Rose of Sharon |Courting Trouble BK 2|

Chapter 21 (part 2)

"So?" Katrina looked to her husband with a mischievous glint in her eyes. "What did he say?"

"Guy talk." The man smiled back at her even as he refused to open up to her concerning the details of his chat with her father.

"Guy talk?" she glowered back at him. "Are you kidding me right now?" She started to rise up with knitted eyebrows, but a firm grip on her hand stopped her in her tracks even as the doctor pointed to the gel that was still visible on the skin of her tummy. With a resigned look, she relented and allowed the doctor to help her back onto the table.

"It's nothing." the smiled amused by her failed efforts. "I am sure though, you will soon find out all about it."

With a murderous glint in her eyes, Katrina turned to glare at her husband, a look that he returned with an even brighter smile of his own. His reaction irked her so much that she found herself grounding her teeth in her frustration. However, the man only laughed at her seemingly amused by her act of aversion. 

"You are quite adorable when you do that, you know."

"And that is supposed to make me feel better?"

"I surely know of another thing that could."

The doctor cleared her throat and Katrina looked away in embarasment.

"I will get you for this Ryan!" She threatened even as the man tittered with laughter and the doctor cleared her throat again.

"What?" Katrina turned to the obstetrician with a hint of annoyance in her eyes.

"I wouldn't advice it." the doctor told her. "You are almost to your eighth month and such violent acts could easily result in early labour."

"Violent acts?" her brows knitted up once again even as Ryan burst out in loud laughter. "I mean...I didn't mean...Ah I meant beating him up."

"I know." The doctor smiled. "I was listening. Anyway we are done here for today. So, see you in...two weeks? Of course you can always call me or come in if you have any concern about the pregnancy. My doors will always be open to the two of you." She smiled again as Katrina dropped down her shirt and sat up from the table with the help of the doctor.

"Thank you doc. Thank you for taking care of her and our little girl." Ryan said as he took up Katrina's bag and assisted her with coming down from the examination table. "We'll see you in a fortnight." he confirmed even as he moved to hold the door open as he waited on Katrina.  After thanking the doctor for her care,  Katrina walked out ahead of Ryan beaming at the results of the sonogram and to celebrate, they decided to go out for dinner.

There they discussed the coming labour and the delivery and the options that the doctor had outlined. To Ryan as with all other things that baby, this was a very important and necessary task that had to be done, but for Katrina,  the entire processed appalled her and she would have preferred it if they had laid off the entire topic and fast forwarded to the future,  to the part where the ordeal was over and done with and she was holding their newborn daughter in her arms.

"A natural or ceaserian birth?" Ryan questioned her, as he looked over the sheets and ticked off the right information.

"Do I have to? " She whined and he lifted up an eyebrow to gaze at her.

"Fine! I am not sure. I am kind of afraid of the pain that comes with the natural way and then there is the scar issue that comes with a ceaserian birth."

"But I hear that the latter is not always guaranteed."

"What do you mean?" her brows knitted together. "The scar?"

He nodded.

"If they do a bikini line cut then the scaring is sure to be minimal."

"And how do you know all that?" She questioned him.

"I read." He replied and Katrina wondered when. Between his painting, helping her around the house and attending to her, it normally left the man with very little time to do anything else but sleep that is and yet, here he was telling her how he had read it? "I am worried about being a good father so I am always trying to read up on various topics." He further explained and to put it simply, Katrina was very impressed. To think that he actually cared so much about being a good father? For the first time ever, she found herself feeling sorry for him, for the chance that he had missed with his other child. No wonder he had been working so hard to make up for it. If anything, what this was telling her was that the man was truly serious and that he was actually changing for the better.

"What of the Natural delivery options?"

"You can either go natural-"

"But natural is natural?" Ryan smiled knowing fully well that she was being difficult intentionally.

"Without an epidural that is or you can go with the other option."

"Which is?"

" A water birth?" She rolled her eyes at that as he laughed at the pun that he had just made. "But seriously a water birth." he retaliated. "Listen to this, apparently if we tick that option, I am allowed to be with you inside the tub as you give birth."

"That can only happen if you are my chosen delivering partner."

"But I thought that was settled?" The man suddenly grew serious unaware that he was being toyed with.

"That important huh? This is going to be fun." she smiled inwardly before saying. "I do not remember asking you or even you asking me for that matter."

"Really?" He gave her the stink eye and she had to struggle hard to hold in her laughter in order not to smile and give herself away. "Okay, then." He said as he went down to his knees. "Katrina Dienda Maracheli, will you do me the honour of becoming your birthing partner?"

Katrina looked around and panicked. What was he doing? She fretted already regretting playing such a mean trick on the shameless man. Was he trying to get the attention of everyone within the restaurant?

"Come on, get to your feet. This is embarrassing." She hissed even as she tried to pull him back to his own chair to no avail .

"Nope. Not until I get an answer from you."

"Come on." She groaned, looking around worriedly at the attention his actions were now garnering . "Ryan..." She whined.

"No. Not until you say it."

"Fine!" She agreed even as she pulled him up by his jacket lapels, already regretting the move as the people in the restaurant had began to clap and cheer them on. "Look at what you have done." She scolded and he laughed at the embarassed look that was now burning on her face.

"It's all your fault for trying to toy with me."

"You knew?" She gaped back at him.

"Of course I did. It is so easy to read you especially when you are trying so hard not to out yourself."

"How did you know?"

"You have this small dimple over here that appears when you are trying too hard to suppress your laughter."he said pointing to the small notch that was below her nose.

"Not fair." Katrina pouted.

"Okay, come on, I will make it up to you once we are done with this. Now where were we? Right. water birth." he said Ashe went back to the list.

"Do we have to do that now?" He gave her a look. "Fine. I want an epidural and no, no water births."

"Why when it is so cleansing? I hear it is also very relaxing."

"Keep on playing around and I will go for that planned CS and then we will see how well you will assist me in doing that." That shut him up for the moment, but it did not stop him from making more fun of her even as they discussed the hospital bag and came up with a least of things that they still needed for the nursery.