It was the third time Cheryl rang Toni to a dead end. Waking up without her wife by her side wasn’t something she wasn’t used to because Toni would be up very early in the morning to make them breakfast most of the days, but she always left a note or a text with that black heart emoji that made Cheryl roll her eyes up. This time there was complete radio silence. She took her phone and stared at the messages she had sent.
Cheryl (11:52 a.m): alright I just woke up and you’re nowhere to be seen where did you go woman
Cheryl (12:25 p.m): can you pleeease text me back the baby misses you (both me and the other baby growing inside me)
She quickly typed one more before she walked into the bathroom.
Cheryl (1:18 p.m): babe, we have our party in an hour please show up I’m getting worried :(
Standing in front of her bathroom sink, she grabbed the oil that smelled like flowers and passion fruit from the shelf, staring at her giant round belly in the mirror. It left Cheryl in awe every time she caught herself looking at it and every time she rubbed her hands on the soft, stretched skin it made her feel alive in ways that she had never felt before. Something inside her seemed to churn every time and she wasn’t just talking about the baby kicking her in the ribs, but it was a feeling that she couldn’t explain.
That was their fourth try. IVF was expensive, stressful and painful, not only physically, and it affected both of them. They had lost hope by then because they had done all the exams. The Toni found out she had polycystic ovaries and her fertility rate was almost inexistent and they didn’t want to risk it and make themselves frustrated and spent their money on an failed attempt. The syndrome didn’t upset Toni as much as she thought it would. Sure, she wanted kids, but she wanted them with Cheryl. If she wasn’t the one carrying them it was okay, as long as it was with the redhead that, even after six years, still took Toni’s breath away even when she was asleep.
Cheryl never dreamed about feeling a baby grow inside her, but that quickly changed as soon as she saw that positive result on the pregnancy test stick. She did want a family with Toni, but she would be lying if she said she had dreamt of being a mother when she was a child. Therefore, feeling the baby kick her right in the belly button whenever Toni laid down next to her to talk to her belly or how the baby seemed to wake up as soon as she touched it was amazing. Toni would be the best mother ever and there was no doubt about that.
Hands covered in oil quickly met the soft skin of her own torso, spreading it all around it. Five months in and the back pain was nothing compared to the feeling that soon she would have a mini her and a mini Toni in their arms. The procedure had used both their genetic material, and Cheryl couldn’t wait to see if the baby would have Toni’s eyes or Toni’s hair. God, she hoped it was the hair.
Cheryl’s cellphone buzzed in the sink and she sighed in frustration when she glimpsed at the screen and didn’t see Toni’s name on it. It was supposed to be their big day and Toni was nowhere to be seen.
Betty (1:21 p.m): Are you home? We’re going to pick you up in a few because we’re still short on some plastic cups.
Planning the sex reveal, as Cheryl preferred to call instead of a gender reveal, was something she really wanted to have done by herself, but then it wouldn’t be a surprise anymore and it was killing her inside. She did the ultrasound on her last appointment and it was killing her that her doctor knew what it was, and so did Betty, but she didn’t and neither did Toni. They had chosen two names and they were more than happy if it was Sawyer or Sophie, they just wanted to hold their little tiny human in their arms.
Cheryl washed her hands twice to make sure the grease had come off completely before she picked up her phone and texted Betty back.
Cheryl (1:24 p.m): yes, i am! just give me twenty because it is impossible to put on shoes with this belly and my wife is mia so i might take a while
Betty (1:24 p.m): alright but i’m three minutes away from your house so can you just please leave the door unlocked so I don’t need to melt to death in my car?
Cheryl walked to the front door and unlocked it just as Betty parked across the street. She opened the door just enough for Betty to see her there and wave back as she ran to the steps.
“You look stunning today, Cheryl,” Betty said with a smile, leaning towards to give her a hug.
“Careful, baby oil,” Cheryl pointed to her belly but still leaned into a quick and clumsy hug. “And thank you, cousin. It’s the baby.”
