Violetta Craft's Arc

Chapter 60 of 65

Tuesday morning Violetta buckled Elowen into the car seat while Jordie loaded the diaper bag. The ultrasound was at ten. Her mother had asked to come. Her father had asked to come. Jett said he was coming whether they liked it or not. By the time they pulled into the clinic lot, Paul's truck was already there, and Jordie's parents were walking up from the other row. The waiting room filled with them. Lymber held Elowen on her lap. Missy sat close, pointing at the fish tank. Max and Jett stood by the window. Paul kept his hands in his jacket pockets and nodded at Jordie's father across the row of chairs. Violetta signed in and sat down. Her back hurt. She kept one hand flat on her stomach. The tech called her name. Violetta looked at the room full of people who had followed her here. "All of you," she said. "Come on." They squeezed into the ultrasound room. Paul stood against the far wall with Elowen in his arms. Lymber took the chair by the bed. Missy pressed herself in beside Jett. Jordie held Violetta's hand. The tech ran the wand over the gel. The room went quiet except for the machine. A heartbeat filled the speakers, steady and fast. On the screen, a curled shape shifted. "Do you want to know?" the tech asked. "Yes," Violetta said. The tech moved the wand lower. She tapped the screen. "That's a boy. Clear as anything." Missy let out a small squeak. Lymber's hand went to her mouth. Paul's face broke into a grin he tried to hide by looking down at Elowen. Jordie's mother said, "Oh," and then said it again. Violetta turned her head to Jordie. His eyes were wet. He was smiling like an idiot. "A boy," he said. "Just like Mom and Dad," Violetta said. She looked over at Lymber. Lymber nodded, remembering her own second baby, the twins, Max first. "Girl and then a boy." Jordie squeezed her hand. "So what do we do with him." Violetta had been carrying the name for two weeks. She had not said it out loud, not even to herself in the mirror. She said it now. "Eli Daniels. Eli for him. Daniels for you." Jordie's mouth opened and closed. He pressed her hand to his forehead. "Eli," he said. "Eli," Lymber repeated. She was crying without trying to hide it. Paul cleared his throat behind her. Missy leaned over the bed. "Hi, Eli." Violetta looked at the screen at the small curled shape that had a name now. Not a placeholder. Not a maybe. Eli Daniels. She had a son. She would need to start over on everything she had planned for a second daughter, but that was Wednesday's problem. Today the room was full of her people, and the baby had a name.