The Gentle Giant

The day was finally here, her ultrasound was scheduled for ten o'clock. I was busy getting my stuff together for practice afterward and Dani was looking for something to wear and flinging clothes everywhere in the process. “Ughh, I hate being pregnant. What the heck am I supposed to wear? This is impossible.”

I looked and couldn’t help but stare. She looked adorable having a mini-tantrum, clothed in only a towel, wet hair draped across her back. “Andrej don’t even think about it.” She scowled and I swallowed hard. These hormones kill me sometimes.

I walked over to the waist high pile of clothes and started sifting through it. “Dani sweetheart, none of this stuff is maternity clothes. You have to get more stuff to wear.

She just groaned and the tears dripped down her face. “Just think of the reason why all of this is happening. Isn’t it all worth it in the end?” I questioned, hoping this would put an end to her being so sad today.

“Not working dear, nice try though.” She said as she dialed Raina’s number. They commiserated for a few minutes and I could hear Raina’s contagious laugh on the other end of the phone. After a minute or two, Dani started laughing along with her and hung up.

She went over to the pile of clothes and pulled out a pair of grey yoga pants, a white t-shirt and grabbed one of my hoodies. I cracked up. “Feel better now?” I questioned, praying I didn’t start a whole new series of complaining.

“Of course, Raina reminded me I don’t have to impress you anymore.” I just gave her a huge grin. She was right after all.

We got to the hospital and they ushered us into a waiting room. I paced while Dani read a magazine. They finally called her name and we were sent back.

The image that appeared on the screen was enough to make my heart melt. Our child was moving all around, hands going back and forth across the screen. They lady took a lot of measurements, explaining what each one was as we went along.

She finally asked us if we wanted to know the gender of the baby. She checked for a minute and turned to us. “See that right there” she said as she pointed to the screen. “That tells me you two are having a little girl. Better prepare yourselves. Little princesses are tough work.”

I took a deep breath and tried to maintain my composure. I couldn’t believe in a few short months I would be holding my little girl. I leaned down and kissed Dani on the forehead and my eyes fought to contain the tears. One slipped and dripped onto her nose causing her to kiss me and in turn the technician to clear her throat. We laughed as she printed out pictures for us. We left hand in hand and headed towards the practice rink.

Once we got there, Dani went down to the ice and I went back to get dressed. When I came out, she was sitting quietly on the bench by herself. She flashed me big smile and handed me the ultrasound pictures. I looked for her brother on the ice and skated towards him handing him the pictures. “So you are going to have a goddaughter. Excited?” He beamed and started showing everyone the pictures. We got a ton of congratulations.

I decided I had to call my parent tonight and tell them. I had briefly spoken to them about Danielle, but I hadn’t told them we were together or that she was pregnant. I knew they would be excited for me. They adored little kids and often bother me about when I would settle down.

Practice was fairly easy going. Lavy laughed after asking Dani's due date and said that no one else was allowed to have a baby during the season.

After practice, we drove over towards Danny and Raina’s house to show her the pictures. We hung out for a while before heading towards home and calling our respective families. Maman was thrilled with another girl to spoil. She already begun buying Jolie all kinds of dolls and barbies. She promised she would be down to visit in a few weeks.

I called my mom and dad and my mom answered. “Hi son, how are things going. All is well I hope?”

I sat down at the table. “Everything is wonderful Mom. Actually, I have some good news for you. Remember how I told you about my teammate’s sister? Well we found out today we are going to have a little girl at the end of March.”

She started crying. “Son, I am so happy for you. You father and I knew you would always make a good family man. We want to come see you. When is a good time for us to visit and meet your girlfriend?” I let them know they should come when the baby is born that way they didn’t need to make two trips and eventually I hung up with them.

“So we are going to be parents of a beautiful little girl huh.” She said staring at the picture in front of her. “Do you know how much I love you and my little girl right now.” I asked and she just nodded. “Umm I would think I do, you tell me plenty baby.”

I slid my hands under her shirt and ran them across her stomach. It was just really amazing to me that a life was growing in there. She laid back and just watched me as I ran my hands all over her tummy in awe. She started to close her eyes and it made me fall in love with her even more. She looked so relaxed and peaceful.

I got up and told her I’d be right back. I grabbed what I needed from the bedroom and sat back down beside her. I opened the lotion and warmed it in my hands, then ran them back across her stomach, rubbing the lotion into her skin. She relaxed fairly easily again. I started to slide the ring on her finger and her eyes blinked open . “What is this” she asked, before she even had a chance to look I answered her.

“It’s me asking you to marry me. Let’s be a real family Dani.”

Notes

He's such a teddy bear, lol.