by Natalie Ann
There was no reason to be nervous over this visit. She was pretty sure they were just going to confirm what she knew. That she was definitely pregnant.
Aside from the queasiness that slammed her at odd times, her breasts were so tender she almost wanted to cry when the spray in the shower hit them this morning.
Not only that, but she’d woken up shaken this morning with tears in her eyes. She hadn’t dreamed of living on the street in years, but last night it felt so real. In her dream she was standing in Hunter’s office telling him she was pregnant. He’d yelled at her. He’d fired her. And then he said to get out of his life. He wasn’t letting her ride on his bank account. She’d been devastated and saw herself months later big and fat and looking through garbage cans for food.
Kayla knew it was stupid to dream that. She knew it’d never happen. Even if Hunter did react that way—and she didn’t think he would—she had Amanda and Sidney.
She’d never had anyone before and though it was a foreign concept to her, it was somewhat comforting too.
She wasn’t even halfway through the paperwork when her name was called. She stood up and followed the nurse to a room. “I still have a lot to fill out.”
“It’s fine. I’m just going to get your weight, height, blood pressure, temperature, and heart rate. You’ll have time to finish it before Dr. Mills comes in.”
Kayla answered all the questions asked of her, did what she was told, peed in a cup, and then went and put a gown on. Nothing like feeling uncomfortable naked under on a gown that was three sizes too big and draping everywhere while you wrote on a clipboard.
The nurse was right. She had the forms filled out as best as she could before the doctor came in so she just sat there waiting while she scrolled around on her phone.
Ten minutes went by and Dr. Mills walked in. It was a woman and she was thrilled. She hadn’t even bothered to check it out herself when she made the appointment, just wanting to get the first appointment she could, and was happy they could fit her in on a Monday. Only ten days after she took the drugstore test.
“I’m Dr. Mills. It’s nice to meet you.” Kayla reached her hand out to shake and then moved to the exam table to sit. “We are just going to talk for a bit first. I’m going to look over your forms and make notes on the computer so if I’m silent don’t worry about it.”
“Okay,” Kayla said. She hadn’t been to a doctor in years and never a gynecologist. There was no reason. Half the time she didn’t have insurance and if she wasn’t sick she wasn’t going.
“So there is no date here for your last pap smear,” Dr. Mills said.
“No. I think it was five years ago and it was a primary. I don’t even remember where or who it was.”
“Hmm,” Dr. Mills said. “So you don’t like doctors?”
There was a grin on Dr. Mills’s face, and Kayla realized she was pretty young. Probably early thirties, if that. “I wouldn’t say that. Just that I didn’t always have insurance and I’m pretty healthy.”
“Well, now you need to come and see me regularly whether you like doctors or not,” Dr. Mills said, flipping through the forms on the clipboard and typing notes. “When was your last period?”
“I’m not sure. I’ve never been regular. But I’ve only been having sex for about seven weeks, nothing prior for about eight months, so it has to be in that window.”
“That helps,” Dr. Mills said. “The ultrasound will give us a better idea.”
“Ultrasound?” Kayla asked, looking around the room. “Do I have to go somewhere else for that?”
“No. This early we use a transvaginal ultrasound. It’s a wand that we insert into your vagina. It’s right over there and I’ll walk you through it.”
“Lovely,” Kayla said.
Dr. Mills laughed softly. “It’s not that bad. I know you are probably feeling a little awkward right now, but you better get it all out of your head. Labor and childbirth is a messy business.”
“Yeah,” she said. Just another thing to worry about. She didn’t want Hunter to see her like this. Not getting all big and fat and swollen. Then pushing a kid out into the world. Talk about a real turn on there. She’d heard a woman could poop during childbirth. No way she was doing that!
Kayla answered some more questions, but when it came to her family history she was clueless. “I’m sorry. I don’t know who my father is and I was in foster care when I was three until eighteen.”
“Do you know your mother? Any of her family?” Dr. Mills asked.
“I know who she is and where she is. I reached out to her a few years ago when I found her, but she didn’t want any part of getting to know me. I’m afraid I’m not much help there.”
“That’s fine. If we come across something we need to know, we’ll cross that bridge. And the baby’s father’s history. You left that blank too. Do you know his family history?”
She couldn’t help the laugh that escaped. She knew plenty of his family history. Not on a medical front, but the history was there.
“We’ve been dating a little over two months. He seems in good health.”
“Does he not know you are pregnant?” Dr. Mills asked.
“No. I took a test last weekend but didn’t want to say anything until I saw a doctor and had more information. He will have questions and I wanted to be able to answer them as best as I could.”
“Do you plan on having this child?” Dr. Mills asked. “I guess I should ask that.”
“Yes,” she said. “I’m just trying to wrap my head around everything.”
“I’m sure it was a shock. You live on Amore Island. Though there are doctors there and a satellite office of ours, you will deliver at the hospital here unless it’s an emergency or you plan on a home birth.”
“No way. Hospital all the way. Pain meds too. The morning sickness is bad enough. I’m not one of these women who needs to experience it all.”