“Where’s Toni?” Betty asked as she entered the house and saw no trace of the smaller one. “Is she there already?”
“If only I knew.” Cheryl huffed as she walked towards and into her bedroom, the wardrobe door blocking half of Betty’s view.
“What do you mean, you don’t know?” Betty asked and Cheryl rolled her eyes in frustration.
“Yep.”
“But doesn’t she always leave a note or a text?” Betty’s voice echoed from the hall, the blonde standing in the middle of it, staring at herself in the mirror to adjust her hair.
“Exactly! That’s why I’m so upset and infuriated! She won’t text me back and I have no idea where she is. This is our party, too!” Cheryl sounded extremely frustrated and the fact that Betty didn’t express a single emotion towards it was making the redhead even more irritated. Why is everybody off today?
Betty walked into the room and quickly spotted the mess of sheets on the bed. She took one in her hand and started to fold it, but Cheryl turned around quick as lightyear.
“I swear to God if you start making that bed I will kick you out. Both my house and the reveal party.” Cheryl had never been that serious before and Betty just chuckled.
“Try it,” she teased. “Don’t forget I’m the one who knows if it’s Sophie or Sawyer in there.”
Cheryl huffed one more time, loudly this time, and turned around once more to look for the piece of clothing she wanted.
“You are insufferable.”
“I know.” Betty fake smiled. “But back to the Toni situation… Maybe she had a last time call. You know how those clients of hers are, they always want everything on their own terms.”
“But I think she would’ve at least told me where she went, don’t you think?” Cheryl asked, eyes still searching for that white dress she had separated for this special occasion. “You guys didn’t plan anything that might stain my clothes, did you?”
“I don’t know, did we?” Betty teased back as she fluffed up the last pillow and put it in its place.
“Why are you like this?”
Betty just chuckled and watched as Cheryl disappeared through the bathroom door to get dressed. Less than ten seconds after that, her cellphone buzzed in her pocket. She quickly typed an answer and put it back.
A minute later she watched as Cheryl walked out of the bathroom, adjusting the straps of her white dress on her shoulders and a very much open zipper.
“I can’t reach the back. Can you zip it for me?” Cheryl turned around and pointed with her index finger to the zipper, going all the way to her lower back.
“Does it still fit you? Because you bought it three months ago, right?” Cheryl nodded.
“Yeah, but I bought a bigger size on purpose.”
As Betty zipped it up, Cheryl’s phone buzzed on the bed three times. This time, her heart skipped a beat.
Babe (1:38 p.m): hey babe i’m sorry! I had to solve some things before our party. is betty with you already? i’ll meet you guys there!
Babe (1:38 p.m): i’m sorry i didn’t leave a note or texted you, i couldn’t really get my phone
Babe (1:38 p.m): you are the most mommy i have ever met and i love you so much
“Judging by that silly smile on your face it’s her, isn’t it?” Betty asked and Cheryl just nodded as she typed a response.
“I can’t even be mad at her.”
“But I can, at you, if you don’t hurry up because we have twenty minutes to leave the house, get some more plastic cups and get there.”
“So you try to stop that clock because this baby is not going to let mommy bend down to put on her shoes.”
Betty stared at her with no expression whatsoever for five seconds before she opened her mouth to say something.
“I am not wearing flats.” Cheryl said, firmly.
“And I’m not letting you wear high heels with this belly! Your back!”
“What are you, my mother?” Cheryl raised her eyebrows as she watched Betty walk out towards her wardrobe.
“If I were I would’ve gone insane by now.” Betty said sarcastically, her voice muffled from being too far. Cheryl chuckled and mentally thanked God for having her in her life.
Cheryl had never been that grateful for someone more than she was now for Betty and her annoying insistence on her wearing flats. She had been standing up, greeting people for forty minutes and her feet were already killing her.
It all looked beautiful and she alone could have never done that beautifully the way Betty and Veronica did. The lake in the distance was reflecting the light rays perfectly directly on the table and on the thick white curtains that made the background, where it hang a giant poster with both the names they had chosen, written both in white and silver. The decoration was all light pink and light blue. All the balloons and all the flowers inside the white center tables. The cake was entirely white and it was killing Cheryl inside that she couldn’t see through it, even if she squinted a lot.
