With a deafening bang, the balloon popped. Blue confetti fall like sparkling rain. My dad fist-pumps Jacob. Mum\u2019s nails dig into my arm. Jacob\u2019s parents pump our hands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cCongratulations,\u201d Bridie whispers, drawing me into a warm hug. Her tears mingle with mine as she kisses my cheek.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThanks, sis,\u201d I breathe, holding her close. \u201cSoon you\u2019ll be an aunty.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI know, I can\u2019t wait,\u201d Bridie\u2019s voice shakes, her small smile a shadow of her usual toothy grin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI wanted to tell you, but I didn\u2019t know how,\u201d I confess.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019m happy for you and Jacob. Besides one of us has to keep the bloodline going.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hairy, muscly arms squeeze us together. \u201cCongratulations Libby, fantastic news,\u201d my big bear of a brother-in-law bellows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThanks, Dean,\u201d I reply standing on my tiptoes to kiss his whiskered face. \u201cYou better trim that monstrosity or you\u2019ll scare the poor kid.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dean strokes his bushy beard, \u201cNah, I\u2019m going for the Hagrid look. My nephew is going to love Harry Potter. I can\u2019t wait to watch The Philosopher\u2019s Stone<\/em> with him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWell, you\u2019re nailing it,\u201d I laugh. Dean is the epitome of Rowling’s half-giant character. Rough on the outside, soft on the inside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jacob fires up the barbeque and the baby talk begins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHave you thought of any names?\u201d Jacob\u2019s dad prods. \u201cHarrison is back in vogue you know.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNice one, Dad,\u201d Jacob chuckles, \u201cbut we\u2019re going to take our time, wait until he\u2019s born. See what he looks like and what suits him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou\u2019ll end up naming it ET. Most newborns are ugly,\u201d my mother-in-law scoffs as she reaches for a bottle of Pinot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I roll my eyes at Jacob, who just shrugs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That night I lie awake contemplating the massive leap we\u2019re about to take. Parenthood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I wonder what our son will look like, and who he\u2019ll take after.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I almost knock my phone off the bedside table. Bloody brilliant! Why didn\u2019t I think of it before?<\/p>\n\n\n\n A month later I opened the email.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is the start of our family tree. Something for the baby. I click on DNA matches and an \u2018immediate family match\u2019 appears. When I hit her profile picture it\u2019s like looking at an older version of \u2026 me. Wavy dark hair with a cowlick. Blue eyes, fair skin and a cleft chin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There must be a mistake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hands shaking, I call Mum. \u201cWho\u2019s Belinda Norman?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Seconds stretch into minutes. \u201cWho told you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIs Belinda my mother?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSweetheart, let me explain\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYES or NO.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYes, but you have to understand. After Bridie, I couldn\u2019t conceive. Belinda was my friend. She got pregnant but couldn\u2019t keep you. Times were different. We wanted to tell you but didn\u2019t know how. I\u2019m sorry darling.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n I hang up and step outside, gulping for air.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Picking up the remains of the blue confetti I toss it to the wind, watching it swirl and spin to the ground.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNow, that\u2019s what you call a big reveal,\u201d I tell my baby.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" With a deafening bang, the balloon popped. Blue confetti fall like sparkling rain. My dad fist-pumps Jacob. Mum\u2019s nails dig into my arm. Jacob\u2019s parents pump our hands. \u201cCongratulations,\u201d Bridie whispers, drawing me into a warm hug. Her tears mingle with mine as she kisses my cheek. \u201cThanks, sis,\u201d I breathe, holding her close. \u201cSoon […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2965,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/elevattemkt.com\/lpkimulrick\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/gender-reveal-decorations_590x_from-Temu-site.webp",590,738,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/elevattemkt.com\/lpkimulrick\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/gender-reveal-decorations_590x_from-Temu-site-150x150.webp",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/elevattemkt.com\/lpkimulrick\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/gender-reveal-decorations_590x_from-Temu-site-240x300.webp",240,300,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/elevattemkt.com\/lpkimulrick\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/gender-reveal-decorations_590x_from-Temu-site.webp",590,738,false],"large":["https:\/\/elevattemkt.com\/lpkimulrick\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/gender-reveal-decorations_590x_from-Temu-site.webp",590,738,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/elevattemkt.com\/lpkimulrick\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/gender-reveal-decorations_590x_from-Temu-site.webp",590,738,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/elevattemkt.com\/lpkimulrick\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/gender-reveal-decorations_590x_from-Temu-site.webp",590,738,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"elevattemkt","author_link":"https:\/\/elevattemkt.com\/lpkimulrick\/author\/elevattemkt\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"With a deafening bang, the balloon popped. Blue confetti fall like sparkling rain. My dad fist-pumps Jacob. Mum\u2019s nails dig into my arm. Jacob\u2019s parents pump our hands. \u201cCongratulations,\u201d Bridie whispers, drawing me into a warm hug. Her tears mingle with mine as she kisses my cheek. \u201cThanks, sis,\u201d I breathe, holding her close. \u201cSoon…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/elevattemkt.com\/lpkimulrick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2964"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/elevattemkt.com\/lpkimulrick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/elevattemkt.com\/lpkimulrick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elevattemkt.com\/lpkimulrick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elevattemkt.com\/lpkimulrick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2964"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/elevattemkt.com\/lpkimulrick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2964\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2966,"href":"https:\/\/elevattemkt.com\/lpkimulrick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2964\/revisions\/2966"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elevattemkt.com\/lpkimulrick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2965"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/elevattemkt.com\/lpkimulrick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2964"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elevattemkt.com\/lpkimulrick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2964"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elevattemkt.com\/lpkimulrick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2964"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}