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“What can I do for you, today?” Monroe asked.
Scarlett cleared her throat. “I think pregnant. I took a home pregnancy test, and it was positive.”
Dr. Monroe smiled. “That’s great news,” she said. “Why don’t we have a look?”
We moved to the next room where Scarlett got undressed behind a screen and put on a hospital gown. When she sat on the chair, she was visibly nervous.
Monroe squirted jelly on her stomach and used the scanner, sliding it over her lower abdomen.
“When was your last period?” she asked while she looked at the screen, moving the scanner back and forth. Gray shapes appeared on the black screen.
Scarlett gave her a date.
“Right,” she said. “That would mean you’re about eight weeks along or so, right?”
“I guess you’re right,” Scarlett said. “I wasn’t paying attention. Things were a little… different than usual.”
She glanced at me when she said it.
“Here we go,” Monroe said, focusing on one spot and pointing at the screen. “It’s not much to look at just yet, but here’s the placenta, and the fetus is over here.”
I looked at the screen. I couldn’t see anything that meant something to me, but Scarlett’s face had changed. She looked like she might cry, but it wasn’t a bad look. More like awe.
Her dark eyes were bright. I’d never seen her look this beautiful.
“Well, that’s unexpected,” Dr. Monroe said.
Scarlett and I both looked at the doctor. She was looking at the screen, and Scarlett’s face went pale.
“Doctor?” Scarlett asked. “Is everything okay?”
“There’s nothing wrong,” she said. “But this is rather unusual.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
Scarlett and I both looked at the screen, but I couldn’t figure out what was on it. It was still just a blur of grey shapes to me.
“Well, I don’t know how to say this, so I’ll just come right out with it,” Dr. Monroe said. “You’re having triplets.”
I blinked at her. “What?”
Dr. Monroe smiled at us, but Scarlett looked just as shocked as I felt.
Triplets? We were having three babies?
“I don’t understand,” Scarlett said. “This can’t be possible.”
“It’s unusual, but not impossible,” Dr. Monroe said. “And considering that you weren’t on any fertility treatment, this is all natural and very special.”
Scarlett still seemed unsure, but the news was starting to sink in. And I was ecstatic. I’d wanted another baby for so long. Knowing that I was going to have three was an absolute thrill. Yes, I hadn’t expected it, but we could make this work.
We? I had to remember that Scarlett wouldn’t be in my life forever. She was just here to carry my baby. Babies. The realization hit me harder than it should have, and I pushed it away.
Scarlett got dressed, and we left the office.
We walked to the car together, and she was quiet. We got in the car, and I turned to her.
“How do you feel?” I asked.
Scarlett shrugged without saying anything.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
Scarlett shook her head. “Nothing wrong,” she said. “This is just a little overwhelming.”
I could see how it would be, but something was bothering her, something she wasn’t telling me. I couldn’t place it. I didn’t have any claim to her or any right to her emotions. She was here to carry my baby, and that was just what she was doing. She was fulfilling her side of the contract.
“I’ll triple your pay,” I said.
Scarlett blinked at me. “You don’t have to do that,” she said.
“But I want to.” This was above and beyond what I asked for after all.
Scarlett shook her head. “Really, you’re paying enough as it is.”
She still looked like something was upsetting her, and I didn’t know what it was. I wanted to be able to help her, to make it go away, but I didn’t know what to do. Suddenly, the line between us was very clear, and I didn’t know how to cross it.
I told the driver to take us to her house. I doubted she wanted to come home with me after the new development. This was a lot to handle for the both of us, and like she said, she still had to wrap her mind around it. I hoped that was all that was bothering her, but somehow, I doubted it.
We drove to her apartment in silence. When the car parked in front of her apartment, I took her hand, and she looked at me with eyes that were guarded and an expression I couldn’t read.
“You’ll tell me if there’s something I can do?” I asked.
“You know I will,” she said. I wasn’t sure if I knew that. “I just need some time.”