She wished Toni were there to have seen it, both of them together, when she first walked down that rock path that Veronica had decorated with pink and light blue lilies that were white before they dyed it.
“How’s my favorite mama doing?” Veronica approached her from behind, resting one hand on her shoulder and the other resting on Cheryl’s belly.
“I have no idea because she’s not here yet.” Cheryl answered with a soft smile, almost a sad one, while Veronica’s eyebrows knit slightly together in confusion. “Toni’s mama, I’m mommy.”
Veronica whispered an ‘adorable’ and Cheryl chuckled.
“Where is she, by the way?” Veronica asked. “I haven’t seen her yet.”
“Probably on her way. I hope. She had to do some stuff and she said she would meet us here.”
“She’s probably almost here, don’t worry.” Veronica gave her a warm smile and caressed her shoulder gently to give her some comfort and she just smiled and mouthed a thank you. “But we really need to get started. It’s a long one.”
“Can’t we wait for Toni?” Cheryl sounded sad now. She really wanted to do this with Toni. She knew she couldn’t keep her from working, but at least today she could stop being an workaholic for a second. Cheryl’s phone buzzed in her hand and she smiled. “Never mind, she said she’s just around the corner. I think we can get started.”
Veronica and Cheryl both walked back to where everybody was sitting and having drinks. With a wave and a hand sign, Betty knew exactly what to do. She got a half-filled glass and hit it three times with a silver fork to get everybody’s attention.
“Hey, everybody, if I may have your attention,” Betty said a bit louder to make everyone hear her. People immediately stopped their conversations and turned to her direction. “I know we’re one person short, but apparently she’s on her way and since this is a long one I think we can all get started to see if we’re going to see our baby Sophie or our baby Sawyer soon. So, shall we?”
Veronica walked behind the panel and got a plaque with sixteen black balloons glued to it. Cheryl smiled and rubbed her belly. Veronica asked her to go there and get the card Betty had glued behind the wooden board. Cheryl did as she was asked and got the card from Veronica’s hand. With now free hands, Veronica started filming it all on her phone.
“Read it aloud,” Betty asked and Cheryl smiled before she started.
“Alright, let’s see,” she took a small piece of paper from the tiny envelope and saw Veronica’s beautiful cursive handwriting on it.
Mommy and mama, here I am. This is the first and you might find out what was on that ultrasound exam!
People’s light laughter and some lost ‘aww’s were audible and so was Cheryl’s. Betty took a pin out of her hair and handed to Cheryl, who rolled her eyes.
“Of course,” she said with a light eye roll before she popped the first one.
White pieces of paper came blasting out and Cheryl’s anxiety was through the roof. She popped three more and they all had white paper inside.
Then, three more. White.
Four more, white.
Another one, white.
When she popped the last one, more white paper came out.
“You really thought it’d be that easy, huh?” Betty teased.
“Why did I really think that would be the one and only?”
Betty gestured with her hand for Cheryl to come to the spot where the gigantic black balloon hung on a branch of a tree was. On the satin ribbon, there was another card, and all Cheryl had to do was pull it gently and it quickly detached.
Carefully, she unfolded that one again, now with Betty’s handwriting, and started reading it a little bit louder now.
Mommy and mama, I’m sorry that aunt V didn’t tell you if I’m Sawyer or Sophie, but now aunt Betty might tell you I’m going to be!
Quickly, Cheryl popped the balloon, her heart racing inside her chest.
Silver glitter.
Glitter all over her hair, and her dress. That would never come off.
“You have got to be kidding me, Betty.” Cheryl whined. She placed both her hands on each side of her belly. “Why don’t you tell me if you’re Sophie or Sawyer? Just kick right if Sophie and left if Sawyer. Your aunts are driving me insane.”
“There is one more that you need to do.” Veronica announced, walking towards Cheryl and grabbing her by the hand. “But you need to come to the table.”
