“Okay,” Flash declared as he sat down next to his wife Twilight at their dining room table and opened up his laptop, “our hunt for our new apartment is a go.”
Twilight also had her laptop open in front of her along with a cup full of pens and a three-subject notebook.
“So,” Flash continued, “think we’d be able to afford one with two bedrooms now that you have a full-time job?”
“We’ll see,” Twilight replied before biting her lip and adding, “This might be pushing it a bit, but I was hoping that maybe we can try to find one with three bedrooms.”
“Three?” Flash asked, raising an eyebrow at her. “You want to be able to take in more guests in case people want to come visit?”
“Not exactly.”
Flash frowned as he tried to think of another reason why Twilight would want to get an apartment with more bedrooms.
“You need an extra room for work-related reasons?” he asked. That had to be the reason. Flash could only think of one other reason why Twilight would want a bigger apartment, and he was sure that other reason was not it.
“Guess again,” Twilight replied as she clicked the pen in her hand repeatedly. No, Twilight couldn’t possibly be suggesting what Flash thought she was suggesting, could she?
“Twi, are you thinking what I think you’re thinking?”
“If you’re thinking that I think we should try to have a kid, then yes,” Twilight replied matter-of-factly. Flash’s eyes widened, and his jaw hit the floor.
“What?!” he cried, shocked yet unsurprised.
“Honey, I know it’s a little weird coming from me of all people,” Twilight explained. “I mean, if you had said that to me, I’d be listing off reasons why we’re not ready for kids yet. For example, we both just graduated college, I just barely got my first full-time job, we’re about to move out of state, you still need to look for a police academy to enroll in, etc., and I totally agree with all of those reasons, but at the same time,” she trailed off and bit her lip again.
“You can’t help but want a kid anyway,” Flash finished for her. He looked away from her and sighed. Then, he turned back towards his wife, looked into her beautiful purple eyes, and said, “Twi, there’s no way you would have even brought it up unless there’s a small part of you that thinks we’re ready to parents, and I want to believe that we are. The problem is I think there’s a small part of me that won’t stop wondering if we really are ready.”
“Flash, you’ve wanted to be a dad since we were in high school,” Twilight argued.
“No, I wanted to a GOOD dad,” Flash clarified pointedly. “Any deadbeat can be dad; being a good dad takes commitment and work.”
“Which I know you have. The fact that our marriage has lasted for two years and is still going strong is proof enough of that.”
Flash opened his mouth to contradict Twilight only to find that he had no sound arguments against what she had just pointed out. The two of them had been married for two years, and the circumstances surrounding their marriage weren’t even ideal for keeping a marriage going. The two of them married young and had to spend months at a time apart due to attending college in different states, and they had missed their one-year anniversary last year thanks to a pandemic, yet here they are sitting at their dining room table working out how to move forward into their future together. Surely the two of them can find a way to raise a child through a major transition, right?
“You have talked about this with other people, namely family members, right?” Flash asked Twilight.
“Of course,” Twilight retorted.
“And what did they say?”
Twilight sighed and recounted, “Mom and Dad told me that being a parent is a lot like merging into a freeway; no amount of preparation can make you feel ready for it. Shining Armor and Cadance agreed with them.” She frowned and muttered sarcastically, “Yeah, real reassuring, guys.”
“Did they specifically tell you ‘No, don’t have a kid. You and Flash are too young and financially unstable.’ or anything along those lines?” Flash asked.
Twilight shook her head and replied, “Honestly, I think a part of me wanted them to, and I’m pretty sure they knew I wanted them to, but they didn’t. In fact, my dad, of all people, told me, ‘Twily, you’re a grown and married woman now, and
I don’t know enough about yours and Flash’s living situation to tell you what to do, so I won’t, but in the event that you and Flash do decide to go ahead and have kids and the two of you find yourselves a little overwhelmed by your decision, you know there’s nothing wrong with asking us or Flash’s family for a little help, right?’ I don’t think that was a yes, but it definitely wasn’t a no.”
