my face swelling up at Thanksgiving.

When we gathered everyone up at our apartment to share the news, we made a bet on the gender. I had heard that it was common for people to do this sort of thing when couples announced that they were pregnant. Despite the fact that we were sharing the news with our closest friends, this bet was strictly between mommy and I. I hoped for a boy, so that we could suit up together. Mommy says she never really had a preference until she spent time with your cousins Daisy, Courteney and Penny. When we found out we were expecting you, she immediately prayed for a girl.

"What's the wager, here? A couple bucks? A new phone? New clothes?" Uncle Ted asked excitedly as he held onto your Aunt Tracey's hand.

"Calm down, Teddy Westside. It's nothing major" mommy answered.

"It's as simple as a kiss, foot rub, and a nice dinner. Nothing too extravagant. I mean, what can you really do with a pregnant woman?" I shrugged.

For the rest of the night, we all went around sharing our predictions about the gender of our baby. Uncle Ted didn't really care what it was as long as it was healthy, Aunt Lily hoped for a girl, and Uncle Marshall was on my side. He wanted another boy for Luke and Marvin.

~X~

At the twenty week ultrasound I paced the examination room nervously with my hands in the pocket of my grey Armani suit. I would have bitten my nails like a normal person, but that just didn't seem hygienic. This was the moment of truth. We were about to find out if we were having a boy or a girl. To this day, the only reason I would ever allow another man to examine that particular area of your mother's is because he kind of looked like me; with the exception of his chestnut brown hair, matching mustache, bifocal glasses, and lack of a suit. Instead, he wore a pair of blue scrubs and a white lab coat. It made me curious to know if he dressed this poorly at home as well. His name was Dr. John Stangel.

I had known him from a while back when Aunt Lily and Uncle Marshall were trying to get pregnant the first time.

Mommy and I waited for what seemed like a lifetime to get the results, until he finally looked up at us and said "Congratulations, you're having a baby girl".

Upon hearing the news, mommy started to tear up, so I walked over to comfort her. Just as I was about to say something, she asked me to come a bit closer and whispered "pay up, Stinson" and then kissed my cheek. That day was and still is the only day I was ever satisfied with losing a bet, all because of one little girl we had not met yet but already loved so much.

After we had gotten the results, we took a cab home; which was driven by our regular driver Ranjit. My heart raced in excitement as I thought ahead to the future of watching you grow up and your series of firsts:  day out, steps,  solid food, words and countless others.

"Boy or girl?" Ranjit asked in his thick Hindu accent. 

Mommy and I looked at each other with a bit of uncertainty. We debated about whether it was fair to tell Ranjit what we were having before telling our closest friends. Mommy thought it would be like cheating on the gang because we hardly knew Ranjit. If there was anything I learned from your Uncle Ted's failed attempt at teaching me Robin 101, it was that to keep mommy happy, I had to respect or grant her wishes regardless of what I thought of them. 

"Sorry, bud. But we haven't told any of our friends yet, so we'd really like to hold off on telling anyone else until then" I answered. Afterward mommy rested her head  on my shoulder. Ranjit respected our wishes and remained silent as he drove us home.

~X~

Just as we were about to arrive at our apartment, I got a text message from Uncle Marshall saying: Meet us at Ted's. So we kindly asked Ranjit for a detour to that exact location; which he was more than okay with making.

When we arrived at Uncle Ted's it was approximately 4:00PM and mommy was exhausted. But she knew she had to maintain some energy to tell everyone we were having a girl. When Aunt Tracey opened the door, she took the words right out of everyone's mouths and asked "boy or girl? Princess or prince?" with an eager smile.

"Girl" mommy revealed.

At that point, everyone got up from their seats and hugs went all around. Uncle Marshall and Uncle Ted consoled me because they thought that I would be crushed after losing the bet. But they were surprised to hear that I wasn't. From that moment on, I vowed that I would reinvent my life. Before I met mommy, my entire adult life was about chasing women. But now that I knew I was going to have a daughter, my life would be all about protecting one and hoping that I can only give her the best that I can offer.

There was absolutely no doubt in mind mind that the journey to getting you here and having you would be legen-wait for it-dary; only because that is the Stinson way.