“My lips are sealed. Thanks dude.” He winks. When I finally release my grasp on the book he seems overjoyed. I really hope he is a man of his word.

I look back at Ellis, not saying a word. Silence is so much easier when there aren’t so many things I want to say. On one hand I want to apologise for the disturbance, but I also know it’s probably going to happen again. It’s part of the deal of being around me. But right now, I’m not ready to hear Ellis tell me I am too much to take on. Instead I go right back to observing the final woman in the room.

Across from us is a woman sitting on her own. It’s a visual for me of how Ellis has looked every time she has been in this waiting room. The brunette is reading a book yet her phone pings every couple of minutes, and every single time she puts her bookmark in place and texts back whoever is looking out for her. When I was sat in my hotel room waiting for Ellis’s FaceTime I thought about nothing else apart from the fact Ellis would have done this all alone for Jack. I know she brought Jack to her scan at eight weeks, but she could have found out some bad news and I would’ve been in another state unable to hold her. Being here and seeing the posters reminds me just how excited I am to not only be a parent but to be one alongside Ellis Ainsley.

“I need to pee so bad,” Ellis announces, shifting uncomfortably in her chair. “I can’t believe how much we have to drink for the scan to get a clear picture, I mean with today’s technology? Surely we don’t need to make already bloated and heavy women more bloated.”

“Hmm.” I try to focus on Ellis’s words and muster up a reassuring response, but nothing comes. I am too distracted by my inner monologue to engage.

“Why are you so quiet?” Ellis’s voice shocks me out of imagining a backstory for the solo woman in front of me.

“A few reasons.”

“Come on Liam, I thought your mouth would be going a mile a minute.” She laughs.

“Honestly? The first reason is because I’m so fucking scared, about seeing the baby, about becoming a dad, but also because—” I can hear my own voice crack as I try to speak honestly, “I think I might cry if I talk too much.”