Page 25 of Shining Pearls
After I invited the doctor in, she barely had time to greet us before Alex asked, “Doctor, when do you do the first ultrasound during a pregnancy?”
“You’re excited to see this little one, huh?” Dr. Wilkes smiled, seeming unperturbed by his abrupt greeting.
Rather than answering, Alex gave her an intense stare, so the woman smoothly shifted into all-business mode. “Generally, the first ultrasound will be done sometime between weeks 18 and 20.”
Suddenly, I understood why Alex had been so distraught over seeing Josie here. I felt all of the blood leave my face, and I had the distinct feeling that I might pass out.
I barely registered when Alex asked his follow-up question. “Is there ever a reason why you would do one earlier in a pregnancy?”
“Sure. One might be called for earlier-on if we suspect any issues. Do you have any reason to believe there might be a problem that would indicate we should take an early look at your little one?”
Alex shook his head slightly as he fell into the chair and stared at the sink on the wall across from him.
Dr. Wilkes’ concerned expression darted to me. I felt like shouting at her that yes, we had one hell of a problem… Alex already had someone else pregnant. Instead, I remained quiet, tipped my head back to stare at the white popcorn ceiling, and tried not to scream with the agony of this horrid new reality.
21
Josie
Irested my head on my hands with my elbows on my knees and tried to catch my breath as we sat on the park bench outside the doctor’s office. The position made it obvious how much my stomach had already grown. Tipping back so I could take a full breath, I looked up at the huge, puffy white cloud over our heads. The breeze was brisk and chilly off the water, but it felt good on my overheated face.
“Of all the people to run into… Why did they have to be there today of all days?” My voice sounded like a whiny moan, but I couldn’t seem to control my emotions. Luckily, Dean didn’t seem to expect me to.
He comforted me by rubbing his thumb over my tense shoulders. “It was rotten luck or really bad timing to run into them in there.”
I turned my face up to his, feeling desperate. “I’m not ready to deal with this. I wasn’t ready to tell them yet. And now… They were there because they’re having a baby, aren’t they?”
Even though I already knew there wasn’t any other logical reason why Alex and Claire would have made an appointment at that particular medical office, some part of me needed Dean’s confirmation of my assertion.
“Most likely, yes.” Dean nodded, and it felt like a punch in my throat.
I struggled to breathe around the pain. Looking down at the precious picture I was still grasping tightly in my hand, I said, “The only thing that could possibly make Alex want this child less is having a baby on the way with his wife.”
“You don’t know that.”
Dean’s attempt to comfort me fell short because I did know that. The news of my pregnancy was already destined to put Alex in an uncomfortable position. Having both me and his wife pregnant at the same time would take that discomfort to an unprecedented level. “Did you see his face? He looked absolutely horrified.”
“He did have a bit of a greenish pallor to his complexion,” Dean admitted before adding, “But you knew this would come as a shock to him. Now, the two of them will have had some time to absorb the news, so you can all discuss it rationally.”
I gave Dean an exasperated look. “I think you’re giving us all too much credit. There’s no way the three of us will be able to calmly discuss the fact that Claire and I are both having Alex’s babies.”
My tone escalated with increasing panic as I spoke. Our bench had a stellar view of the ocean, so I stared out towards the water––even though I couldn’t focus on its vast beauty.
“You can’t know that. They are reasonable adults. Give them the benefit of the doubt.”
I shook my head slowly at Dean’s attempts to calm me because I was in too agitated of a state to listen to reason. Suddenly, I darted my eyes to Dean’s face. “We are sitting too close to Dr. Wilkes’ office. They will be leaving soon, and I can’t face them. I’m not ready to have this discussion with them. I don’t know what to say.”
“Okay,” Dean agreed. “We can go whenever you’re ready.”
Nodding frantically, I moved to stand. Dean kindly placed his palm at the base of my back to assist me with a small boost. My nerve endings were vibrating with anxiousness. I couldn’t believe I hadn’t thought ahead enough to move further away from the medical office before plopping down to wallow in despair. The last thing I needed was to run into Alex and Claire so soon. I needed time to think about what I could possibly say to them and how to say it.
“Let’s go.” I was frantic to make a quick getaway before they emerged from their visit. If they came out holding hands and giggling about their impending bundle of joy, it would cut me to the core––even though they had every right to be happy about Claire’s pregnancy.
We had barely taken three strides away from the park bench when I heard the door to the medical office open. Refusing to turn back and look, I decided that I deserved a tiny bit of good fortune, so ithadto be someone else.
Proving that nothing could go my way, I realized that we hadn’t left in time when I heard Claire’s stern voice yell behind us. “Wait up a minute. We need to talk.”
I stopped mid-stride and felt my spine stiffen as an icy mixture of fear and dread raced along it. I wanted nothing more than to run away from this confrontation. In fact, it was tempting to leave this entire town in my rearview mirror and never look back––if only I had ever bothered to learn how to drive a car.
