Page 37 of Chrome

“No. I would know if I’m pregnant or not. I have one already and am very aware of the symptoms. I think it’s a stomach virus or something.”

“Well, let’s get a definite rule out on the pregnancy. Can we get a urine sample?” she asked removing a cup from the drawer and extending it in my direction.

“Sure. Why not?” I hopped off the table and took the cup. There was a bathroom in the corner I occupied and got the job done.

Me and Chrasmere were very careless when it came to having sex. I allowed him to enter my body freely since day one with neither one of us caring about the consequences. However, I didn’t think I could produce any more kids because I never had any after Mel. Me and Houston were very active, and another child never popped up. I took it on the chin and was grateful for being blessed with at least one. That was why I was so sure I wasn’t pregnant now.

I confidently placed the urine cup in the window, cleaned myself up, washed my hands and exited the bathroom. I took a seat on the table once again and waited for her to go to the next question.

“If pregnancy isn’t the case, have you eaten anything and felt bad afterward? Food poisoning can be explored next.”

“Uhm, we ate at McDonald’s like a week ago and I just been down ever since. Maybe, that’s it.”

“Alright. Well, I’ve taken note of that. Let me run this by Dr. Ballet and she’ll be in with a solution hopefully. Sit tight,” she said before stepping out.

“Who was that lady, Mama? Why she coming at you like that?” Mel couldn’t wait to get those questions out. I knew they were burning a hole in her throat.

“I have no idea. Must be somebody Chrome has dealings with. Nevertheless, that’s his problem, not mine,” I answered unbothered by the bullshit.

“She said that baby’s Chrome’s. That don’t make you feel some kind of way? He’s cheating on you, Mama.”

“That could very well be true. I mean, he a man at the end of the day, so I don’t put it pass him. I know I’m not fighting no woman over a man though when there are plenty of fish in the sea. If he’s dealing with her, I know to carry my ass on somewhere else.” I was fighting the urge not to cry.

I had become emotional all of a sudden and it was fuckin’ with me that another woman claimed him. He looked me in my face and told me he loved me. He said his feelings were sorted so I took it all in and made a decision to let him love me. We were good until the shit went down with Houston. I didn’t think he would play me like that.

Knock, knock! A series of knocks rang out before the door opened. In walked a tall slim woman in her white coat with a smile on her face. She was older in age and looked like she knew what she was doing. I didn’t have a set OB/GYN because of how new we were to town.

“Ms. Jordan, I’m Dr. Ballet. I hear you’re having a hard time keeping anything down.”

“Yeah. It’s been about a week of the same thing. Is there anything you can give me to settle my stomach so I can eat?”

“The only thing I can prescribe is Zofran. It’s a pill that’ll help with the nausea so you can eat and feed that baby. You are pregnant, Ms. Jordan.”

“What?” Mel and I shouted in unison.

Dr. Ballet flipped the screen and pointed to the positive pregnancy results. I sat there staring at the screen as if I didn’t understand a word on it. She couldn’t have said I was pregnant. Icouldn’t get pregnant… or so I thought. It never happened in the seventeen years after Mel. I was sure I was one and done.

“You are pregnant. Can you tell me when your last menstrual was?” she inquired.

“I don’t know. I’ve had irregular periods since I was a little girl. I think it was before I moved to Eastlake a few months back.”

“Okay, no problem. We can do a vaginal ultrasound then to determine exactly how far along you are.” She stood, grabbed a sheet from the cabinet, and handed it over. “Undress from the bottom down and we can take a look.”

“Wait… Are you sure it’s positive? It’s been seventeen years, why didn’t I get pregnant during my marriage? Why now?” I was still in shock and refused to believe I was carrying Chrome’s baby. He already had one on the way. I didn’t want to join the list in any shape or form.

“Sometimes it takes the right person. Your husband?—”

“Ex,” I quickly corrected her.

“Your ex-husband could’ve produced a low sperm count making it hard for you to get pregnant again. If he’s not up to par, there’s a very slim chance for another pregnancy over the years.”

“He has other kids, though,” I said confusingly.

“Then he stopped ejaculating in you without you realizing it. There’s nothing wrong with you, Ms. Jordan. All of your labs were transferred from Atlanta, and nothing is concerning. I’m seeing that the news is hard to believe, but it’s very much real. If you undress, we can make this even realer with an ultrasound.”

This was too much for me to take in all at one time. On one hand, I was questioning the shit Chrome told me and now I was trying to figure out how the hell I winded up pregnant for him. As much as he nutted in me, I should’ve had common fuckin’sense that this could be a result. However, my marriage changed my point of view on children.

I stepped down off the table and entered the bathroom. I was shaking at this point. I was nervous as fuck. Chrasmere was supposed to be a one night thing and only fun. He wasn’t supposed to be in my life making it more complex than it was. I had a child that was going off to college in a matter of months. I didn’t need a reset button on motherhood. I was thirty-seven years old, that screamed nothing but high risk.

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