Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 93140 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 466(@200wpm)___ 373(@250wpm)___ 310(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93140 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 466(@200wpm)___ 373(@250wpm)___ 310(@300wpm)
I watched as Dr. Warren squeezed a dollop of gel onto Ireland’s flat stomach and started to move a wand around. Shadows flashed on the screen across from me, and all three of us stared at the monitor. The doctor zoned in, pushing down a little more firmly on the wand, and suddenly a sound began to echo throughout the room.
A heartbeat.
My baby has a heartbeat.
Ireland had been reading to me from her What to Expect While You’re Expecting book, which said the early months of pregnancy produced a surge of hormones that made many women more emotional than usual. But the damn book failed to mention that the father-to-be would get all choked up.
My eyes welled, and it was impossible to hold back the tears, no matter how hard I tried. Ireland squeezed my hand and smiled.
Fuck it. Who cares if I’m a total pussy? I didn’t want to fight it anymore. I let the tears flow as I leaned down and kissed my girl’s forehead. Seven years ago, my own heartbeat stopped, and today mine found its purpose again. I wanted to take Ireland in my arms and dance with her to the rhythm of our baby’s magical beat.
The doctor pressed a button and a few inches of the heartbeat printed out from the machine. “Heartbeat sounds good. Strong. I’m just going to do a few quick measurements and I’ll have you out of here.” He turned a knob on the machine, and the heartbeat disappeared. I felt a stab of panic.
“Could you…leave it on until you finish the exam?” I asked.
Dr. Warren smiled. “Sure thing.”
He clicked around and printed out a few more sheets over the next five minutes. When he finished, he gave Ireland a paper towel to wipe off her stomach. Nodding, he said, “Measurements look really good. We can see you back here in a month, and hopefully you’ll continue to have a morning-sickness-free pregnancy.” He extended one of the little slips of paper with the baby’s heartbeat he’d printed from the sonogram machine. “Thought you might like to keep this, Dad.”
“I would. Thanks. Sorry about getting emotional.”
He waved me off. “No need to apologize. This is a big time in your life with a lot of change. Give in and go with the moment. Enjoy the happy times, even if they come with a few tears.”
“I will. Thanks, Doc.”
Dr. Warren closed the door behind him, and Ireland started to get dressed. I’d been doing a lot of thinking lately and decided the doc’s advice was spot on. I needed to go with the moment, and this moment had never felt so right. The fact that I had the box in my pocket made it seem like destiny, if you asked me.
Ireland buttoned her pants and wadded up the paper gown she’d been wearing. She turned to toss it in the garbage, and when she turned back around, I was…
…down on one knee.
Her eyes grew wide and her hands flew up to cover her mouth. “What are you doing?”
I dug into my pocket and pulled out a dingy, old white box. “I’d planned to give this to you in a few weeks, not today. But you heard what the doctor said—’give in and go with the moment’.”
“Grant…oh my God.”
I took her hand and held up the box. “This was my grandmother’s ring. I was going to get the stone reset for you and put it in a nice, new box. But…” I shook my head. “But I didn’t want to wait. The moment feels right.” I opened the old box and showed Ireland the contents. It wasn’t the biggest ring or the shiniest, but it was filled with so much history and hope. “Last week, after we went to tell Pops about the baby, my grandmother called the next day and asked me to come by alone. The two of them sat me down and told me they wanted me to give this to you when the time was right. It was my great grandmother’s, then my grandmother’s, and then my mother’s.”
“It’s beautiful, Grant.”
“The funny thing is, I never knew my mother, grandmother, and great grandmother had all shared the same ring. My mom had passed away before I married Lily, and they hadn’t given me the ring then. I was curious why now, so I asked. You know what the response was?”
“What?”
I held up the tiny paper the doc had given me. “Pops said you had given me a heartbeat again. And he knew you were my forever.”
Ireland started to cry. “That’s beautiful.”
I took the ring out of the box. “Ireland Saint James, I know we’ve known each other for less than a year, but I never thought I’d find someone to love the way I love you. I didn’t just fall in love with you, I fell in love with life with you by my side. So will you marry me? We can get a different ring, or set a date a year from now if you’re not ready. None of it’s important. All I want to know is that you’ll spend the rest of your life with me.”