Kindred Spirits

baby?

thirty-one |

Onyx |

Dramatically, I released a sigh and continued to wait while Dr.Mann tended to another one of his patients. Instead of us going to the ER, my mother scheduled an immediate appointment with our family doctor. I knew that it wasn't only to ensure my health and wellbeing; she still thought that I was pregnant and that was all due to that stupid fish dream that she had. Personally, I thought that the dream was comical and if it held anyvalue at all that a woman was pregnant, then it pertained to her future daughter-in-law, Marley, who was carrying her son's child. Not me.The truth of the matter was that I wasn't pregnant, and that she was overreacting, based on ridiculous grounds. Dreams may foresee certain things but, I didn't see how a damn fish could determine pregnancy.

"C'mon, they're calling us." my mother said, tapping my arm thatrested on the chair. She waited as I placed down the magazine that I wasaimlessly gazing at and followed closely after the nurse who's job it was to take us to Dr. Mann's office. Once inside, I spotted him cleaning utensils and humming a tune. Upon our entry, he offered us a welcoming smile.

"If it isn't Onyx and Darlene? How's it going?" he chuckled, fanning his hand for me to take my seat on the heightened chair.

"Great, actually. Just a minor-setback with me being sick and all." I sighed, waiting for him to start the physical examination. I just wanted a prescription for antibiotics so, I could go. This was just the flu; no more, no less.

"Minor? I have this penciled down as urgent." he snickered, gesturing for me to lie down. At that, I kissed my teeth and glared at my mom because she was the one who scheduled my appointment with him.

"She's trying to downplay her being sick. She has something more than a common cold. To me, that's urgent." she muttered, watching as Dr. Mann felt around my abdomen, inspecting my organs and whatnot. I rolled my eyes, just annoyed that this was all based on a dream.

"Hey, she's just looking out for you." he said, unroping the blue stethoscope from his neck.

"Dr. Mann, she thinks I'm pregnant. If things checked out as nothing at this appointment, she was calling my gynecologist to have her do a pelvic exam and see if it's deeper than what I believe it is."

"What do you think it is?" he questioned.

"A cold. Maybe, stomach-flu or, just flu."

"I can assure you this isn't a cold or, the flu. You show no signs of coughing, runny-nose, or, a sore throat. Stomach-flu? I don't see it." he sighed as he placed the thermometer underneath my tongue. I huffed lightly, waiting impatiently for the machine to determine my temperature.

"No fever, which is good. Good, if you're, you know, pregnant. It's not a good sign to be too feverish while the baby is developing. Just so you know." he said, slipping the thermometer from my mouth and shooting the plastic from the metal part into the nearby garbage-can.

"Okay," I sighed, "so, nothing's wrong?"

"So far, you seem to be fine. Let's weigh you," he mumbled, "so, what signs has she'd been giving off, Darlene?"

"She's vomiting, eating a whole lot, tired, and cranky. She's had pain, too." she said. I guess she had more ammunition than the dream.

"Where's this pain located, Onyx?" he asked, measuring my height and weight with the old-school scale.

"Everywhere," I said, "but, my breasts hurt to touch. I think they're... tender, I guess."

I didn't want to admit that symptom aloud because I knew that, that could be a tell-tale sign of pregnancy. I was in denial and yes, I wanted babies with Trey but, right then just didn't seem like the time to embark on that journey. Imagine his reaction to a baby this soon in our relationship.