“No!” Nicole had already been shaking her head before Trinity finished talking. “I’ve told you. I don’t want him to know yet.”
“But…”
“No!”
By the way her friend pursed her lips, Nicole could tell that Trinity didn’t like the answer. Finally, she gave up arguing, and nodded her head. “Fine, but you know that I am always here for you, Malachi too, even if he doesn’t know it yet.”
Nicole warily asked, “You haven’t told him?”
“Of course not. You asked me not to.” Trinity sighed, and looked away. “He knows I’ve been keeping something from him, and he can’t stand it.” Straightening back up, she waved her hand through the air. “But that doesn’t matter right now. Right now is about you.”
“I’m so sorry.” Nicole crumbled in on herself, and started to cry. “All because of my own stupidity, I’m ruining people’s lives. You and Malachi…”
“Stop! Trinity moved in front of her, and grabbed her upper arms. “Don’t do that! You have not ruined anything!”
Before she could say any more, the door opened, and the doctor walked in with her file in hand. Stopping a foot inside the door, he took in the scene that he had walked in on. He looked down to Nicole, and saw her tears. “Ms. Summers?” When she nodded, he looked between them once more. “Are you okay?” His voice was soft and somehow helped to release some of her tension.
Trinity let go of her, and stepped to the side. Chuckling at how she must look, Nicole swiped at the tears running down her cheeks. “Stupid hormones.” When she let out another small laugh, the doctor smiled, and continued into the room.
As he moved to his stool, Nicole admired the doctor’s profile. He looked to be possibly in his mid-thirties, and was somewhat attractive. His brown hair was cut short, and when he smiled, it seemed to always reach his eyes. Immediately, she felt comfortable in his presence.
Opening up the file, he scanned the information. “It looks like congratulations are in order, huh?”
She stayed silent, but gave a small half smile in response. He got the clue from her response, and wheeled his stool in front of her before sitting down.
“I take it that you’re not too happy about all of this.”
She didn’t know how to respond to that. Was she happy? “I don’t know what I am, right now. I’m still trying to process everything.” Squeezing her eyes shut, she rubbed her forehead to try and ward off the oncoming headache. “It’s silly, right? Most women at this stage know what they want, don’t they?”
“Absolutely not. First time moms are usually a nervous wreck until the very end, and even after that. What you’re feeling is completely normal.”
Looking down into his eyes, Nicole once again felt as if everything might be okay.
“I take it that your doctor before went through your options?” When she nodded, he looked back down at her chart. “Except… terminating the pregnancy is no longer an option. You’re now at thirteen weeks, so you missed the cutoff.”
Taking a deep breath in, she nodded. “I know. I couldn’t bring myself to do that.” Placing a hand on her belly, she sighed. “Actually, I’m leaning more towards keeping it.”
“Really!?” Trinity’s outburst stopped the doctor from whatever he was about to say. Rushing forward, she wrapped her arms tightly around her and squeezed until it was hard for Nicole to breath.
Laughing it off, Nicole patted the arm across her chest. When did Trinity get so strong, jeez? “I said I was thinking about it.”
Trinity let go, but obviously ignored what Nicole had said. “You’ll see. You’ll be a great mom, and I’ll be a great aunt!” Clapping her hands, she let out a small squeal.
Rolling her eyes, she looked back at the doctor who was smirking. “I guess that answers my question about a support system.”
All three laughed at his joke, and the mood in the room became a lot lighter. Genuinely smiling for the first time since she had been there, Nicole settled in and listened to the doctor.
“Okay. Here’s what we do here, at this office. There are a total of six doctors and two nurse practitioners. Every appointment you have will be with someone different until you have seen all of us, at least once. That way, whoever is on call when you go into labor, you’ll know who it is. We’re a big office, so it makes it so the patient still feels comfortable at every visit.”
Nicole nodded her head. “The nurse practitioner that I saw last time explained that. I think it’s a good idea.”
“Okay. Let’s see.” He opened the file, and looked at her paperwork. “Your EDD is July thirteenth. You’re thirteen weeks and two days along. That means that you are now in your second trimester. Have you been having any morning sickness?”
Nicole scoffed at that question. “Morning sickness? Don’t you mean, Morning, Afternoon, and Evening sickness?”
The young doctor cringed. “That bad, huh?”
“It’s the whole reason I found out that I was pregnant. I couldn’t keep anything down, and finally went to see the doctor. I was definitely not expecting this.” She gestured towards her stomach to indicate her pregnancy.
“Oh! I can see why you would be shocked then.”
Rolling back to the corner, he placed his file on the counter and stood up. Reaching into his white coat pocket, he pulled out a small tape measure, and walked back over to her. “Okay, let’s have you lay back.”
Once she was down, and her legs were made straight from the table extension, he rolled up her shirt and proceeded to measure her stomach. “Good. Right on track,” he stated once he was done.
Placing the tape measure in his pocket, he walked back over to the counter and grabbed a bottle of something and an object that reminded her of an old voice recorder. When he came back he tipped the bottle over her stomach. “Cold,” was the only warning she got before a bluish gel was squirted onto her stomach.
