The Course of True Love Never Did Run Smooth, chapter 5

Sadie's POV

I stood in front of the camera with two female models with long, dark brown hair, and a male model beside me, apparently named Bjorn. He didn't speak very much English, but the photographer spoke Icelandic, so he was able to boss Bjorn around. The photographer was quite nice to me though. Probably because I'm now pretty powerful what with my clothing label and all. Bjorn looked somewhat star struck when he met me actually. But since he couldn't speak my language, he just made some odd noises and said 'Hallo.'

Bjorn sat down on the ground with me and the two other models, and we did random poses. The photographer had just moved us outside to get a more hippie-type look. It was fun.

We continued to pose and whatnot, and soon enough the shoot was over. I had helped pick out which pictures were the ones I wanted to use, and thanked all the photographers, estheticians, assistants and models for coming together to make the shoot.

I left the studio in my original outfit and hopped into my car. I was excited to see what surprise Joe had been talking about before. I had been anticipating it all day.

I cranked up my CD player and hummed along to Crosby Stills Nash and Young's 'Chicago.' I was a sucker for those guys. I got some odd looks from pedestrians, but I didn't care. I was in a good mood.

I sped down the street, in hopes that I would get home quicker. I never got caught for speeding. I'm a discreet speeder.

It really didn't take me a long time to get home. I beat most of the red lights.

I pulled my car into the garage, got out, closed the garage door, and hurried into the house.

"Joe I'm home!" I called out, not knowing where he was in the house.

"Hey dear! Be right down!" He called from 3 floors above me. No matter where you were in this house you could hear anything pretty clearly, despite the fact that it's pretty spacious.

I heard shuffling upstairs, and Joe came down the stairs, fastening his white tie around the collar of his red dress shirt, that was tucked into a pair of black pants. This was a pretty tame outfit for Joe. I was surprised. But nonetheless, he looked pretty damn fine. He plopped one of many black bowler hats on his head and met me at the foot of the stairs.

"Hey gorgeous," He said, slinking his arms around my hips. "How was today?" He asked, kissing my temple.

"Real good. The interview went well. The photo shoot was cool. The shots came out really well." I said, taking my glasses off.

"That's good to hear. Oh, I picked you up something today." Joe said, grabbing a bag that was left on the bottom stair. He pulled out a book and handed it to me.

"What to Expect When You're Expecting... " I said, flipping through the pages. "Aw, thanks for getting me this Joe."

"No problem." Joe said, pushing a strand of blue hair behind my ear.

I sauntered over to the kitchen and put the book down on the counter, turning back to Joe.

"So Joe... about that surprise you promised me." I said, grinning slyly."

"Oh yeah... the surprise. Uh, first you have to get dressed. You'll know what to wear."

"But I don't know where we're going."

"Yeah but, you'll still know what to wear."

I laughed as I walked up the stairs to our room while Joe waited downstairs. As I walked into my room I saw a red dress with white polka dots laid out on our bed. It had a slightly revealing neckline, which I didn't really mind. I slipped the dress on, and it fit like a glove. Joe knew my measurements thankfully. Hell, I don't even know my measurements.

I slipped on a pair of white pumps that were beside the dress, and tied a string of white beads around my neck. I quickly pulled my hair back into a chignon and came back down the stairs. I met Joe by the door, as he slid on a pair of Vans.

"So Sadie I-"

Joe looked up at me mid-sentence and was stopped dead in his tracks. Who would have thought that saying nothing was a huge compliment?

"W... Wow."

I smiled bashfully and looked at my shoes.

"Thanks for the dress Joe. I like it a lot."

"No problem Sadie. Man, you look great."

"Thanks. You clean up quite nicely too." I said as Joe opened the door and took me to the garage where our car awaited.

"Yeah I know. Well as I was saying, I was planning on taking you out to a little restaurant around here."

"Yeah? Which one?"

"Yoshi's."

I squealed excitedly as I stepped into the Hybrid with Joe. He started the car up and pulled out of the garage.

Joe drove down the streets and decided to strike up a conversation.

"So, I got you an appointment with an obstetrician, plus an ultrasound in two days."

"Two days? That's pretty soon. Oh man... I'm excited."

"Yeah, me too."

"Hey Joe?"

"Yeah?"

"Uh, do you wanna know if the baby's a girl or a boy?"

Joe paused for a second, deep in thought before answering.

"Uh... I don't know. If we know we'll be more prepared. But, if we don't know it'll be a big surprise and stuff."

