In Love With An Older Man 9

February 1992

"Everything still looks fine." The sonographer's wand moved deftly over Cindy's swollen abdomen. It was Cindy's twenty-week check-up, and her first ultrasound in several months.

"Wow, you can sure see more detail now. Look at those little arms and legs waving!" Gary commented.

"Kicking, you mean." Cindy looked uncomfortable. "Especially at night when I'm trying to sleep."

The sonographer laughed. "Get used to it. It gets worse and worse as you go along. Would you like to know the genders of your babies? I can tell you now if you want."

Gary and Cindy looked at each other. "Sure, why not?" Cindy said.

The sonographer moved her wand again. "This one is a girl," she told them. "And the other one is a boy."

"All right!" Gary and Cindy hugged each other and grinned happily.

"One of each," Cindy commented.

"Jake and Carly all over again, just both at once this time." Gary chuckled.

The sonographer frowned and didn't say anything for such a long time that Cindy began to feel uneasy. "Is something wrong?" she asked anxiously.

"Dr. Young will be in to talk to you in a few minutes." The sonographer left, and Gary and Cindy looked at each other, bewildered.

"One baby's placenta is covering your cervix," Dr. Young explained to Cindy a few minutes later. "It's a condition called placenta previa. What it means for you is that your children will be delivered by C-section. But since we caught it this soon, everything should be fine."

"Oh, no," Cindy moaned. "I wanted a natural delivery with Gary by my side so bad."

"I'll still be there with you, honey." Gary gave Cindy a comforting hug.

"But I'll be in surgery..."

"You'll be given a spinal anesthesia, so you'll still be awake for the birth," Dr. Young assured her.

Cindy still looked doubtful.

"I'm not sure I'd be able to take watching myself being operated on," she said.

Dr. Young laughed. "Oh, there'll be a drape so that you won't see the actual procedure. There's a film you'll be watching later on that explains the whole thing."

As they left the doctor's office and headed for their car, Cindy's expression still looked troubled. Gary squeezed her hand affectionately.

"Everything will be fine, sweetheart. You're in the best of hands, and I'll be right there with you the whole time."

April 1992

"Guess what!" Carly shouted excitedly, bursting into the house. Cindy looked at her expectantly.

"Remember when I sang 'Couldv'e Been' by Tiffany for the school talent show?"

Cindy nodded.

"Well, Jennifer's cousin is a talent scout, and she heard a recording of me singing that song and wants to meet me! She says she might be able to get me a recording session in the studio!" Carly's eyes were dancing with excitement.

"Oh, honey, that's wonderful!" Cindy hugged Carly and kissed her on the cheek.

"I can't wait to tell Dad and Jake!" Carly exclaimed.

Later the family was discussing the matter over dinner.

"If Jennifer's cousin's boss likes me well enough, maybe I can even get a recording contract." Carly was talking so much that she had hardly eaten anything.

"And if I can get a recording contract, maybe I won't have to go to college after all," she continued.

"Whoa, back up there just a minute," Gary interrupted. "What's this about not having to go to college?"

"Well, Dad, if I can get a recording contract, maybe one of my songs will become a hit, and then I'd already have a career as a recording artist, so why would I even need college?"

"Carly, of all the young people your age who want to be pop stars, how many of them actually make it?" Gary asked quietly.

Carly looked hurt. "Are you saying you don't believe in me?"

"Of course I believe in you, honey. I'm just saying that the world of pop music stardom is a highly competitive world. Even for the most talented singers, success is never a guarantee. You need something to fall back on in case your singing career doesn't take off the way you hope it will, and that's why you need a college education."

Carly's expression turned sulky, and she barely said anything for the rest of the evening.

"I remember what I was like when I was eighteen," Gary said to Cindy as they were getting ready for bed that night. "I thought I could conquer the world. Boy, did reality come around and slap me in the face hard a few years later."

"We all have dreams," Cindy said. "When I was eighteen, I had this fantasy about running a home for orphans and abused children. I thought that I could save them all."

Gary looked at her admiringly. "That sounds like a very worthy dream, Cindy. What happened to it?"

"I interviewed for a job as a disc jockey. You know the rest." They both laughed heartily.

"Well, one thing I can say for sure is that you're wonderful with Jake and Carly."

"I'm so glad you think so."

"I know so." Gary smiled and gave her a big hug. "So perhaps you are living out your dream after all, just on a much smaller scale."

"I never really thought of it that way before, but I guess you're right."

May 1992

It was the day after Jake's fifteenth birthday, and he seemed moody and glum.

"Is something the matter, Jake?" Cindy asked him.

He glared at the floor. "Dad, how come you and Mom had to have me and Carly only a month apart?"

"Well, we didn't exactly plan it that way." Gary chuckled. "That's just the way it happened. Why, what's wrong with it?"

"Because every year her birthday is such a big deal. Mine comes along a month later and it's just an afterthought. And that's not the only thing. Now Carly's got this appointment with this talent scout who's supposed to make her famous. And Cindy's about to have twins. I can just see the amount of fuss that's going to be made over them when they get here."

Gary laughed and patted Jake on the shoulder. "Welcome to the joys of being the middle kid, son."

Jake looked at his father in surprise.

"I was the middle kid too, you know. Your Uncle Jason's older than me and your Aunt Melissa's younger than me, so I was the kid in the middle too, just like you're gonna be."

"Oh yeah, that's right." Jake looked thoughtful.

"But you know what's really neat about being the middle kid?" Gary asked.

"What?"

"What's neat about it is that when you grow up, it'll always be very important to you to treat everybody fairly, because you'll know what it feels like to have to deal with situations that don't seem fair."

"Did a lot of unfair stuff happen to you when you were growing up too?"

"You better believe it did."

"I remember how, when we girls were younger, sometimes Jane would get jealous of me or Miranda. I never really understood why until just now," Cindy said to Gary later.

"It helps to hear someone else's perspective, doesn't it," Gary replied.

June 1992

"Are you sure you have everything packed?" Gary asked.

"Checked and double-checked," Cindy replied. They were packing to go to the hospital for Cindy's C-section.

"Let's go then." Gary carried the suitcase to the car and drove them both to the hospital, where Cindy was admitted and taken to the operating room in a wheelchair.

"Nervous?" Gary asked her.

"Well...yes, just a little," Cindy admitted. "But I'm more excited than anything else. Just think, in only a short while we'll be holding our babies for the very first time!"

"I can't wait," Gary added.

Dr. Young entered the room. "Well, are you ready?" he asked pleasantly.

"As ready as I'll ever be, I guess." Cindy laughed nervously.

"Oh, you'll do fine." Dr. Young smiled and patted Cindy's leg.

The anesthesiologist entered a few minutes later. Cindy sat on the edge of the bed as he instructed and winced and held tightly to Gary's hand as the needle was inserted. Then she lay on her side as she waited for the anesthetic to take effect. Gary spoke soothingly to her and stroked her hair. Cindy closed her eyes and tried to concentrate on his voice and touch.

A short time later a nurse helped Cindy to lie on her back and put the drape in place, and Dr. Young began the procedure.