Top of the World

Gravity

"Set the timer," I said to Hunter as I walked out of the bathroom, "you know, I know we are lucky to have two healthy and happy kids. Some people don't even get that much." I paced around our room and Hunter got up from the bed to catch me in a hug. 

"You're absolutely right," he held me close almost slow dancing and began to sing,
"When your legs don't work like they used to before. And I can't sweep you off of your feet
Will your mouth still remember the taste of my love? Will your eyes still smile from your cheeks? And, darling, I will be loving you 'til we're seventy. And, baby, my heart could still fall as hard at twenty three. And I'm thinking 'bout how people fall in love in mysterious ways. Maybe just the touch of a hand. Well, me—I fall in love with you every single day. And I just wanna tell you I am..."

I was lost in the song, swaying in the middle of our bedroom and jumped when Hunter's phone alarm went off. The past few days have been a hot, nauseous mess and I have been feeling less than energized. Hunter held my hand as we looked at the pregnancy test on the counter. I took a deep breath as the two blue lines told us that yes, we were indeed pregnant again. Hunter wrapped me in a hug, tears slipped from both of us.

"It's going to be alright this time," he kissed my forehead, "I love you, Jenna."

"I love you Hunter." I rested my head on his shoulder and he rubbed my back, giving me a few minutes to absorb the information. I wiped my eyes and we headed downstairs.

"Did you want to grab Sutton from school or did you want me to get her?"

"You can go ahead," I kissed his cheek, "I'll start dinner. Easton should be up in no time." Easton loved his naps compared to when Sutton was his age, she was more resisting and defiant. I wandered upstairs to find Easton out of bed and quietly playing by himself on the floor. "Hey mister," I walked in and sat beside him, "did you have a good nap." He smiled and nodded, climbing over into my lap. I kissed his head and raked my hand through is mop of curly blonde hair. He was a brown eyed version of his dad and a total cuddle bug. "How about we go downstairs?" We got up and we went down together and played for a bit until we heard the door open. Sutton came in to the house absolutely hysterical. Alarmed, I hopped up and went to see what the commotion was.
"What's wrong?"

"Daddy killed a squirrel! And he laughed about it!" She cried, throwing her backpack down on the ground and I covered my mouth trying not to laugh.

"Oh no!" I opened my arms to console her, and Hunter walked through the door, also trying not to laugh, shaking his head.

"Sutton, daddy told you the squirrel jumped out of nowhere." He tried to explain to her, "I'm sorry if that upset you."

I patted her back, "Don't worry, I'm sure daddy didn't mean to. It was an accident. Take a deep breath. Can you please pick up your bag, it doesn't belong on the floor." We had dinner and went for a walk on the trails, the kids ran up ahead of us as Hunter and I walked hand in hand, laughing about the squirrel incident.

"You know, they say serial killers start with animals and show no remorse," I playfully nudged him, "I can't believe you laughed."

"I didn't laugh at killing the squirrel, I laughed when Sutton got all heated and told me how awful I was. Which is equally as horrible, I know." The clouds began to darken and there was a breeze picking up. We wrangled the kids and headed back toward home just in time as thunder and lightning ripped across the sky. We tucked the kids into bed and headed to our own.

"Come here sweetie." Hunter was sitting up in bed, and gestured for me to sit in front of him. I sat and he began gently massaging my shoulders and neck. I turned around carefully and kissed him.

"Thank you," I leaned back into his embrace, "you're perfect."

"Far from it," he chuckled, "it's been a day, you deserve the massages, always." I readjusted so I was laying beside him. "Are you going to the doctor?"

"Yeah, I'll have to do that." I pursed my lips together, dreading any kind of bad news. Hunter interrupted my negative thoughts with a kiss.

"Let's get to sleep love." He kissed me and turned out the lights.

Nearly four weeks passed and I still had a little bit of morning sickness but finally worked up the nerves to call the doctor and make an appointment. Hunter and I took Sutton to school and brought Easton to the appointment with us. We were taken to an exam room and I sat on the table while Easton sat on Hunter's lap  looking at a book. "Knock, knock." Dr. Goderich poked his head in the door, "Good to see you both again. My look how big you are, Easton right?" He sat down and asked me some questions before stepping out to let me get ready for the exam. He stepped back in with a technician and put the jelly on my tummy, and swished the wand back and forth. My heart skipped when I heard the unmistakeable swish swish of the baby heartbeat. Tears welled in my eyes and I looked up to see Hunter wiping his eyes too.
"So, Jenna," Dr Goderich started, "you said you noticed March twenty third you were late? You look closer to seven weeks than five." He looked closer on the screen and gave the technician some instructions. "I'm going to tell you both what I'm seeing here," he pointed his pen at the screen, "I see two sacs, which would typically mean two babies." I held my breath because I felt a but coming. "I am only tracking one heartbeat, but I've seen this where one baby will hide behind the other. We will continue to monitor this in your future appointments Jenna. You have a minimum of one little baby in there." The technician cleaned me up and the doctor shook both our hands, congratulating us and stepping out to get the pictures.
Hunter and I headed to the reception and made our next appointment before going out for lunch. "So we may have just doubled our offspring," I laughed, tears welled in my eyes,
"I am speechless."
"Everything happens for a reason and as long as you and whatever is in your belly is healthy, you could have five babies and I'd be happy."
"Whoa slow down there mister!" I laughed as we went to Panera for lunch.

The rest of the afternoon was spent relaxing as Hunter took Easton to pick up Sutton from school. "I insist," he kissed my forehead, "I want you to lay down, put your feet up and relax." I smiled and happily obliged. I must have really been out because I woke up to giggles and kisses from Easton.

"Hey little man," I sat up slowly, "you ready for dinner?"

"I got it Jen," Hunter said as I walked into the kitchen, "I am just waiting for the chicken to finish." He nodded toward the oven.

I wrapped my arms around his waist, "You're a super man." I kissed him and had Easton help me set the table. Hunter and I decided to keep this pregnancy between us as long as possible to protect the kids and not get overly excited. We winded down the evening and by 8:30, we were all in bed.