“There is nothing wrong with either decision,” Dr. Mills said, patting her leg. “And lots of time to deal with it. Since it’s early and you plan on telling the father, I’m going to assume he might be part of the delivery?”
“I hope so, but it’s hard to tell. It’s new yet and I’m not sure how he’s going to react to it all.”
“Understood,” Dr. Mills said. “Why don’t you lie back and I’ll examine you and we’ll figure out about how far along you are. Though by the sounds of everything, my guess is you might have conceived about seven weeks ago when you started to have sex. No protection?”
Kayla blushed. “We used condoms. We always do. It didn’t break. I would have known if it did, but as my roommates pointed out, they can leak.”
“They most certainly can.”
Kayla lay back and put her feet in the stirrups and told herself to get over it. This was going to be one of many exams she was going to have to experience.
Dr. Mills put gloves on and then some lubricant on her fingers and Kayla decided to close her eyes. She didn’t want to watch this.
“Everything feels good,” Dr. Mills said, then rolled her chair over and pulled the machine closer with a wand that didn’t look like it was going to fit inside of her. Yeah, she should have kept her eyes closed. “Don’t worry about it.”
A condom was slipped on the wand and Kayla couldn’t stop the laughter from escaping. “Sorry. I wasn’t expecting that.”
“It is funny. You’re going to feel a little bit of pressure.”
Kayla braced herself, but as Dr. Mills said, it wasn’t that bad. “Is that it?” Kayla asked at the small oval shape on the screen.
“It is. That’s your baby. It’s about the size of a grape at the moment.”
“A grape is small to make me feel like crap.”
Dr. Mills smirked. “Your hormones are all out of whack and the baby is draining all your nutrients. You’ll probably start to feel hungrier and it’s important to maintain a healthy diet. You don’t need to eat for two like many say. No more than thirty pounds gained if y
ou can help it.”
“Thirty pounds?” Kayla asked. “I’ve lost a few, I think. I mean my clothes feel a bit bigger, but I don’t normally weigh myself regularly either.”
“Have you been eating okay?”
“I feel like all I do is eat,” Kayla said.
“That’s good then. And there is the heartbeat.”
Kayla felt her eyes start to fill. Talk about hormones. “Wow.”
“It’s amazing, isn’t it?”
“It sure is. Can you tell how far along I am?”
“I’d say about nine weeks,” Dr. Mills said.
“How is that possible if I’ve only been having sex for seven weeks?” Oh my God, would Hunter not think it’s his? How was she going to deal with this?
“It’s calculated based on when you might have gotten your last period. Even though you didn’t, which is about fourteen days prior to ovulating.”
“Okay. I’ll make sure I explain that to him.”
“You can sit up now,” Dr. Mills said. “If you find you are on your own for this pregnancy and delivery, there are services and help we can offer. Please be honest with us. It’s important for you and the baby.”
“I will be,” Kayla said. “I just don’t know what is going to happen. Even if the father and I don’t work out, I know he’ll be there for his child. It’s the way he is.”
“That’s good then. You should see a doctor, myself or a colleague on the island if it’s easier, every four weeks for the next several months. As we get closer to delivery you’ll see us more often. If you feel anything off or different, you should call us right away. Any bleeding, any pain, not able to keep food down or fluids for more than twelve hours.”
Kayla was making mental notes of everything. “It’s so much to remember.”
“The nurse is going to come back in when you are dressed and give you a care package. It will have a lot of information you will need to know. Read it over when you have time. Please feel free to call if you have questions.”
“Could I schedule with you on the island?” she asked. “I’d like to see you again.”
Dr. Mills smiled. “I’m there one day a week. You can most definitely try to schedule with me when you make your appointments, but I’ll want you to see the other doctors there at some point too. There is no saying who will be on call when you go into labor.”
“So you may not deliver my child?”
“No. The baby comes when it wants to come.”
“Thank you for everything,” Kayla said. She got up and went into the bathroom to change after the doctor left, then waited for the nurse.
When she was all done and walking out of the appointment, she got to the car and burst into tears. This was just all so much for her to deal with and was thinking maybe she should have taken Amanda up on the offer to come with her today.
Kayla was just so used to doing everything on her own, she’d thought this wasn’t any different.
Now she needed to text Hunter and ask if she could cook him dinner tonight at his place—and figure out the best way to break the news to him.
There was no more hiding it at this point. He had a right to know.
34
Take Care Of It
Hunter was thrilled when he got the text from Kayla asking if she could cook him dinner tonight. He figured he wouldn’t see her since it was her day off and she spent that time running errands and doing laundry and chores around the house.
He’d gotten used to her schedule at this point, and she’d gotten used to his. In his mind they seemed to be clicking on so many levels. He wasn’t sure what was going on in her mind though and wished he did. He found he was falling for her so hard and she didn’t seem to feel the same way.
That maybe what he wanted so badly wasn’t meant to be for him.
He left his office around five thirty since she said she planned on having dinner ready by six. It would give him time to shower and change into shorts and a T-shirt. He didn’t mind dressing up more during the day, but the truth was, as serious as everyone always said he was, he liked to be comfortable.
