Page 46 of Blissful Devotion

I wonder if they make maternity leggings.

With my new clothes in hand, I head to the bathroom to pee, brush my teeth, and change before I run a brush through my hair. I glance at myself in the mirror and quickly look away. I can pick out a million things wrong with the way I look, but I don’t have time to worry about that right now. Enzo is waiting, and I’m honestly so excited to see our baby.

He stands in the room where I left him, his face blank, but emotions swirl in his eyes as he watches me make my way to his side. I’ve never been very good at reading his face, and now, even as his wife, it isn’t any easier. Without a word, he leads me out of the room and down the hall. The house is huge, and while I remember he gave me a tour when I first moved in, I’d need a map to know where everything is, which is why I’m not all that surprised when we walk into a room that doesn’t look at all familiar.

Everything is white, as you would expect in a hospital. It's strange because, as far as I know, it’s the only white room in the house—everything else is black, gold, and dark wood. There isn’t much here: an examination table with crinkly paper, and a counter with a sink in the corner, with cabinets above and below it. A large computer-like machine sits against the back wall, with a black-and-white screen attached, a few dozen buttons and knobs, and a rolling stool an older man in a white coat sits on.

“Katherine.” The doctor nods and motions to the bed beside him.

He says my name as he knows me, and it takes me a second to realize he’s probably the same doctor I saw for my prenatal and anti-nausea meds, but for the life of me I can’t remember actually meeting him before this.

Pregnancy brain is no joke.

I climb onto the table, and he lays it back, offering a smile that does little to calm my nerves.

“You're just going to lie back. I’ll put some of this jelly on your stomach, and my camera will show us your baby.” He holds up the said bottle of jelly, then a wand that doesn’t look like a camera at all. He seems nice enough, but something seems off as his eyes dart away from my gaze back to the computer thing next to him.

“And if your little one happens to cooperate, we’ll find out if we have a girl or a boy.”

My heart beats faster, knowing we’re so close to finding out.

I’ve always wanted kids; this seems like a dream to have started a family when I thought for so long I would never have that.

Why did I think that again…

I suck in a sharp breath when the gel hits my stomach, shocked by how cold it is.

“Sorry, I know it’s cold. The warmer is broken.” The doctor gives me a tight smile, and I give him one in return; it’s not like it's his fault, and if I were paying better attention, it might not have shocked me so much.

Enzo stands to my left, and the doctor's little monitor is to my right, with the doctor on a stool. It’s all very close, and honestly I’ve never felt claustrophobic before, but I might be now. I force myself to take a few deep breaths and focus on the monitor as he pushes his ‘camera’ into my stomach. Not that the picture makes any sense to me; it all kind of looks like TV static.

Nothing happens as shapes flicker here and there, and he keeps moving the wand, pushing on my bladder and making me wish I’d peed before this.

He’s quiet for long enough that I begin to panic. No doubt Enzo can feel how sweaty my hand is, but he doesn’t say anything. His gaze is fixed on the monitor, just like mine, until the most beautiful sound fills the room.

Thump, thump, thump…

The rhythmic sound pulls a smile to my lips and makes tears well in my eyes. I blink them away, looking up to find Enzo smirking, his eyes full of pride that makes the tears I’d been holding back run down my face.

“A very strong heartbeat. That’s good.” He nods as if trying to assure me as he continues moving the wand around my stomach. “It looks like you're measuring about…” he trails off, clicking a few buttons as he goes, focusing hard at something on the screen.

It just looks like a static to me.

“Twenty-four weeks.” He moves the camera a little more and points to a spot I’m pretty sure he expects us to see something in, but it still looks the same. “With a baby boy.”

A boy.

My vision blurs as the tears keep coming, and I feel Enzo’s grip on my hand tighten before he leans down and steals a kiss that I don’t even have enough time to return before he’s gone again.

The doctor spends a little ‌more time looking around before he prints ‌some pictures for us.

“I’ve got her,” Enzo snaps at the doctor, snatching the towel from his hand when he attempts to clean the goo from my stomach. It’s silly, but something about his possessiveness makes my heart race.

He helps me off the table, and we leave without another word to the doctor.

I wonder how he works. Does he leave? He has to, right? How else would he make money?

Even with me needing multiple appointments a month, it can’t be just me.