“Did we miss anything?” Tahlia whispers, sliding into the seats next to us.

“Other than I almost got my ass kicked, no.” Lennon gobbles down a bag of Swedish fish.

“Are they selling snacks outside?” Lucas jokes, his eyes zeroing in on Lennon’s hand.

He better watch out, she’s feisty today. Since we’ve opted to keep the whole pregnancy a secret until we announce it in Climax Cove they have no idea why she’s a tad stressed out.

“I skipped lunch, okay big guy,” She stares blankly at him. He slides back behind Tahlia, placing his arm around her shoulders and concentrating on the stage in the school auditorium in front of us.

“Where’s Whit and Cole?” Tahlia whispers.

“Running late.”

Tahlia’s eyebrows shoot up. “Whit? Late? Huh.” She sits back when the principal walks up to the stage to announce the play.

An elbow hits my ribs. “Grab your phone. We need to get all these moments on video. Next thing you know, he’ll be complaining that all we cared about are the…”

Holding my side, I glance over at her, a smile teasing my lips. Leaning in closer while pulling my phone out of my suit jacket, I inhale the sweet scent of her gummy candy. “You never showed me the pictures.” My hand moves toward her purse, but she rips it out of my hands, clutching it in her lap.

“Later. Film.” She points to the stage, never looking directly at me. My mom, who is sitting on the other side of Lennon, glances over with curiosity in her eyes.

The curtain opens and Brady stands on the top tier. His height record for a seven-year-old showing he’s my son. My eyes instinctively move to Lennon and there’s my girl’s smile. Nothing better then seeing the woman you love stare adoringly to your son who isn’t hers biologically.

Another elbow jab to the ribs and that feeling of bliss vanishes. I hold my phone up in the air, ready to film my son, who admitted last night he’ll be lip synching this round of Christmas carols.

“He looks so grown up,” Lennon whispers to my mom and the two entwine arms, staring lovingly while he mouths the words to “I’ll Be Home for Christmas.”

I catch Whitney and Cole walk in, smiles wide on their faces as they concentrate on Brady while finding their seats. Knowing the drill, Lucas stands and Whit takes his seat next to Tahlia, leaving him and Cole on the end. The two girls talk softly, their eyes veering over to Lennon and then more hushed tones. I’m not sure why she thought she could keep this pregnancy to herself.

My wife is not subtle and everyone is bound to realize something is going on.

An hour later, the Christmas recital is over and we’re all waiting in the hallway for Brady to come out.

“Lennon, you’re really flushed. Are you okay?” Whitney asks, placing her hand on Lennon’s forehead.

She slides out of the way and shoots her friend an annoyed look. “I’m fine. It was like a hundred degrees in there. Haven’t they heard of air conditioning?”

“What’s with the crying? At an elementary Christmas recital?” Tahlia asks.

I saw the tears and I was smart enough to keep my mouth shut. You’d think a girl she’s known most of her life would be, too.

She’s still the same Lennon but it seems pregnant Lennon adds a touch of curtness and removes a slice of humor.

Whitney cowers over to Tahlia, the two talking about the upcoming trip to Oregon.

Brady runs out of the room with Bentley, the two competing on who will get to their parents first, and he plows right into Lennon’s stomach.

“Whoa, you gotta be careful!” I scold Brady, pulling him back from Lennon.

“Why?” he asks. Lennon still grasps at his shirt.

I let go and she pulls him into her, placing a soft kiss to his mop of brown hair. Now I’m the one being scolded by Lennon’s narrowed eyes.

“No reason. Your dad is just being protective.” Lennon places another kiss to the top of his head. “You did great.” She pulls him away from her, bending down to his level. “But, next time let’s try to sing at least a few chords.”

Brady’s head falls and all the adults around us laugh.

“Now, who wants ice cream!” Lennon being the awesome mom she is, changes gears swiftly.

Brady looks up, his frown turning to a big smile. She swings her arm around his shoulders and everyone starts filing out of the building.

I catch sight of Lennon’s purse where she left it on a nearby table, and grab it, following the pack. I’m halfway down the hallway when I realize, I can finally see the pictures of our new baby. Opening her purse, I dig around until I see the ultrasound pictures and pull them out.

My footsteps slow, and I blink a couple of times.

Baby A?

Why would they label the baby with a letter?

I flip it to the second picture. Baby B?

Flipping to the third, my mouth dries and my stomach both nauseates and flips with excitement at the exact same moment.

Baby A and Baby B?

Two white circles, two black dots.

Twins?

We’re having twins?