Flash bit his lip and propped his head up over the table with his right arm. He thought about calling his own family for advice, but his grandmother would probably give him the same advice Twilight’s dad had given her. Aunt Flare, having no natural-born children of her own, would most likely defer to Grandma, and his younger brother First Base would probably be all, “Do it, man! I’m ready to be an uncle!” Ha! Easy for him to say, he’s not the one who is going to be responsible for the kid’s care and wellbeing.
Moments like this made Flash wish that his mother was still living. Granted, Mom probably would have been in complete agreement with Grandma, but being able to see her smile, to hear her voice, and to listen to her say that she loved him and believed in him would have been so reassuring in a moment like this. Mom probably also would have been excited about the idea of being a grandmother and lowkey pressured him towards agreeing to have a kid only to graciously acknowledge that the choice was ultimately his and Twilight’s.
Flash glanced from Twilight to their laptops and back before straightening himself and squaring his shoulders.
“Sweetheart,” he began, “let’s just focus on looking for that apartment for now, and once we’re settled in, well, you wanted three bedrooms, right?”
Three months later in a waiting room in Washington, D.C....
“Mrs. Twilight Sparkle,” a nurse called from the hallway leading into the doctor’s office.
“That’s us,” Twilight said to Flash with an excited smile on her face. The two of them got up and followed the nurse into the exam room. Flash was holding Twilight’s hand and hadn’t let go since they had entered the waiting room. Although Flash looked and acted completely calm, Twilight could feel her husband’s hand shaking inside of hers.
Twilight sat down on the exam table, and after looking around the room for a place to sit, Flash reluctantly released his wife’s hand and sat down in one of the extra chairs in the room.
“Just make yourselves comfortable. The doctor will be with you shortly,” the nurse said to them before leaving the room. Three minutes later, she returned with a woman in a white coat.
“Hello, Mrs. Sparkle, I’m Dr. Swaddle,” the woman greeted Twilight before turning to Flash and asking, “Are you her husband?”
“Yes, I am,” Flash affirmed as he and Twilight exchanged handshakes with the doctor. “My name is Flash, Flash Sentry.”
The doctor sat down next to the exam table and asked Twilight some basic questions like when Twilight’s last period was, what medications she took if any, and whether she experienced any concerning symptoms, and Twilight answered every question to the best of her knowledge while the doctor took notes on her clipboard. Finally, Dr. Swaddle had the nurse pull up the ultrasound machine and asked Twilight to expose her midriff.
“Okay, Mrs. Sparkle, I’m just going to put some gel on you. This might feel a little cold,” Dr. Swaddle said, taking a bottle of ultrasound gel and applying liberally over Twilight’s stomach. Then, the doctor took the ultrasound probe and pressed it on Twilight’s stomach.
Doctor Swaddle beckoned Flash closer so he could see what was on the screen. At first, all Flash could see was a black space, but as the doctor moved the probe Flash was able to see a much smaller, light gray oval inside of the black space that was about the size of his pinkie finger.
“Is that our baby?” Twilight asked, blinking twice. “It looks so small.”
“That’s your baby,” the doctor affirmed.
“What’s that over there?” Flash asked, pointing at a part of the oval that seemed to be pulsating.
“That’s its heart,” replied Dr. Swaddle.
“That small and it already has a working heart,” Flash exclaimed in awe.
“Let me see if I can pick up its heartbeat,” said the doctor, fiddling with some buttons on the machine. Shortly after, an
amazing sound filled Flash and Twilight’s ears. It sounded like a normal human heartbeat except faster and with more of a whooshing sound.
“Oh my gosh!” Twilight cried as her face completely lit up.
If Flash could speak, he would have wholeheartedly agreed with her, but he couldn’t because he had no words that could adequately describe how he felt at that moment. The closest comparison he could make to his current emotions was how he had felt seeing telescopic images of stars for the first time on a field trip to the planetarium when he was six except that this feeling was so much bigger and closer to his heart. It was like an entire galaxy was wrapped up in that teeny, tiny, little person, and amazingly, part of that person came from him.