"Yeah... Well I don't know really. Let's sleep on it. The appointment isn't for another two days."

"Right."

Joe turned the CD player on. Operation Ivy's 'Freeze Up' blared. He turned it down a couple notches cuz it was almost on full blast.

"Hey Sadie?"

"Yeah Joe?"

Joe rustled around in his coat pocket for something.

"Uh, I was gonna give you these later but I figured I'd give them to you now. You work really hard, and I have a week off, so I reckon we need a break."

He pulled out to tickets from his pocket and handed them to me. At the top, in big black letters was 'Athens, Greece.'

I was speechless. I had always wanted to go to Greece.

"We're going to Greece?!"

"Nope. We're going to Santorini."

I gasped, and put my hand to my mouth. I had always wanted to go to Santorini.

"No way! When are we leaving?"

"In a week. We'll be gone for eight days. I checked your schedule and you have nothing planned then." Joe said proudly.

"Joe that's so sweet! I can't believe this. This is so nice of you!"

"Ah, you deserve it."

I smiled and leaned over to kiss Joe. He gladly accepted the kiss and got back to his driving.

"It'll be so nice to just go away for a week. But before we go I have to see Claudia and Frankito first. I told Dad that he could tell them that I was pregnant, so they probably already know."

"Oh that's cool. What about Mona?"

"I guess I'll call her and tell her. I'd really love to go see her. I haven't seen Brock and Christopher in 5 months so I think I might visit them after we get back from Greece."

"Good plan. What about your other sister?"

"Jackie? Yeah, I'll call her too. She'll probably want to know."

"Uh huh. How old is she now?"

"Thirty one in a week or two. I should go for lunch with her or something that day."

"That's a good idea."

"So Joe, have you spoken to Jakob yet?"

"Actually I was on the phone with him today while I was out shopping. He's really happy. He wants us to name the baby Winslow if it's a boy, or Phoenix if it's a girl."

"He's still obsessed with Phantom of the Paradise?"

"Yup. You should never have lent him that movie. He watches it constantly."

Phantom of the Paradise is a famous cult classic. It scared the shit out of me when I saw it when I was 12. But I like it now. Oddly enough, it's only popular in two cities, Paris and Winnipeg. The Phantompalooza Festival comes to those cities every decade. The soundtrack went gold just because those two cities obsessed over it.

"I thought he'd like that movie. He's into the whole cult genre."

We talked for a little while longer, and Joe pulled up to the restaurant. Joe gave the keys to the valet, and he took the car to the parkade, while Joe and I walked inside. Joe walked up to the front desk and asked for our seat.

"We have reservations under Armstrong."

"Yes, right this way Mr. Armstrong." The waiter said, leading Joe and I to a table right by the band that was playing. They were playing one of my favourite jazz songs, 'A Kiss to Build a Dreamer,' by the renowned Louis.

We sat down at our table and I put the serviette on my lap.

"Here are your menus. May I start you out with anything to drink?" The waiter asked.

"Yes. Joe, do you want Jasmine Tea cuz we can just order a pot." I said.

"Sure. We'll have a pot of that please." Joe replied.

The waiter left, leaving Joe and I to listen to the great band that was playing. They were really skilled. Joe didn't really like jazz, but I did.

I turned to Joe after a minute and studied his head of hair. I think he tried trimming it again. I told him to leave that to me. I'm good at cutting hair. Joe is... well Joe doesn't really have any idea what the scissors are gonna end up cutting. He had a short stubby piece near the back of his head.

Joe turned to face me and looked at me oddly.

"Why are you staring at me?" He laughed.

"You cut your hair again didn't you?"

"Yeah... is it that noticeable?"

"Nah. Only I notice that stuff."

"Okay... good. Can you maybe even it out later?" He asked me with a sheepish expression.

"Sure Joe."

***

Joe's POV

"You excited?" I asked.

"Of course." Sadie replied, squeezing my hand a little. We were sitting in the hospital waiting room, in anticipation of Sadie's obstetrician, Dr. Anne Chapman. Today was our first check up, and we were getting an ultrasound as well.

Sadie turned to me, biting her lip. She looked great today. She was wearing her black 'Frankie says Relax' T-Shirt, and red jeans. Her hair was pulled back into a French braid that I did myself. I know that sounds a little weird... but I like doing hair. I'm good at doing it, but not so good at cutting it. On top of her head was one of her many knit caps.

