Page 119 of Unbreakable Thread

I lay my hand on his thigh, giving it a squeeze. Max laces his with mine. I’m making the right decision. I hope so.

Chapter 35

Max

Last night didn’t go as planned. Sol said she had something to tell me, but when we got home, Dad was in rough shape—sweat beading on his forehead, hands trembling, apologies tumbling out for every perceived failure. The isolation and darkness had crept in again. I could tell he wanted a drink. To distract him, I suggested that we go for a walk, hoping the night air might clear his head. Sol, exhausted and hungry, waved us off. As we walked, I steered the conversation toward Mom. His face softened at her memory. Soon we were laughing about the time I wedged myself into a dining chair, and he had to dismantle it piece by piece to free me. These moments of normalcy between us still feel fragile, but precious. The road ahead is long, but at least we’re walking it.

I offered Pops a job as a tech at my company. I’m sure his breakdown has to do with being home. He needs to distract his mind and socialize. Without hesitation, he accepted. We returned to the house, and Sol was already sound asleep.

This morning, we didn’t have time to talk about it. We had a doctor’s appointment for her check-up. She said it would be better to talk about it after the appointment. I agreed to whatever it was, and I didn’t want to stop mid-conversation, especially if it would sour the mood of seeing the baby’s ultrasound.

Brings us to now. A woman calls Sol’s name, and we walk toward the room. The ultrasound room is smaller than I expected. A woman in blue scrubs enters the room. “Hello,” she says with practiced warmth. We respond in unison. She squeezes clear gel onto Sol’s exposed belly and spreads it with the ultrasound wand. I have faced men twice my size in Underground rings. I have never been this nervous. My palms are damp. I grip Sol’s hand. She squeezes back. A beating heart. Little legs, little hands, and a little nose appear on the screen. That’s our baby. Pride swells in my chest. The measurements are good. The baby is right where it needs to be. I grin when it kicks—already throwing a tantrum. Sol smiles at me with tears in her eyes.

“Mom, do you want to know the gender?”

“Yes, please.”

“How about you, Uncle?” she asks.

I raise a brow. Uncle?

“He’s my boyfriend, the father.”

“Oh, sorry.”

Fucking Leo.

She moves the wand, trying to get the baby to turn slightly. She messes with the wand, turning it over and over, her eyes glued to the screen—the baby squirms.

The technician stops moving the wand. “Oh, my lord.”

Sol’s hand tightens in mine. “What’s happened?” we both shout.

“We have another heartbeat.”

The room goes still.

Then we both spoke at once. “Wait, what!?”

Sol gasps. “Are you sure?”

“It seems brother was blocking her.”

“Brother? Her?” My heart thunders in my chest.

“Yes, now that we’ve got him to move, we can see her. This is normal with twins. This baby A is your little boy, and baby B is a baby girl.”

“Holy shit!” Sol gasps. “Max!”

My mouth is unhinged, eyes pinned on the screen. Two babies? Damn…this is going to be a wild ride, but I wouldn’t want anything less.

My mouth slacks, and I kiss her forehead. “We’re going to be pretty busy, aren’t we?”

“We are.” She laughs.

“I can’t wait.”

After she’s printed several images for us and given us a DVD, they move us to the doctor’s room.