Serendipitous [Joe Burrow]

Chapter 12

Chandler sat on the exam table with Joe in a chair beside her. This was the first appointment he'd been able to make it too. She looked over at Joe and could tell that he was nervous. "There's no need to be nervous," Chandler said.

"I'm not nervous," Joe laughed.

"Sure," Chandler said as the doctor knocked on the door.

"Miss Black, may I come in?" Dr. Johnson asked.

"Yes," Chandler answered. The doctor walked into the room and looked surprised to see someone else in the room.

"Who is this young man?" Dr. Johnson asked.

"This is..."

"I'm the father of the baby," Joe says holding out his hand.

"It's nice to meet you. I'm Dr. Johnson," the man said shaking Joe's hand.

"I'm Joe," he smiled.

"Well let's get started shall we," Dr. Johnson said, "Looks like we're going to be doing the anatomy scan today."

"Yes. We're very excited," Chandler said and she laid back on the table.

"Would you like me to announce it or are you planning on it being a surprise?" Dr. Johnson asked.

"We decided to make it a surprise. We're going to find out together privately," Chandler said.

"Okay. Perfect," Dr. Johnson said, "I'll start the ultrasound, make sure you can't see anything, and then I'll turn the TV on so you can see." Chandler lay there looking up at the ceiling. She wanted to look over at Joe but she didn't want to make it awkward. "All right. You can look at the TV now."

Chandler turned her head to look at the screen. She'd seen the baby before but it had been awhile. She looked over to Joe who had a wide smile on his face. His eyes were glued to the screen as he stared at their baby. He'd never felt this much happiness before. Chandler saw tears start to form in his eyes but he didn't let any of them fall.

•••

November 2020

Chandler sat on Joe's couch. They were going to his parents later tonight for dinner but Joe had asked her to come over early. "All right. Your surprise is ready."

"I told you I don't like surprises," Chandler said trying to sand from the couch. With her stomach getting bigger it was harder for her to move. Joe quickly walked over offering his hand. "Thank you."

"I know you told me that," Joe said, "But you gotta close your eyes."

"What? I'm gonna fall," Chandler said.

"I'll make sure you don't. I promise," Joe said.

"Fine," Chandler huffed. She covered her eyes with her hands. Joe stood behind her also covering up her eyes and leading her to where she needed to go. "Please don't let me fall."

"I'd never let you fall," Joe said, "So I know we've kind of been trying to decide how to find out the gender in a special way. And I found out the perfect way. Tada!" Joe moved his hands and sitting on the kitchen counter was an all-white cake.

"A cake?" Chandler asked.

"Yeah. So I went down to the bakery told them I needed a gender reveal cake and gave them the card," Joe said, "So inside the cake will either be pink or blue icing."

"Joe, that's a really cute idea!" Chandler said.

"Really, you like it?" Joe asked.

"Yes. I love it," Chandler said.

"Good. I'm glad," Joe said walking over to a cabinet. Chandler furrowed her brows as he pulled out two wine glasses.

"Umm you know I can't drink wine right," Chandler said.

"What? Oh yeah I know," Joe said, "I thought it would be a smart idea to cut into the cake with the glasses. That way they're already in something and we can eat it after."

"You really have thought of everything haven't you?" Chandler asked as she grabbed one of the glasses from Joe.

"I really did try."

"Well, I might have to take back what I said about not liking surprises," Chandler said, "Because I'm loving this one so far."

"All right. Are you ready to find out?" Joe asked.

"More than ready," Chandler smiled. She and Joe lined up their glasses on top of the cake.

"All right so we close our eyes and push all the way down. Then when you lift the glass it should have the cake in it," Joe said. They both closed their eyes and pushed down their glasses. "All right did you lift your glass?"

"Yes."

"Okay. Open your eyes in 3, 2, 1," Joe counted. They both opened their eyes. Chandler gasped when she saw the pink frosting in her wine glass.

"It's a girl," Chandler said looking at Joe.

"It's a girl," he repeated with a smile on her face. Joe bent down pulling Chandler into a hug. He twirled her around in excitement. They were both so happy that they were having a girl. Joe put her down and kissed her cheek. Chandler was taken aback by the kiss.

"Umm sorry," Joe said.

"No, no. It's fine," Chandler said, "Are you sure you're not sad it's not a boy?"

"I'm not sad at all," Joe said, "I'm so excited that it's a girl."

"Now it's time to go shopping for baby clothes!" Chandler squealed.

"We can go whenever you want," Joe said placing his hands on either side of her belly, "I'm going to make sure she has everything she needs."