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‘Now, let’s see.’ The woman, who had introduced herself as Dr Tallos, flipped through the forms Margo had filled out in the waiting room. ‘You believe you’re seventeen weeks along? Have you had an ultrasound?’
‘Not yet. I was scheduled for one at twenty weeks.’
‘Well, we can do one now, just to make sure everything’s all right,’ Dr Tallos said briskly. ‘If you’d like?’
A tremor of both fear and excitement rippled through Margo. ‘Yes, all right.’
‘Let’s get that done first, then, shall we?’
‘What about the paternity test?’ Leo asked, and the doctor shot him a narrowed look while Margo flushed at the obvious implication.
‘We can establish paternity by a simple blood test. I’ll draw blood from both of you after we’ve established the baby is healthy.’ She raised her eyebrows at him, her expression and voice both decidedly cool. ‘If that’s all right with you?’
A blush touched Leo’s cheeks and Margo almost felt sorry for him. The doctor didn’t know their convoluted history.
‘That’s fine,’ he said, and sat back in his chair.
A nurse wheeled in a machine with a screen and wires, and Margo lay back on the examination table.
‘Do you mind?’ Dr Tallos asked, and lifted her dress all the way up to right underneath her breasts, pulling her tights down to reveal the soft white swell of her belly.
Now she felt really exposed, lying there like a beached whale with her belly on view. She couldn’t so much as sneak a glance at Leo, but she felt his presence, his tension.
‘This will be a little cold,’ Dr Tallos murmured, and squirted a clear gel onto Margo’s bare stomach.
It wasn’t just cold, it was icy, and she shivered.
‘Here we go.’ She started pressing a wand into Margo’s belly, hard enough to make her wince.
‘That’s hurting her,’ Leo said sharply, and both Margo and Dr Tallos turned to him in surprise.
‘It’s a bit uncomfortable,’ the doctor said, ‘but I promise you it’s not hurting anyone.’
Leo didn’t look convinced, and Margo said quietly, ‘I’m all right, Leo.’
‘There we are,’ Dr Tallos announced, and they all turned to look at the fuzzy shape on the screen.
Margo blinked, trying to connect what looked like nothing more than a few blobby circles into a shape that resembled a baby.
Then Dr Tallos started pointing things out on the screen. ‘There’s the head, and the stomach, and you can see fingers and toes—look.’
And almost as if by magic Margo could see it: the curled up bud of her baby unfurling as he—or she—stretched out arms, kicked tiny legs.
‘Kicking up a storm,’ Dr Tallos said cheerfully. ‘Do you feel anything?’
Margo shook her head. ‘Not yet.’
‘Well, don’t worry, you’re sure to in the next few weeks. And there’s the heart, beating away.’ She pointed to the flickering image on the screen, pulsing with life. ‘Let me turn up the volume and you can hear it.’
She twirled a knob on the ultrasound machine and all at once the room was filled with a sound like the galloping of a horse, an insistent swoosh that had both Leo and Margo’s jaws dropping in amazement.
‘I’ve never heard such a sound,’ Leo said softly.
He looked gobsmacked, as if someone had hit him on the head, and Margo knew how he felt. That rushing sound had knocked her for six too. It was so real.
‘Baby is measuring seventeen weeks, just as you said,’ Dr Tallos continued as she pressed some keys to take measurements. ‘Everything looks well. It’s a bit early to tell the sex, but we’ll schedule a more comprehensive ultrasound for twenty weeks. Now...’ She flicked off the machine and removed the wand from Margo’s stomach before handing her a paper towel to wipe off the gel. ‘I’ll give you a moment to clean yourself and we’ll do the blood test.’ She turned to Leo with raised eyebrows. ‘I’m assuming that’s still required?’
He hesitated, and Margo jumped in. ‘Yes, it’s required,’ she said. She would not have Leo casting any more aspersions or doubt.
Fifteen minutes later they’d left the doctor’s office, with their promise to call with the results of the paternity test tomorrow.
It was strange, walking along the city street together, crossing the wide boulevard lined with cafés and upscale boutiques.
‘Wait just a moment,’ Leo said, and ducked into a gourmet deli.
Margo waited on the pavement, the brisk December wind buffeting her.
He came out a few minutes later, a paper bag in hand. ‘Melba toast,’ he said, and Margo, quite suddenly, felt near to tears. ‘Margo, what is it?’ he asked.
