An Unlikely Love

Chapter 18: Ultrasound

I called my obstetrician an hour later to schedule an appointment. The earliest she could get me in was Friday at 9:00 in the morning.

My heart was still pounding through my chest when Jake came home. I put on some cartoons and sat next to him on the couch, staring off with my mind racing.

"What's wrong, Mommy?" Jake's little voice snapped me out of my trance. I gave him a small smile and ruffled his hair.

"Nothing is wrong, honey. I'm just glad to have you home."

He looked at me and snuggled up to my chest. I kissed the top of his head, and then looked up at the television, my mind drifting off to worry about the future.

On Thursday morning, Chris called me to see how I was feeling. I felt horrible about not telling him about the test, but I had to be absolutely certain before I worried him.

"I'm feeling okay. I go to the doctor tomorrow morning." I didn't exactly lie to him, I just left out part of the truth. I tried to change the subject before I began to feel any more awful about not telling him about the real reason for going to the doctor. "I'm excited to see you tomorrow night. My flight leaves at 5:30, and James is picking Jake up at 3:00."

"I'm so happy you're coming. I can't wait to see you. The things I am going to do you," his baritone voice said with a teasing tone.

My heart swelled, and for a brief moment, I thought everything would be okay. "Oh yea, what's that?" I said with a low, sultry voice.

"I guess you'll have to wait and see, if I tell you now, I will get all worked up. I can't go do this radio show with a giant boner."

I chuckled and said, "I can't wait."

Friday morning, I sent Jake to a friend's house on my way to the doctor. I sat in the lobby of the office and wrung my hands nervously until they felt raw.

Finally, after 15 minutes, the nurse called my name. She took me back, weighed me, took my blood pressure, and gave me a gown and a paper sheet to cover with. The last time I did this, James was at my side and holding my hand. We were excited and wanted to be pregnant. Now, I'm by myself and possibly pregnant with a child of a loving man who is almost never present, thus the reason for his reservations about having children.

The doctor came in and shook my hand. Her medium length red hair brushed her shoulders as she nodded and listened to the reason I was in. She smiled, and we discussed the dates of my last period. Then she moved a screen to face me as I laid down.

She placed my feet into stirrups and separated my knees. She explained that she was going to use a wand to complete a vaginal ultrasound because the baby would be too small to see with an external machine. She slipped a plastic cover over the wand, and I tried to relax as I turned to the screen. I clenched slightly as she inserted the wand, but my eyes widened as I peered at the image on the screen.

"You are definitely pregnant," the doctor confirmed, though she didn't have to as I immediately saw a peanut shaped blob with a flickering in the center. "Here is the heartbeat," she said, using a cursor to point out the flicker.

Tears streamed down my face as I instantly fell in love with the growing human inside of me. My heart filled with joy as I thought of Jake growing up with a sibling. The doctor printed off a picture of the ultrasound and gave me a list of prenatal instructions.

Before picking up Jake, I ran into the pharmacy and picked up some prenatal vitamins. I got home, showered and packed while Jake played with his toys.

James arrived around 3:00 to pick up Jake, and I followed them out the door with my bags and locked the door behind me.

"Leaving for the holiday?" James asked.

"Yea, I'm flying to Nashville to spend it with Chris and his family. My parents are on vacation."

He nodded and smiled. "Well, Jenna is in the car. She's going to meet my parents for the first time. Have any pointers for her?" he teased.

I looked to the pickup and waved at Jenna in the front seat. She smiled and waved back. "Sure, just tell her to nod and smile at anything your dad says." I gave him a wink, and he laughed.

I gave Jake a hug and kissed him on his head. I watched as they backed from the driveway, and then I loaded my suitcase and drove to the airport.

As I sat on the plane, I pulled out the ultrasound picture from earlier that morning. I stared at the picture as the plane took off, wondering how in the world I was going to tell Chris, knowing the news would change his world forever.