Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 82163 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 411(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82163 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 411(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
“It says the date of conception was July seventh.” I nod, the nerves from my stomach now moving to my throat. “No allergies.”
“None that I’m aware of,” I tell her, and she smiles at me.
“Your due date is going to be…” she starts telling me, and I can’t help but smile.
“March thirtieth,” I declare.
“You are fifteen weeks,” she informs me, and my hand goes on my little baby bump. She stands up, looking at me. “The doctor will be right in.”
“Thank you,” I tell her as I sit on the exam table. I take a deep breath in as I try not to shed a tear. The last month has been a roller coaster of emotions for not only me but the family. After getting not two but a total of twenty-seven positive tests, I finally called someone who got me into the doctor. I had my blood drawn, and they confirmed I was pregnant. I wish I could say it was an easy time, but it was not.
I have never felt more alone in my whole life, even though I had Gabriella beside me throughout the whole thing. I felt like I was missing the biggest piece, and that was Tristan. I must have picked up the phone seven times a day to call him and tell him. I must have pulled up his number to text him over a thousand times, but each time, I chickened out. I couldn’t do this to him. He already regretted the night we spent together. The last thing I wanted him to do was resent the baby we created. I don’t think my heart could have survived if he told me that he didn’t want me to have it. I wanted to remember our night as the best night I’ve ever had and this was a gift. So I took the coward’s way out and kept it my secret.
Breaking it to my family, well, that was another adventure. My parents handled it well or as well as you could think they would. Dylan, on the other hand, was planning the wedding until I told him that I didn’t know who the father was. Of course, I don’t think anyone believed me. I said he was a random hookup, and we never exchanged names. My uncle Matthew came to see me with my uncle Max. I should have known them coming to see me was a clue that something was coming.
They showed up with a man who was holding a leather briefcase. I sat down next to them as they explained this man was going to draw a picture of the man I spent the night with, and then we’d put it up on social media. Like a wanted photo. They even thought about doing a billboard in Times Square and running an ad in the local papers. What surprised me even more was that Michael and Dylan thought it was the best idea ever invented.
The door opens, and my doctor comes in smiling. “Hello, you.”
“Hi, Dr. Emmy.” I greet her as she comes over and kisses me on both cheeks. We’ve worked together a couple of times.
“You look fabulous,” she compliments me, going over and sitting down on the small chair. “How are we feeling?”
“Um,” I start to say, “so far, so good. I feel less tired, which is great. I only need to take one nap during my night shift.” I hold up my hands in celebration. “Nausea isn’t too bad as long as I snack. During meals, that’s another thing, so I always have a snack around me.” I smile. “The staff has even started to add to my basket that I keep under the nurses’ desk.” She laughs, clapping her hands. “I’m also super emotional.” I blink away the tears. “Especially this past month.” I don’t tell her that it’s probably because I know he’s back in town. I see him every time I turn on the television. Okay, fine, I only turn the television on when the pre-games are on, but still.
“It’s normal,” she tells me. “Lie back.”
I turn and lie back on the table, pulling up the top of my scrubs. “This is my favorite time,” I tell her, and she just smiles at me. I’ve had one ultrasound before this one, and that was at ten weeks when I first saw her. Usually, they wait until you are twelve weeks to see you, but I saw her when she came to follow up with a patient and heard the news I was expecting. She dragged me down to her office, which was two floors down, and showed me my little nugget.
“This time, we don’t have to do it internally,” she explains, walking over and shutting off the lights and then coming back to me. “Lower the top of your pants.” I untie the string of my scrubs and lower it under the little baby bump that has just started to show. She squeezes the gel on my belly, and then the magic happens. I look over at the screen, and I see my baby, who actually looks like a baby now. Before, it looked like a blob with four limbs. The baby looks like it’s doing summersaults, yet I don’t feel anything. She clicks a couple of things. “We have an active one,” she tells me, and all I can do is smile as the tear escapes the corner of my eye, my hand coming up to wipe it away. “Big baby,” she states, and I just look at her, my eyes going wide, “I think I can see what sex it is. Do you still not want to know?”