Yours: a short story [harry styles] ✓

Epilogue

8th December 2017

"Are you ready, Nola?" I asked our daughter as she climbed up into the armchair and onto my lap. "This is a big moment."

"Do it now, Mummy!" She exclaimed and clapped her little hands. From where he was leant across the back of armchair, Harry laughed.

We'd only returned from our hospital appointment ten minutes ago; clutching a small brown envelope that contained our 20 week scan and a slip of paper that the sonographer had written our baby's sex onto. We'd decided to wait to find out with Nola, rather than be told there and then, and Harry had bounced in his seat the entire car journey home. It was easy to see who Nola had inherited her impatience from.

"Ok, let's find out if Nola's going to have a little brother or sister." I ran my left index finger underneath the fold of the brown paper and pulled it open. Between Nola jiggling on my lap and Harry rocking behind me—the whole armchair vibrated. 

Nola squealed as I handed her the scan while I dug around for the slip of paper. The sonographer had folded it in half and then in half again and it felt like more like I was selecting a raffle ticket winner rather than finding out the sex of my second child. 

"Right," I announced once I'd finally opened it enough that it was just in half. One of Harry's hands latched onto my left shoulder and I quickly looked up and flashed him a grin. His eyes were crinkled at the corners—a smile of pure bliss stretched across the expanse of his face. "We are having...." I flipped the paper up and took a deep breath. 

"A GIRL!" We both called out at the same time. Harry jumped out from behind the armchair and scooped Nola up into his arms before doing a lap of the living room with her poised above his head in her favourite "superwoman" position. She squealed with delight—still clutching the scan tightly between her fingers. 

"You're going to have a little sister!" I called after her. "Are you excited?" 

"Yes, Mummy!" She cried—her loose curls hanging over Harry's forehead. "A sister!" 

I returned my gaze back to the joined-up handwriting and grinned. Another girl. Harry was really going to get to experience it all this time, right from the beginning.  

"I'm going to be outnumbered now." He pointed out once Nola had finally had enough of "flying". They both squeezed onto the armchair with me and Harry slung an arm across my shoulders before placing a tender kiss to my forehead. "Can't bloody wait though." 

"I guess we can finally put a name to the bump." I said. We'd had our names picked out for ages and couldn't wait to finally refer to the baby by name. "Harry, would you like to do the honours?"

His eyes brightened and he shifted himself into a different position in the chair. I tingled with anticipation all over as he drew nearer and Nola clapped her hands.

"Welcome to the family, Evie." He whispered, before pressing his lips to my stomach.