Page 5 of The MC's Surprise
“No tender breasts, nausea, fatigue?” He asked as he wrote things down on the chart.
“No to the first two. Maybe fatigue, but like I said, things were really rough. I chalked it up to work related exhaustion and ignored it.”
“It happens,” he nodded. “A lucky few get to skip the rough first trimester, and with spotty periods, it makes it harder to track. When did you start trying?”
My face flushed dark red and I couldn’t get myself to admit this was all the result of a fling. We used birth control. It was an accident getting pregnant.
“Her birth control failed,” Mom answered for me, moving to stand by my side and hold my hand. “The IUD was removed when her primary doctor realized she was pregnant, but is it possible that would affect the baby at all?”
“Ah. I see. Well that would definitely make it harder to track,” he said amiably. My shoulders slumped in relief. I was a little worried in such a small town that I’d be treated like shit for getting pregnant out of wedlock or whatever. “As for your question, ma’am, it shouldn’t have affected the pregnancy. We’ll do a complete scan to get all the details and make sure, but most often, the failed IUD has no affect on the pregnancy.”
We went through the basics, and I gave the guy a general idea of when I thought this might have happened. Since I’d gone mostof the pregnancy without any doctor appointments, he decided to have me do all the tests, which was going to suck. I hated needles. He also said we’d need a full scan done to get an idea of when the baby was due, and that kind of thing. Since this was a small town, it would all get done pretty fast according to him.
“Just give me a day or two to put this all in the system and my nurse will call you to set up a time for you to come in,” he said jovially. “But while we’re here, would you like to see your baby?”
I made a face. “I thought we had to make an appointment for a scan?”
“For the detailed one, you do,” he agreed. “But we can hear the heartbeat and get a profile if you want.” He gestured to a machine tucked in the corner.
A part of me wanted to say no. I didn’t feel ready. But mom answered before I could, an eager smile on her face.
“Absolutely. Do we get any print outs?”
I was nudged into lying back on the paper covered slab, and cold gel was squirted onto my belly. My mom didn’t notice how nervous I was until my grip on her hand turned lethal. She turned to face me, giving me a soft smile.
“You said you didn’t feel like it was real, sweetie. This will help. I promise.”
Letting out a shaky breath, I nodded, grimacing when Doctor O’Malley put the wand against my skin. He moved it around for a minute, but it didn’t take long for a whooshing sound filled the room.
“163. So maybe a girl,” he commented lightly before turning his screen around to face me. “There she is.”
Uneasily, I glanced at the little black and white screen. It was grainy, but there was no way to think that it was anything other than a baby. My baby. My heartbeat kicked into overdrive and I felt a lump swell in my throat.
I was freaking pregnant.
Holy crap.
There was only so longI could avoid the father talk. Dad told Mom not to push, but she pointed out that we were running out of time and it would be unfair of me not to at least warn him. Which was probably true. It didn’t make it any easier. What the hell was I even going to say to him?
“Hey. Long time no see. I’m sure you’re wondering what the hell I’m doing here, but it turns out I’m a fertile myrtle and carrying your kid.”
I winced. No. Terrible idea.
“Guess what? You’re going to be a daddy.”
That was even worse.
I tossed out ideas during the entire drive to the casino, saying them out loud to see how they sounded. It all sounded wrong. Our relationship was short lived and purely flirting and sex the whole time I worked there. I didn’t even know him. I had no idea how he was going to take the news that I was pregnant.
I was fully prepared for him to ask for a paternity test. I wouldn’t hold it against him if he did. He couldn’t know that our fling was the only time I’d had sex in the past two years. He broke a really long dry spell and then I was too busy with work to hook up with anyone else after I went back to California.
Pulling into the familiar parking lot, I felt my palms start to sweat. The doctor and my mom warned me that stress wasn’t good for the baby, but I couldn’t really help that right now. I challenged anyone to confront a hookup after seven months to tell them you’re pregnant and not stress out.
Summoning up my courage, I shoved the door open to my dad’s truck and slid out. I sold my car when I was still trying to keep my company alive, so I was forced to borrow it from him. Thankfully, the weather was nice and he had his motorcycle to get him to work today.
It felt like I was walking in slow motion as I made my way inside and toward the manager’s office. If he was here, he was usually in his office.
Shit. What if he wasn’t here? I had no idea where to go to find him.
