Chapter 18
Everything changed after that night. Colin seemed to be a different person, no longer trying to run from her. Instead, he became the kind of partner that most women could only dream of. He was completely engrossed in her, giving her his undivided attention.
As the fall came and went and the winter settled in, she grew larger with his child. Like many women, she was afraid that it would be a turnoff that she was getting so large, but he seemed to only love her more as he rolled his hands across her growing baby bump.
“You ready for your ultrasound?” he asked as they got ready for her next doctor’s appointment.
“I am,” she told him.
“Let’s get going then,” he replied, knocking on the doctor’s door. “You ready to go, mate?” he asked as it was answered.
“I sure am. Let’s roll,” the doctor replied.
Climbing into the SUV, they made their way to the hospital in the city. It wasn’t safe for Ashley to let just anyone do an ultrasound, but the doctor apparently had a friend who was going to let him use the machine in her office without too many questions. Ashley felt a little like some sort of fugitive slipping in the side door and making their way quietly into a small room of her practice, but was terribly excited to see the results. She was huge for six months along and most people had an ultrasound well before this.
“I can’t wait to see what you’re hatching in there,” Colin said excitedly as Ashley was getting prepared for the test. The other physician helped with the initial preparation but left them alone to have privacy before they actually began.
“Oh, my,” the doctor said.
“What? What’s going on?” Colin said, craning to get a better look at the screen.
“Well, you see that right there?” he replied, pointing to the outline of a baby on the screen.
“Yes,” Colin replied. Ashley was quiet but watched intently. The doctor put a special monitor to her stomach and captured the babies heartbeat. It sounded like some sort of weird dolphin noises to her.
“There is our baby’s heartbeat,” he said, moving both the pointer on the screen and the monitor on her belly to a different angle toward the side.
The view switched. At first, Ashley thought she was just seeing the baby from a different angle, but something was off about it. Looking at the screen, it looked to be at a weird angle with something crowding it into a confined space. She felt alarmed for a moment, then relieved and then alarmed in a different way as the doctor explained to them what they were hearing and seeing.
“And that is your other baby and a second heart beat,” he said.
“What?” Colin asked, sounding a bit bewildered.
“You’re having twins. One boy and one, well, I have no idea from the angle they are currently curled into.”
“Twins!” Colin exclaimed, a broad smile spreading across his face.
Turning toward Ashley, he kissed her and then leaned down to kiss her belly, coming away with a disgusted look on his face.
“Yeah, you shouldn’t have done that. Goo isn’t pleasant,” the doctor said, referring to the gel he had previously spread across her abdomen to aid in the ultrasound.
Ashley laughed as the doctor chuckled to himself and took some measurements of the babies and saved a few pictures, handing them to her to take home with them.
“Everything looks good with them. We’ll just have to keep an eye on your nutrition and activities for the remaining months. The danger of losing twins due to a collapsed uterus are much higher than with a single baby. So, we’ll need to be diligent with your care.”
“Oh, we will be,” Colin replied, still trying to wipe the nasty gel taste off his lips.
“We’ll be coming back monthly after this for ultrasounds. I’ll make arrangements for when we can access the machine next while you get cleaned up, Ashley,” he told them, handing her some tissues from a nearby container and stepping out of the room.
“Can you believe it? Twins!” Colin told her.
“We’ll have something to tell your parents when they come next week,” she replied.
“We sure will,” he replied, all smiles.
The three of them went out to celebrate over dinner after they were done and then made their way back to the house. Though Ashley had moved into Colin’s room with him months ago, she still maintained her quarters. Colin was working on turning the outer portion of her quarters into a nursery for when the baby came, but now they were going to have to rethink some of it to accommodate two new babies instead of one.
“We’re gonna need a bigger nursery,” he quipped, repurposing a quote from Jaws.
“That we are. Leave it to you to be an overachiever and get twins on the first try,” she told him.
