It was a good thing they didn’t change after church, because everyone at the table was dressed as if going to church. No one had said anything. Was it another attempt to humiliate them - her? She could believe that of Dulce, but not of Felipa. Alondra was still a big question mark, but her gut said no to that idea too.
While they were eating desert, one of the servants came in and handed Alex an envelope.
“This came in by currier a few minutes ago, sir.”
“Thank you,” Alex said, accepting the envelope. He quickly opened it and pulled out the contents. Smiling, he shoved them back in the envelope and handed it to Carmen.
“What’s this?” she said, frowning as she took the envelope. The return address was the Doctor’s office in Chicago. Pulling the contents out, she stared at the ultra sound. Marked on it in bold letters were the words “Baby A” and “Baby B”. Carmen sucked in her breath and looked up at Alex.
“Twins?”
He grinned and nodded.
“Oh my gosh!” she said, looking back at the photo to read the statistics. Again she glanced up at him. “What does d-i-z-y-g-o-t-i-c twins mean?”
“They’re not identical twins,” he answered, sobering.
“They might not look alike?”
“Possibly. Possibly they won’t even be the same sex.”
“It could be a girl and a boy?” she asked hopefully.
His eyes twinkled with humor. “Well, if they’re not the same sex, I sure hope that’s the outcome.”
Felipa jumped up and ran around the table to peer over Carmen’s shoulder. A few seconds later Alondra joined her and the two girls poured over the picture.
Carmen glanced at Señor Medena, who was beaming as if they were his children . . . or as if they were his biological grandchildren. These babies might not be in her womb, but they did belong to Alex. What had they done? Did Alex think about that aspect? And then another thought struck her. Who was paying for this? She had assumed Alex was, but . . . she needed to look at his files. Now it truly mattered how much money he had. She released the breath she had been unconsciously holding.
Felipa turned excitedly to Alex. “When you bring the babies home, can I come stay with you for a while and help take care of them?”
“Felipa!” Dulce reprimanded.
Alex chuckled. “That’s a very nice gesture, Felipa. But let’s see how things turn out.”
With the photos in her hands, the fertilized eggs were a thing of the past. It no longer mattered how they were conceived, carried or delivered. The babies in the photo were living beings. They were expecting – as surely as if they were in her womb.
She glanced up and found Alex watching her intently.