When he pulled a microphone looking piece off the recorder and tried to touch her stomach with it, she flinched away. “What’s that?”
He smiled down at her and winked. “Nothing that will hurt. Don’t worry.”
Placing the piece on her stomach, he moved it around and successfully spread the cold gel around till it started to warm up. “Usually we have the nurse do this after she takes your blood pressure, but the first time you see a doctor, we like to do it.”
His words were lost to her when the room filled with the sound of static. He moved the piece around, and the sound changed with the movement. All of a sudden, he stopped and circled around one area, and the sound instantly changed into a rhythmic thud. It only took her a second to realize what it was.
“Is that…”
Trinity gasped and grabbed her hand as she asked the words, but she couldn’t finish the question.
The doctor smiled and nodded. “That is your baby’s healthy heartbeat.”
That was her baby. No longer an ‘it’, but her baby!
All too soon, he moved away from the area, and the sound went back to static. “Just checking that there’s only one heartbeat.” He moved it all around, but all they heard was more static.
She was still in a daze when he took some tissues and wiped off the gel. That was her baby, an actual little person inside of her. Everything just became real, and all too clear.
He put her shirt back over her stomach, and helped her up. Walking over to the computer in the room, he started clicking and typing away.
“What’s that?” She finally snapped out of her daze enough to notice what he was doing. None of the other doctor’s offices had computers in them that she could remember.
“It’s where we keep all the patient information. That way, it’s all quickly at the touch of our fingers.” He stayed looking at the screen, and kept clicking. “Okay, it looks as if you have a small UTI. Nothing to worry about, and it’s very common with pregnant women. It’s something that needs to be taken care of though because it can hurt the baby otherwise.
“What
do I need to do?”
Looking back at the screen, he clicked a few more things, and opened up a new screen. “I’m going to proscribe you a medicine called Macrobid. Take it two times a day for seven days, and that should clear it up.”
“Okay.” He went back to the original screen, and started clicking more. “Your blood pressure was a little high, but not to the point where I’m too concerned right now. Just take it easy, and if you start getting severe headaches, or your hands and feet swell up, make sure you’re seen by a doctor.”
Eventually, he left the screen, and went back to where his stool was. Sitting down, he placed his hands on his lap. “Now, do you have any questions for me, before we’re done here?”
“Umm…” She looked at the ceiling as her brain started to work at warp speed. Yes, she had questions… tons of them… but she couldn’t remember a single one at the moment.
“She’s been really sick. When will that start to get better?”
Trinity’s voice brought her thinking to a halt, and she faced her friend. “Actually, it’s been slowing down. I haven’t thrown up in almost a week. Therefore, I’ve gotten to eat more lately.”
“That’s great. Why didn’t you say something?” Trinity almost looked hurt that she was not up-to-date on everything.
Nicole shrugged at the question. “I just didn’t think to tell you. I’m sorry.
“Don’t be.” Trinity then grinned. “It’s wonderful news.
“It’s not uncommon for sickness to go away after the first trimester. Hopefully, it’s gone, and you don’t have to deal with it anymore.” Trinity smiled at the doctor’s words while Nicole sighed in relief. Wouldn’t that be nice, she thought?
The small interruption got her brain to start working again. “What should I expect? You know, so I don’t panic over something completely normal.”
“Let’s see… The second trimester is usually the easiest one. The baby will grow, and so will you. We like to see a twenty to twenty-five pound weight gain throughout the whole pregnancy. It looks like you have lost a couple pounds. This is normal for a pregnancy with a lot of sickness.”
He had looked into her file for information, but closed it back up again. “You might become more tired, and more emotional. Those are both common, as well. Around twenty weeks, we will do a sonogram to check the growth of your baby. That will also tell us if everything is developing as it should.
Nicole nodded through his entire explanation. “What about lack of energy? Some days, I just don’t want to get out of bed, or when I do, I just want to get right back in ten minutes later.”
The doctor stopped to think for a moment. “I’m not going to say that it’s uncommon, but it’s early enough in your pregnancy that I would like to check your iron levels.”
“Okay.”
He smiled as he straightened, and walked over to the counter. After scribbling a few things in her file, he turned to look at her. “Is that all?”
“Yeah, I believe so.”
Turning back to the file, he wrote a few more things down, and tore out the page. Handing it over, he flashed a smile that could melt hearts. “If you can think of anything else, you can call at any time.”
Taking the paper, she smiled back. “Thank you... for everything.”
He then looked directly at her and said, “I mean it. Call, if you need anything.”
His tone caused a shiver to course through her and she felt her face start to heat. Words were lost to her, so she nodded in agreement. What was wrong with her? She berated herself for her foolish thoughts, even as he directed them around the corner.
“You okay?” Trinity’s words shook her out of her wayward thoughts.
Laughing it off, she smiled up at her friend. “Yeah. Just fine.”
Before she knew it, she was walking into a stark white room with bright blue chairs. The immediate goose bumps on her arm signified how cold the room was compared to the other parts of the doctors’ office.
A woman with bright red hair, wearing latex gloves and tangerine scrubs was standing in front of a machine on the counter. “Have a seat. I’ll be right with you.” Over the noise of the machine, she spoke and gestured to a blue chair.