“Oh, I got so much more than twins,” he told her. “Wait. I have something for you too. Sit right here while I go get it,” he said.
Ashley looked at him, puzzled and sat down on the sofa in their living room to see what he was up to now. He was gone a moment and then returned with a large box in his hands, sitting it down on the table in front of her. It was beautifully wrapped in gold foil.
“What is it?” she asked.
“Open it and see,” he told her.
Ashley leaned forward and pulled the ribbon free before slipping her fingernails along the seams of the paper and removing the paper from the box. She pulled open the lid to the plain white hat box that was underneath it all and pulled the lid free, gasping when she saw the contents. She started to lift it, realizing quickly just how heavy it was. Colin moved forward and helped her pull it free and sitting it up on the table for her to see a bit better.
“My God, Colin. It’s beautiful,” she said.
“You like it then?” he asked.
“No. I love it. It’s the most incredible thing I’ve ever seen.”
“I know it isn’t full size, but this one is yours to put wherever you like or rotate to different places if you like.”
“Nathair Sgiathich 1,” she read from the small plaque on the side of the stand on which the dragon stood, looking at him in confusion. “1?” she asked.
“Yes. It’s the original. The first one I ever made, before I started making the larger scale sculptures.”
“Oh, Colin. I can’t take this. It must be like giving away a part of yourself.”
“It is and there is no one I’d rather give myself to than you. I did add one little thing to it though, just for you.”
“What’s that?” she asked, examining it.
“A special tray in the base for you to store special items,” he said, watching as she moved her finger along the bottom in search of such an opening, finally finding it and pulling the small latch that opened it.
“Colin,” she gasped, reaching inside to remove the stunning diamond and onyx ring from the cushioned drawer. It was set in an antique frame. It was gothic in appearance, giving it an old look, which she absolutely adored.
“It was my grandmother’s ring. When she and my grandfather met, they couldn’t even afford wedding bands, but not everyone wore them back then anyway. It was generally enough to say you were married and it kept you from getting robbed on the road, even if you were of some means. After what happened with the castle and some time had gone by, he bought her this ring. Now, I want you to have it.”
“Colin, this is too much. I can’t accept all of this.”
“Yes, you can. I want to marry you. I’m giving you this ring and asking you to marry me,” he said.
Ashley’s eyes widened, realizing that he wasn’t just giving her the ring as a gift. Neither of them had talked much about their feelings for one another, as if saying the words might somehow jinx what was developing between them. Now, he had completely jumped the shark and gone straight for engagement, which frightened her. What if he didn’t mean it? What if it was just impulse.
“An answer would be good,” he chuckled nervously.
“I’m just so overwhelmed,” she gasped, stalling.
The smile faded from his face as he cocked his head to one side, studying her face closely. She could tell he was concerned about her hesitance, but then, who wouldn’t be. The man had just proposed, and she hadn’t immediately responded.
“I just don’t want this to be something you have done because you think you have to. I mean, we have an agreement in place. There is no reason that you have to marry me.”
“Exactly! I don’t have to marry you. I want to marry you. I love you, Ashley. I’ve fallen head over heels for you a little more every day that I’ve spent with you. Are you telling me that you don’t feel the same, that you are still only here because you have an obligation?”
The hurt behind his eyes was evident. She wished she could take it back. How had she gotten so jaded, so uncertain. All the men before him who had treated her poorly might as well be standing behind her nodding and shaking their head at him as if to say they could have told him that they were still rattling around in her head, whispering taunts in her ears. This should be a beautiful moment and she had ruined it. Taking a deep breath, she began to speak.
“I love you too. I’m just scared,” was all that came out.
“I see,” he said, standing up and walking out of the room without another word.
Tears fell down as his steps disappeared quickly down the hallway. Ashley looked down at the ring laying in her hand rather than on her finger. She hadn’t even given him the opportunity to put it on. Closing it in her palm, she walked down to her former bedroom and lay across the bed as tears flowed down her cheeks. She felt tired, mostly of being herself.