He supposed that was another thing he liked about Kayla. She wasn’t always looking to go out and dress up. Go to clubs in Boston, party all night long. She wasn’t like anyone else he’d been with before and wasn’t that the point? Wasn’t that what made him make the first move when he never had before?
She was just as happy as him to stay in and watch TV.
Good Lord, when did he turn into an old man?
When he stepped out of the elevator he could smell something good in the penthouse. She didn’t normally cook anything all that special when she made dinner. Just simple things, but it worked for him. If he wanted fancy, he’d order downstairs and get Grace’s food.
“What smells so good?” he asked.
“I’ve got a roast beef in the oven,” she said. “I’ve wanted to try to make one and Amanda wrote down instructions for me and what I should do and look for. When to know it’s done and so on. I’m making twice baked potatoes with it too with some bacon to go on top of them.”
“Sounds great,” he said, leaning down to kiss her. “What’s the occasion?”
“Why do you ask that?” she said, her eyes not meeting his. Something was definitely going on.
“It’s just a bit fancier than what you usually do, but I’m looking forward to it. I’m going to jump in the shower quick and then change if there is time.”
“Plenty of time,” she said and went back to the green beans she was cleaning.
When he came out twenty minutes later she was setting the table and the roast was sitting on a cutting board. “Do you want me to cut that for you?”
“That would be great,” she said. “It should sit another five minutes. The beans are almost done and the potatoes are in the oven, the cheese melting on them.”
When the dinner was on the table, the two of them sitting there, a beer in front of him and water in front of her, he said, “This feels cozy. Don’t you think so?”
“Yes,” she said, looking down.
Something was seriously going on in her mind and he wished she’d share. They continued to eat in silence, Hunter figuring she’d open up when she was ready.
“So tell me what the problem is,” he said now that dinner was done and cleaned up. “Maybe I can help.”
Kayla sat down on the couch and took a deep breath. Must be worse than he thought. He hoped she wasn’t ending things with him. No, she wouldn’t have cooked him this meal to only break things off.
“I don’t know how to say it,” she said.
“Just say it and we’ll go from there. It can’t be that bad.”
“It is. It’s horrible,” she said and burst into tears.
He pulled her into his arms and ran his hand down her back. “It can’t be that bad. Tell me what it is.”
“I’m...I’m…” She hiccupped, she was crying so hard. “I’m pregnant.”
He knew his mouth opened and his jaw probably hit the floor like one of those cartoon characters he’d seen when he was younger. “What?”
“I’m so sorry. My life is one mistake after another. I can’t do anything right. I don’t know how this happened. We used condoms, but the doctor said they aren’t one hundred percent.”
“Back up. Doctor? So you went to the doctor’s? That means you’ve suspected this for a while?”
Things were starting to filter through his brain. The few times she’d gotten sick for no reason. She said it was nerves or a bug, but maybe it wasn’t.
“Last Saturday I got sick after I was eating lunch with Amanda and Sidney. They suspected it and made me take a home test. It was positive.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked, standing up and stalking around the room. Why would she think it was okay to not share that with him? She was carrying his child. He had a right to know what she was going through.
“Because they aren’t a hundred percent either. I didn’t want to say an
ything until I knew for sure. Until I had all the answers on everything. First thing last Monday I called a doctor’s office and today I went to Plymouth for the appointment. She confirmed it. She said I’m about nine weeks pregnant. They go by when your last period was, but I’ve never been regular. She said I probably conceived about seven weeks ago.”
“When we first started to have sex,” he said.
“Yes. It’s yours. It really is. I haven’t been with anyone in over eight months.”
It didn’t even occur to him that the child wasn’t his. He waved his hand. “I didn’t think otherwise. I guess I want to know why you held this in and didn’t tell me. I had a right to know. It’s obviously upsetting to you. You used the word mistake.”
He was trying not to be insulted over that. A child wasn’t a mistake. Unplanned, sure. A mistake, never. Not in his mind.
“I am upset. We haven’t been together that long and now this. It seems I never do anything right in life.”
“This isn’t wrong,” he said. “We’re getting married.”
“What?” she said, standing up and walking around like him. “No way. Getting pregnant doesn’t mean we have to get married.”
“The hell we aren’t. You’re having my child and I’m not going to let it be a bastard.”
Her mouth opened and closed. She reached for her necklace and closed her eyes, letting him know how truly upset she was. “I’m not marrying you or anyone for that reason. That’s...that’s ridiculous. No. It’s not happening.”
He ran his hand through his hair. “I have no say in this at all?”
“You can’t fix this, Hunter. Why do you always want to fix things?”
“I can fix this. It’s my child too. Why are you fighting me on this? Why aren’t you letting me in? Letting me take care of it?”
“Because I’m scared. I dreamed you were going to yell at me and you are. But I also woke up in a sweat because in my dream you fired me and I was on the street and big and fat and looking for food. Your family hates me as it is and now everyone is going to think I got pregnant on purpose. That I’m trying to trap you. I know they are.”