"So, we aren't gonna ask if it's a boy or girl?" I asked just to make sure.

"Right. We're gonna leave it as a surprise."

"Alright... you sure?"

"Joe it was your idea."

"Oh yeah... right."

"Why, do you want to know?"

"Well, I don't know. I'm just anxious to know and I'm not sure if I can wait till it's born."

Sadie laughed and brought her foot up so she could tie her shoelace. When she brought her foot back down to the floor Dr. Chapman walked in.

"Sadie and Joe, we're ready for you now."

Sadie and I stood up, and the doctor led us down the hall.

"So how are you two doing today?" Dr. Chapman asked.

"Quite well thanks." Sadie said, adjusting her hat. "My morning sickness isn't as bad as it was before."

"Oh that's good to hear. Now Sadie I'm going to have to get you to slip on this hospital gown. Afterwards I'm going to do a few tests on you, and then we'll have the ultrasound. You can just go into that bathroom over there to get dressed" The doctor said as she opened a door that read '336.'

"Alright." Sadie said as she took hold of the hospital gown and went into the washroom.

Dr. Chapman sat in her chair with a clipboard and turned to me.

"Joe, while Sadie is getting dressed would you mind answering a few questions for me?" She asked, grabbing a pen.

"Sure, I don't mind." I said, sitting down as well.

"Alright. First off, have you and Sadie used any fertility drugs in order to conceive?"

"Nope. The pregnancy was unplanned." I said, picking at my fingernail.

"Alright. Are you taking any drugs right now?"

"I use migraine medicine on occasion, and Sadie was using birth control, but other than that, no drug usage."

"Alright. Do you or Sadie drink alcohol?"

"No. Never."

"Good to hear. Now, do you have a history of mental disorders in either of your families?"

"Uh, I have a second cousin with Downs Syndrome. I'm not sure about Sadie though."

"Okay. That was the last question so I'll ask her when she gets back."

Almost on cue, Sadie walked out of the washroom in her blue hospital gown.

"Ah, Sadie. I've just been drilling Joe with some questions and there was one question Joe couldn't answer. Is there a history of mental disabilities in your family?"

Sadie looked deep in thought, and then answered.

"Uh, my aunt had mild OCD."

"Okay. Now that I have that information, I'm gonna get you lie down on this bed hear and put your legs up in these metal things here." The doctor said to Sadie. Sadie got on the bed and put her feet up. The doctor did some tests or something. I wasn't really watching. I thought it was kind of gross. After a couple minutes Sadie was told to put her feet back down. We were about to do the ultrasound.

"Now, with the ultrasound we will be able to find out when the baby was conceived, it's heart rate, when you are due, and the gender of the baby. Now, do you two want to know the gender of the baby?"

Sadie looked at me, and I answered the doctor.

"No thanks. We don't want to know."

"Alright. Sadie I'm going to have to ask you to unbutton the front of your gown so I can spread this ultrasound jelly on your stomach."

Sadie did as Dr. Chapman told her, and the doctor squeezed out a clear, gooey subtance onto Sadie, and rubbing it all over.

"Shit that's cold." Sadie laughed. I pulled up a chair beside Sadie's bed and sat down, grasping Sadie's hand. I was nervous. I don't know why. I guess it was just an excited-type nervous.

"Yes, we have to chill it so it isn't as thin. It needs to be thick to work efficiently" The doctor said, wheeling the ultrasound machine towards Sadie's bed. She turned it on and grabbed a looking plastic thing that sort of looked like one of those Air Hockey things that you hold to hit the puck with. Dr. Chapman started to rub the plastic thing on Sadie's stomach.

"In a minute a video of your baby will appear on the ultrasound machine. I'll turn the TV on and it will appear there as well so you can see it."

Dr. Chapman turned the TV on, and we waited for an image to appear. Suddenly, the TV showed a silvery image that I couldn't really make out clearly.

"Alright... This circle is Sadie's womb. And inside... oh my."

"What?" Sadie and I asked frantically.

We heard a funny sound come from the ultrasound machine, and the doctor checked something on the machine.

"A... B... C." The doctor said. What did that mean?

"Is something wrong?" Sadie asked with fear in her eyes.

"No, no, no, nothing is wrong. You see, Heartbeat A is Sadie's heartbeat... and heartbeat B is the baby's heartbeat. But... I just found another heartbeat. Which means... you two are expecting twins. Congratulations!"