Page 27 of Broken Vows

Chapter Seventeen

Thursday,10 AM. First prenatal visit. I’ve been staring at my phone’s calendar for a few minutes, my phone heavy in my hand.

He should know about it. Should have the chance to be there. But my finger hovers over his name in my contacts, uncertain.

Before I can talk myself out of it, I hit call.

“Lex?” He answers on the second ring. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah, I…” I trace the edge of the appointment card. “I have my first OB appointment on Thursday. I thought… maybe you’d want to come?”

The silence that follows feels endless.

“What time?” His voice is soft, careful.

“Ten. But you don’t have to?—”

“I’ll be there. I can pick you up at nine?”

“Oh.” I hadn’t expected that. “Yeah, okay.”

Another pause. “Thank you,” he says finally. “For asking.”

“Yeah. Well… see you Thursday.”

I hang up before the silence can get awkward again.

Thursday morning dawnshot and sticky, typical August weather. I’m already queasy, but it’s nerves as much as morning sickness. His truck pulls up at exactly nine.

“Morning,” he says as I climb in. There’s a paper bag on the seat between us. “I brought crackers. Mom always said they helped with morning sickness.”

The gesture catches me off guard. “Thanks.”

The drive is quiet, but not uncomfortable. At a red light, I catch him glancing at my stomach, still flat under my loose shirt. I wonder if he’s trying to picture it growing, like I do every morning in the mirror.

The waiting room is full of pregnant women in various stages, some with partners, some alone. We sit side by side, not quite touching, both pretending to read magazines while stealing glances at the other couples.

“Alexis Kline?”

We both stand automatically. The nurse gives us a warm smile, not batting an eye at our obvious awkwardness.

“First baby?” she asks as she leads us back.

“Yes,” we say in unison, and follow her.

The exam room is small, forcing us to be closer than we have been in weeks. Jeremy stands by the window while I change into the paper gown, both of us hyperaware of each other’s presence.

“The doctor will be in shortly,” the nurse says, closing the door behind her.

Jeremy clears his throat. “So, um, how have you been feeling?”

“Sick. Tired. The usual, I guess.”

He nods, shuffling his feet. “Mom had terrible morning sickness with all of us. She swears by ginger ale and saltines.”

“You told them?”

“No, just… remembering the stories.”

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