Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 87990 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87990 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
“I think I want to do things the old-fashioned way.” I wanted to be an intuitive who had a natural connection to her child. Whenever I thought about the little bean, I felt a yellowy-orange glow.
Oh, I could go for some cheese fries. I dug through my purse for some snacks but just found a bag of dust that used to be a granola bar. I stashed it back in my bag for emergencies.
“Mrs. Davenport?”
“That’s me.” I stood, doing that dramatic pregnancy rise that mothers do while supporting my back and poking out my stomach. I wasn’t showing much, but my back ached and for some reason, walking like an old man helped minimize the pain.
Hale and I followed the nurse to the ultrasound room. “You can have a seat on the table, and Dr. Levy will be right with you.”
“Oh, uh, do I need to change?”
“Not for today’s appointment.”
She left us in the dim room, and Hale helped me onto the exam table. “I’m nervous.”
“Why?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. I just want everything to go well.”
He kissed my temple and gave my shoulder a supportive squeeze. “It will.”
“Do you think we can get cheese fries when we’re done here?”
“Sure. But I thought you wanted a soft pretzel.”
“Can’t we get both?”
He smiled. “Sure.”
The door opened, and Dr. Levy entered. She was my favorite doctor so far. She was in her mid-forties and always smelled like fabric softener. She also had a tattoo of a moon on her wrist, which gave the impression that she was down to earth.
“Rayne, how are you feeling?”
“I’m good. A little nervous.”
“Oh, there’s no need to be nervous. Today’s easy. You must be Dad.”
“Hale. Nice to meet you.” He shook the doctor’s hand.
“Make yourself comfortable, Rayne.”
I leaned back and blew out a breath. Hale took my hand and sat on the other side of the exam table, facing the machine so he could also see the screen.
“We’ll start with a little warm gel on your stomach. Can you lift your dress and lower your undergarments so nothing’s covering the belly?”
I did as she instructed. Dr. Levy tucked some paper towels into the folded waistline of my undies and drizzled gel on my stomach.
Warmed my ass. That shit was ice-cold.
“Doing okay?”
“Mm-hm.” I disguised my ongoing nervousness and nodded as she pressed the little scantron joystick thing over the blob of gel, smearing it around my slightly swollen stomach. My full bladder immediately registered the pressure, and I had to pee.
There was a soft swishing sound and then the steady beat of something more defined. “There’s your baby’s heartbeat.”
I breathed in, my eyes focused on the black and grey screen as the sound intensified. Hale’s hand squeezed tighter. “Look at that.”
Panicked, I watched them both stare and smile. “Where?”
“Right here.” The doctor clicked the mouse, and a small cross-hair cursor measured the screen. “Here’s the baby’s head. And you can see its profile there.”
My heart stuttered. I hadn’t expected the picture to be so defined and precise. There was a real person inside of me with an actual face. I could see its little nose and what looked like a mouth.
“He or she has a strong, steady heartbeat.”
Beaming like a proud momma, my vision blurred, and I wiped my eyes, not wanting to miss a single detail.
“There’s its arm, and you can see the fingers are starting to form. Oops.” The image shifted.
My smile fell. “What happened?”
“They just moved a little. It’s completely normal and healthy for them to be active at this stage. Have you felt any kicks yet?”
I shook my head. “Nothing yet.”
“Well, you can expect them soon.”
“Can you tell if it’s a girl or boy?” Hale asked.
“It’s still a little too early to determine. Did you want to know the gender?”
“We’re not sure.”
“Well, there’s time to make up your mind.”
It was over all too soon. She cleaned off my stomach and froze the screen on Little Bean’s precious head. Or was that his butt? No, it was definitely his head. Or hers.
When we left, she gave us several printed pictures from the ultrasound and told us we could review the rest on the patient portal when we got home. I couldn’t wait that long, so I signed into the portal on my phone as soon as we were in the car. I could stare at those pictures forever.
I breathed a sigh of relief. My baby was developing properly, and everything was great. I was a happy camper.
Hale and I stopped at a little pizzeria on the way home to get cheddar cheese fries, but as we were leaving with our order, he veered into a small boutique in the shopping strip.
“Hale, my fries. They’ll get cold.”
“I’ll only be a minute. I need to grab something.” He walked over to the display of picture frames and selected a ten-by-ten-inch square silver frame with white velvet matting. As he took his time paying, I snuck a few fries.