“I understand,” the doctor said in his patient tone. “But it would give you peace of mind.”

They had already decided not to get an amniocentesis due to the very minute possibility that it could hurt the babies. Why chance it if it wasn’t going to change anything anyway? They were having these children and nothing through the process was going to make them think otherwise.

“Of course there is a chance—a very good chance—that the two babies are normal and healthy and this little guy is just smaller,” Dr. Kalchbrenner said. “I spent my whole life being in the lower percentile—I’m shorter than most guys, so I get it. It’s just that when there is a discrepancy like this between twins, we grow increasingly worried that it could be something else. It can be nothing, or it could be a problem with the placenta and how much oxygen Baby B is getting. Or it could be a chromosome abnormality.”

Jenny shook her head and tightened her lips as she continued to cry. She looked at Kevin, who squeezed her hand and mouthed the words, “It’s going to be okay.”

“What does that mean?” Jenny said with a wavering voice. “Does that mean I might have them soon?”

“We’re going to want to see you weekly to see exactly how each baby is doing.”

Wait a minute.

“So it could be any day?” Kevin asked.

The doctor nodded and continued talking in a calm but serious tone about wanting to make sure they did everything possible for both the babies. He talked about rare cases when one baby begins to decline, jeopardizing the life of the other.

But that means there is a possibility for the unthinkable . . .

They agreed to meet next week to monitor Jenny and the babies. Kevin and Jenny could come in earlier if anything else changed. The doctor left them in his office for a moment, giving them some privacy. Kevin embraced Jenny as she wept in his arms.

“They’re going to be okay,” he told her.

“What if something happens to them?”

“Don’t worry.” He rubbed her back, trying to stay as positive as possible. “You’re going to be okay.”

“I’m scared.”

He just held her and understood.

There was nothing more he wanted than to hold these babies and make sure that they were okay. He wasn’t sure that Jenny could take losing them.

And God knows I’m not strong enough to be there for her if something like that happens.

Kevin wanted to believe that his hand was being held by someone in control. He really did.

Yet that desperate falling sensation he felt in his soul made him believe something else.

Flawed and Broken

The man in the baggy, worn overalls standing across the room from Lynn had been reasonable and generous to let them move into the trailer a year ago. But Lynn knew that his generosity had limits. Mr. Sinclair was tough. She could see it in his eyes. He knew a thing or two about people. She didn’t need to argue with what he’d said. She already expected it even before showing up at his door early this morning to talk about the rent.