Cheryl would be lying if she said she wasn’t frustrated and upset that Toni wasn’t there, but she hoped she would arrive in time for the actual reveal. At least, if she didn’t, Veronica had it all on camera and she could watch it later.
Cheryl stood in front of the table, staring at that cake, wondering if the answer she longed the most was literally inside it.
“It’s not in the cake, Cheryl.” Betty seemed to be reading her mind that day and she just huffed, impatience starting to have an effect on her. Betty handed her a white blindfold. “Close your eyes and put this.”
“Why?!”
“Just close your damn eyes, woman.” Veronica asked one more time and she, very unwillingly, did so.
Blindfolds in place and she couldn’t see a thing. She could cheat, but something made her not do it.
She heard some shuffle around, Veronica’s heels tapping against the rocks on the floor. She could feel all of her muscles trembling and that freezing cold feeling in the pit of her stomach wouldn’t go away.
“Can I look now?” Cheryl asked and, five seconds later, got a response.
“Now you can take your blindfolds off.” Betty yelled and Cheryl did as she was told.
There was nothing different. Everything was in the exact same place as it was thirty seconds ago, except Betty and Veronica were both holding the curtain. Betty on the right side, Veronica on the left.
In a sudden and very synchronized move, they pulled the curtains back and what Cheryl saw made her smile grow three times bigger and the tears she hadn’t shed come running down with all its force.
Toni Topaz standing behind the curtains.
With pink hair.
Claps echoed around and Cheryl almost couldn’t move. She watched as Toni walked towards her, with the most beautiful smile on her face. Her new pink locks were falling softly alongside of her face. Happiness looked amazing on her.
Her first reaction was to grab Toni’s face and place a soft kiss on her lips. Almost immediately, she felt Toni’s arms wrapping around her waist and, when their lips parted, Toni bent down and placed a kiss on Cheryl’s belly. She stood up straight again and handed Cheryl the last white envelope.
“Read it aloud, babe.”
Cheryl dried her cheek with the back of her hand, her smile making its home on her lips. Toni wrapped an arm around her waist, using her other hand to caress her baby.
Mommy, please don’t be mad at Mama. She just wanted to go along with aunt Betty’s and aunt Vee’s crazy ideas. Hello, I’m Sophie, and I can’t wait to meet you out there. I love you so much!
“You knew?!” Cheryl asked, faking being hurt. Toni nodded and giggled.
“I found out yesterday, by accident. Betty asked me to get an envelope from her car, but there was two. I had to open to see which one she wanted and I saw the results. That’s why I left so early today and didn’t tell you where I was.” Toni explained and suddenly everything started to make sense to Cheryl. The way Betty was acting, and also Toni’s odd behavior. “I was standing right there,” she pointed to some bushes at the entrance of the lake, not very far from where it was happening. “the whole time.”
Cheryl couldn’t do anything else but smile. She threw her arms around Toni’s neck and pulled her in for another tender kiss.
“It’s our baby Sophie, then.” Cheryl smiled and the tears burned behind her eyes again.
It had been a roller coaster. Dealing with the anxiety of knowing they were so close to finding out, but so, so far away, and Toni not being there with her was weird, but in the end she couldn’t even be mad at Toni.
“I just wanted to surprise you, babe. I’m sorry. It must’ve been stressful.”
“Not going to lie, it was a little bit. Especially in the morning when I texted you non-stop and you didn’t even answer me properly.” Cheryl said, placing a lock of freshly dyed pink hair behind Toni’s ear. “But I can’t even be mad at you. It was perfect, babe. Thank you.”
“I love you. More than anything else.” Toni smiled, and her eyes seemed to do it as well. “Are you okay with me giving a bit of that love to our little girl?”
“Only if you don’t mind if I say that she’s my entire world now, too.”
“I could never. For all I know, you’re both my entire Solar System anyways.”
And, just when Cheryl thought she couldn’t be more in love with Toni, her heart clenched inside her chest one more time.
She couldn’t wait for Sophie to feel all that love, too.