Once sitting, she looked around the room, and took in her surroundings. Trinity stood with her arms crossed over her chest, near the door, and was giving her a sympathetic look. Before she could ask what the look was for, the woman walked over.
Immediately, Nicole noticed how the woman was chomping on her gum, and cringed at the sight. Chewing as she talked, the woman held out her hand. “You got papers for me, sweetie?”
Handing over the paper the doctor had given her, she watched as the woman scanned the paper. The more she watched, the more it reminded her of a horse, but remembering how nice the woman had been, Nicole decided to let it go.
The nurse stepped away, but came back not two seconds later. Except, when she came back, she was holding two empty vials and what looked like a very large capped needle.
“What the hell is that?” Nicole felt her heart rate pick up considerably.
At the woman’s confused look, Nicole looked back down at the needle then back up again to the woman’s face.
“No one said that I had to give blood.”
The woman had the nerve to smile, and when she talked, it sounded as if she were explaining the situation to a child. “We have to take a blood sample to check your iron levels. It’s the only way.”
“No! I thought you needed another urine sample, or something. I don’t do needles!”
“It’ll be fine. You’re okay.” Trinity had quietly approached from the side.
“No,” she ground out as she looked up at her friend. Turning to look back at the woman, she was more forceful in her answer. “No!”
Once again, the woman smiled sympathetically at her, and placed her hand lightly on Nicole’s arm. “It’s okay to be nervous; not everyone is comfortable around needles. How about I talk you through everything I do?” As she talked soothingly, she tried to wrap a large band around Nicole’s upper arm. “Now, I’m just going to—”
Being talked to like a child was getting on her last nerves. Nicole spun her hand around and was now gripping the woman’s arm. “Watch it. Did you ever think that there might be a reason that people don’t like needles, huh? When someone says ‘no’, the answer is no. You should be ashamed of yourself!” Having said her piece, Nicole let go of the woman’s arm and stood up.
Gathering her personal items, she decided there were a few more words that she had to get off her chest. She turned around to do just that when she saw the look on the woman’s face. It was a look of anguish.
“You’re right.” Her voice was barely above a whisper. She didn’t move from the spot in the middle of the room, and continued to stare at something over Nicole’s shoulder. “How could I be so insensitive? I’m sorry.”
When the tears started to fall, Nicole wondered if she had might have gone too far.
“I’m so sorry!” The tears were at full stream as the woman outright balled. “I feel so ashamed,” she blubbered. Placing her hands over her face, she ran, crying from the room.
Both Nicole and Trinity looked at each other. Confusion was evident on both faces, but it was Nicole that spoke first. “That was weird.”
“Okay, it wasn’t normal, but you shouldn’t have been so hard on her. I’ll go find her.” Trinity turned to walk out of the room and Nicole grabbed her hand.
“Wait! You don’t need to do that. We’ll just leave.” Being petrified of needles, she would say or do almost anything not to be stuck with one.
Trinity shook her head. “This is something that needs to be done, for your baby’s health, along with your own.”
Nicole tightened her grip on Trinity’s arm. “You don’t understand! I freeze up just from looking at needles.” Her voice broke with her need to make her friend understand. “For once, I would like it if you could feel even just a remote amount of what it’s
like for me!”
There was a pause between the two of them. Nicole stood there and watched Trinity, and waited for her to finally say something. The emotions that crossed her friend’s face were difficult to understand. Her eyes had widened but then quickly scrunched down to make her look confused.
Unexpectedly, Trinity looked down at her hand, then to her face with a look of sheer panic. “Gemariah…” The whispered name was dragged out, and made Nicole’s blood run cold.
“What?” Nicole croaked.
“Gemariah. He’s the baby’s father.”
“What?” Nicole’s grip instantly released Trinity. “That’s insane! We hate each other.”
Trinity took a step towards Nicole, and grabbed her shoulders. “Don’t lie to me. I have to know. Gemariah’s the father, isn’t he?”
Nicole stared up into Trinity’s eyes. Her mind screamed, “Deny, deny, deny,” but she couldn’t bring herself to lie. Her body sagged with the weight of her regret, and she dropped her head to look at the floor. Fighting the tears, she slightly nodded her head.
Trinity immediately released her shoulders and took a step back.
Without looking up, Nicole backed up, and slumped into the seat she had previously vacated. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. It was a stupid mistake.”
“When?”
Looking up, she noticed that Trinity looked furious. In a million years, she never would have guessed that Trinity would be this mad at her. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she squeezed her eyes shut to stop the tears threatening to come. “After your barbeque… the night he took me home.”
Trinity gasped and her hand flew to her forehead. “You had been drinking that night. I’m going to kill him!” The malice in her voice thoroughly shocked Nicole.
“It wasn’t because I had been drinking. I just…” She paused to find the right words. “I was so sick of feeling alone. Me and you had just fought, and things that were said had been going through my head. Then he and I fought, which wasn’t too surprising, but I was just so sick of feeling miserable. Therefore, when he kissed me, I didn’t stop him, and then things went too far.”
The Divine Whisper Page 9
