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“I think it’s a boy,” Cecil whispered into my ear, her breath warm against my skin as she rested her head on my shoulder. Her hand gently rubbed her slightly bulged stomach, a tender gesture that made my heart swell.

“You haven’t gone for a scan yet?” I asked, a bit surprised.

“Not yet,” she sighed, taking a long noisy slurp from her smoothie.

“And why is that?” I pressed.

“I want it to be a surprise,” she admitted. “But Theo doesn’t. He wants us to know the gender so we can start buying things. Do you think it’s a good idea?”

“C, you have less than four months left,” I pointed out gently but firmly. “You still haven’t gotten anything for the baby. What do you think will happen when you give birth? It will be chaos, total chaos.”

She nodded, biting her lip thoughtfully. “Well then, will you come with me to the doctor?”

“Yeah, sure,” I replied, squeezing her hand. “I’ll come with you.”

“Now”

“Now?!”

We waited until 4 PM when the sun looked like it was about to set before I freshene