He’d had his doubts in the beginning that Ella might regret it, but from the moment she was told she was pregnant she said she felt instant love for that baby. Then they were told there were two, and that feeling of immense love doubled over instantaneously.
They decided to keep the whole thing a secret until the biggest risk was over. They both agreed that the fewer people they told—the fewer people asking questions—the easier it would be if things didn’t work out. That’s why when they decided they’d tell everyone they wanted to do it in a special way. So they’d flown everyone out to Disney World. They thought they were here to help them celebrate their anniversary and participate in today’s cancer-awareness walk. The only ones who knew were her brother and Sonia, who couldn’t be here because Memo was off in spring training for a triple-A team he was on and Sonia didn’t want to come without him. Then there were his brothers, who’d made it to their wedding but weren’t able to make it this time because they were in a middle of some record-breaking mountain-climbing race in the Alps. But Felix and Ella had spoken to them a few days ago just before they’d started the race and told them about the pregnancy. As expected, they were ecstatic.
They’d also told her dad, who didn’t come either on this trip because his new wife, and ironically neat freak, Margie, was afraid to fly. Felix had promised them the next trip would be a cruise.
It was crazy what a difference a good woman could make in a man’s life. Ella’s dad was happily married and now free of hoarding. He was still collecting, but Margie hadn’t allowed it until he’d gotten rid of all his other stuff first. She had her sons, who owned online businesses, help Ella’s dad set up one for him. So he was allowed now to collect stuff, fix it, and then sell it online. But she set limits on how many items he could store at home at a time before he could go out and get more.
Felix had made sure of two things when he’d bought them a place as his and Ella’s wedding gift to them. One, it was far away from Grayson’s patrol area. In fact, it was just around the corner from Ella and Felix’s place. And two, it had a nice big storage work area in the back. That kept the limit Margie set for him to a good size without any of it making its way into the house, and everyone was happy.
So everyone back home knew the news. Now it was time to tell everyone here. Ella and Felix had just been waiting for one more call from the doctors to make the announcement. That’s why they’d been late that morning.
Felix glanced at Ella, who gave him the go-ahead nod. “So we have an announcement to make.”
Aside from the kids, who didn’t quiet or slow down even for a moment, all the adults were looking at them now.
“We hadn’t told anyone,” Felix began, “because we knew it’d be a process. First, we had to make a decision and be sure it was what we both agreed on.”
Felix turned to Ella, and she took a deep breath then stood up. “First of all, I wanna say you all look so cute in your pink shirts. Guys”—she looked at Abel specifically—“I know you fought for the pink ball caps only, so I appreciate seeing you in the T-shirt as well.”
The guys laughed, nudging Abel, whose face soured. “I wasn’t the only one,” he reminded them. “And it was just a suggestion. I never said I wouldn’t wear it.”
He tugged at his tight shirt as Hector tried to keep from laughing. Hector was the one who’d suggested they get Abel one that barely fit so the big guy would look even cuter in his pink T-shirt.”
“Looks good, man.” Hector nodded at him, trying to keep as straight face as possible, but Abel shoved him anyway.
“As you all know,” Ella continued, “Felix and I would like nothing more than to be parents, but with my medical history, we had to decide whether or not that was a chance we wanted to take. Any child of mine would be automatically susceptible to a very high probability of getting cancer.” She glanced at Felix and smiled at him.
It took everything in him to not reach out and rub her belly as he’d been doing nonstop since they found out she was pregnant. But he’d wait until she’d told them all.
“We knew that the rare condition Felix’s son was born with was not genetic. So several months ago we began seeing fertility specialists about using an egg donor. If we went this route, I could still carry the baby, and one of us would be blood related to our baby, but, of course, once he or she was in here”—she rubbed her belly—“the baby would be all mine too.” She smiled as her eyes welled up, and Felix brought his arm around her waist, a little concerned. She turned to him and smiled. “They’re happy tears, baby. I promise,” she whispered then laughed, wiping a tear away with her finger. “But I think you’re gonna have tell them the rest or I’ll be a blubbering mess.”
Felix cleared his throat. “Long story short. We chose a donor, went through the procedure that we were warned may or may not take the first round, but”—he kissed Ella on the cheek—“it took first try.”
The girls already had their hands to their mouths, looking emotional, and Felix couldn’t even look at them for fear their teary eyes might make him get all choked up too. He swallowed back the emotion and continued. “Because we were told that there was still a chance the pregnancy might not stick, we didn’t wanna to say anything until she was further along. But now that she is, we want to announce we’re gonna be parents!”