“Honey, are you alright?” Twilight’s sweet voice snapped him out of his thoughts.
“Huh?” Flash replied, looking away from the screen towards his wife. “Yeah, I’m fine. Why wouldn’t I be?”
His question was answered when the nurse held out a box of tissues towards him. Flash put a hand on his face and realized that his face was wet.
“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry,” Flash said to the doctor, snickering sheepishly as he wiped the tears from his eyes.
“Don’t worry about it,” replied Dr. Swaddle. “It’s perfectly normal for parents to get a little emotional seeing and hearing their baby for the first time.” The doctor turned her attention back to the screen on the ultrasound machine. “This little one has a nice, strong heartbeat, doesn’t it?”
“Just like his or her dad,” Twilight added taking Flash by the hand and smiling at him.
“Honey, please. You’re going to make me cry even harder,” Flash quipped, smiling back at her. Then, Flash turned to the doctor. “I’m guessing that now’s too early to tell if it’s a boy or a girl.”
“Oh, that’s not for another ten weeks if not more than that, Mr. Sentry,” Dr. Swaddle replied as she began putting away the probe and cleaning the gel off Twilight’s stomach. “Now, we just need to run a few blood tests, and I’ll see you back in four weeks.”
After the doctor’s visit, Flash and Twilight were driving back to their D.C. apartment. Well, Flash was driving. Twilight was riding in the front passenger seat marveling at the ultrasound pictures Dr. Swaddle had given them.
“Unbelievable, isn’t it?” Twilight said to Flash, finally putting the pictures away. “The two of us are officially parents.”
“Mmm-hmm,” Flash nodded, the sound of his son or daughter’s heartbeat still fresh in his mind. “It’s almost too amazing to be real.”
“Flash,” Twilight began, “I know we won’t know for a while, but do you think our baby is going to be a boy or a girl?”
“I don’t know, Twi. We have a fifty-fifty chance for either one, and we don’t have a lot to go on either way.”
“Well, which one do you want more?”
Without even really thinking about the question, Flash replied, “I’d be happy with either one as long as he or she is healthy.”
“Flash, be honest with me! I won’t get upset if you want one sex more than another, really!” Twilight snapped, folding her arms at him.
“I am,” Flash retorted defensively. “I mean, okay, I am a little curious about what raising a girl would be like since I didn’t grow up with any sisters, but I really would be happy either way.”
Twilight paused trying to decide if she believed Flash or not. After about five seconds, she decided that she did believe him and uncrossed her arms.
“So, I’m guessing you’re going to want to name our baby after your mom if it’s a girl or your grandfather if it’s a boy,” Twilight continued, smiling at her husband knowingly. Flash laughed as he returned Twilight’s smile.
“You know me so well,” he quipped, getting a giggle out of his wife. The rest of the drive continued in a peaceful silence before Flash spoke again.
“Hey, Twi?” Flash asked.
“Yes?” Twilight replied.
“In addition to naming our baby after either my mom or grandpa, what do you think of also naming him or her Stardust?”
“You mean, after the place where we got engaged?”
“Uh, yeah, sure, let’s go with that.”
Author's Note
Everybody, meet Stardust Lantern. You have three guesses as to whether he/she is going to be a boy or a girl, and the first two don't count.
So, I know this story suggests that the pandemic from my day 1 entry only lasted less than a year which may be a bit unrealistic, but hey, just because we have to put up with COVID for only God knows how long, it doesn't mean I have to put Flash and Twilight through the same thing.
Also, regarding the story's medical accuracy, I have seen a baby on an ultrasound machine before. One of my former classmates was pregnant, and on the day we were being thought how to use an ultrasound, we got to see her baby on the machine. Granted, my former classmate was a lot farther along than Twilight is in this story. Unfortunately, my dismissal occurred before I got a chance to experience the OB/GYN clerkship, so I had to fill in the cracks in my knowledge using YouTube videos of prenatal visits.
By the way, the title is a reference to the Coldplay song.