Victor cradled Valentina’s face in trembling hands, kissing her with all the fervor of a man seeing his son’s face for the first time. The doctor smiled indulgently as he moved the ultrasound tool over her pregnant belly.
On the computer screen was the image showing every detail of the new family member who would be introduced to the Ramirez family in less than three months.
His son.
“He looks like me.” Victor beamed with pride, his eyes shining as he stared at the screen. Everything in him wanted to hold his son in his arms and not just see him on an ultrasound screen. He couldn’t wait to meet him, couldn’t wait to be a father.
Valentina couldn’t help but laugh. “Oh, please, Victor. You can’t possibly tell that yet.” The look on her husband’s face was one of pure bliss and she knew they would share the memory of this moment for the rest of their lives.
The intensity of their life together had caused them to bond deeper and faster than most couples. Death was the only thing powerful enough to separate them and she wondered if even that could. If Victor died today, she knew he would still be with her and in her. No matter what, he would always be with her in the form of his son, Ricardo Victor Ramirez III. He would carry on the name of his father and grandfather with pride. That precious name was the gift his father would bestow on his firstborn son.
“Hey…it’s 3D, baby, I can see everything.” Victor’s voice cut through her thoughts.
“Okay, whatever you say.” She directed her attention toward the doctor. “These ultrasounds have really come a long way.”
“Yes, they have. Speaking of that, it looks like your son is going to be a big baby, just like his dad. It’s likely that you’ll need a C-section.” Dr. Trainor glanced at Victor and asked, “Do you still want to be in the delivery room? I’ve got to tell you it can be pretty graphic.”
The look in Victor’s eyes was so intense the doctor found it difficult to meet his gaze and busied himself instead with turning off the machine and tidying up his supplies.
“Nothing short of death would stop me from being with my wife to welcome our son into the world.”
“Good, that’s what I like to hear,” Dr. Trainor replied with a nod. He had, of course, heard rumors about the Ramirez family and he believed what he’d heard. Even his friends and colleagues had been curious about the cartel rumors. Some had gone so far as to say they’d be scared to deliver a Ramirez baby because if anything went wrong it would cost the doctor his life. He’d been pushing that fear away for months now. It wasn’t like he could say, ‘Sorry, I can’t deliver a gangster’s baby, ma’am, you’ll have to go somewhere else’.
It didn’t hurt that Dr. Trainor’s wife was a devoted Valentina Ramirez fan, never missing an episode of her favorite telenovela. She had all but insisted her husband take the starlet on as a patient. Their real-life connection to the star of the show gave the good doctor’s wife something to boast about with her country club girlfriends.
After the tragic death of Estrella Estrada, the show’s ratings had gone through the roof as viewers grieved their star. However, as Valentina’s ‘mystery pregnancy’ storyline had taken shape in the last few months, the viewing audience embraced her without question. It was a ‘mystery pregnancy’ plot at Victor’s insistence. He refused to allow his wife to do anything onscreen with another man that could remotely be construed as causing pregnancy, even if the deed was implied as happening off camera. For that reason, he had insisted that her character’s story arc take on a vaguely paranormal angle, which viewers were going crazy over. It was as close to an immaculate conception as he could get, since Valentina had stubbornly refused to hide the pregnancy behind the enormous Louis Vuitton tote bag he had given her for that purpose. Ratings had never been better.
The ultrasound image was so clear that Victor could imagine what it would be like to have that little face looking up at him as he held his son in his arms. He couldn’t help but feel impatient about having to wait two and a half more months to hold his son in his arms and show him the world.
“I told you he was a boy,” he murmured smugly.
“No…I told you,” she smiled. She glared at him before making her next statement, “I could tell by how hard he was kicking me that he was a boy. The little guy’s brutal. Imagine that.”
“The not-so-little guy’s a Ramirez.” His look turned somber. “So, are we okay, baby?”
It tugged at her heart to see the worry on his face. “We’re more than okay. This baby is fine, he’s just big, like the doctor said. We’re carrying on yet another Ramirez family tradition. Our son is going to be perfect, just like his daddy.”
“I hope he calls me Daddy,” he said, his hushed voice barely audible.
“He’ll call you whatever you want him to.”
“I love you.”
“I love you, too, and I love our son. I can’t wait to meet him.”
The doctor quietly slipped from the room and closed the door, knowing he was no longer needed. Victor pressed his forehead to hers and closed his eyes. “Thank you for blessing me with a son. I am yours and you are mine, Valentina. Forever.”
The End….for now.