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“What is wrong with all those things?”
Tyler sighed. “Nothing is wrong with them. It’s just that none of that lasts. Flowers die, food gets eaten, words are forgotten. Fifty years from now, when we’re sitting in our favorite chairs watching our grandkids play, that’s not what you’ll remember about our life together. You’ll remember the little things, the things you don’t give me credit for doing now because they don’t fit your ideal.”
“You get credit for everything you do,” she argued. “I just feel helpless when you drive me around and carry things.”
“That is your hang-up, not mine. I’m just being nice. But I could go bigger if you want me to. Would you like me to buy you a new car? That would be a big romantic gesture.”
“You are not buying me a car. No way. I don’t care how much money you have just lying around, it’s a ridiculous suggestion.”
“See?” he said, with a shake of his head. “I can’t win.”
At that, Amelia chuckled. “You’re married, Tyler. You’d better get used to that.”
That was certainly right. He wished Amelia didn’t question the motives of every little thing he did. Somehow being nice seemed to get him in trouble, although he didn’t really mind it. He didn’t do it on purpose, but he got a little thrill when Amelia got irritated with him. A becoming flush would rush to her cheeks and a flash of emotion would light up her dark eyes. She was a beautiful, passionate woman. He’d had the good fortune to share her bed the past two nights and had taken full advantage of that fire in her. That didn’t mean that he didn’t enjoy winding her up and watching her spin in the daytime.
He hadn’t wanted to push their physical relationship too hard. They’d come together suddenly that first night in the house, and he could tell she was apprehensive about it. Their night together in Vegas had been fueled by raw emotions and alcohol. The second by the delirium of sleep and fierce desires. Since then, he’d thought she’d want some space, but it had been the opposite. She seemed to have abandoned all her reservations about their physical connection. Which he didn’t mind at all. But somehow it didn’t feel as though they were making relationship progress. It just felt like sex.
What universe was he living in where just having sex with a beautiful woman was somehow less than fulfilling? He was turning into a teenage girl.
Speaking of girls, the doctor’s waiting room was crawling with women when they arrived. They checked in, then found a pair of seats among the sea of other ladies waiting. Tyler wasn’t certain he’d seen that many women together at once. Young ones, old ones, pregnant ones, ones with babies in carriers... At the moment, he was the only man and feeling very out of place.
“Maybe I should—” he began, but stopped when another man came in with a pregnant woman.
“Are you trying to punk out on me?” Amelia asked with a teasing smile.
“Well, I just wasn’t sure. I didn’t know what the protocol was for this kind of thing.”
A
melia patted his arm, reassuringly. “Daddies can come. Relax. You may just have to look the other way when there are lady parts involved.”
“Lady parts?” he asked with a frown.
“I know you’re familiar with them, but this is a whole new ball game. Just remember, if you’re uncomfortable seeing them, just think how uncomfortable I am putting them on display and subjecting them to various...things.”
Things? Tyler swallowed hard. There was a lot to this baby-having business he hadn’t considered before.
“Amelia Kennedy?” the nurse called from the doorway.
Amelia got up and slung her purse over her shoulder. Despite his trepidations, Tyler followed her to the doorway, pausing only when the nurse smiled at him and held up her hand to stop him.
“Sir, we’re going to take her back to change, get her health history and do a quick pelvic exam. If you’d prefer, I can come back for you when that’s done and the doctor is ready to do the ultrasound and chat with you both.”
“Absolutely,” he said, looking visibly relieved.
Amelia smiled and patted his shoulder. “Saved by the nurse. It shouldn’t be long. Read some parenting magazines.”
Tyler nodded blankly and returned to his seat. About a half hour later, the same nurse returned and waved him over. He followed her through a maze of corridors, finally stopping at an exam room with a closed door. She knocked softly and entered.
He paused just as he crossed over the threshold into the domain of the female. Amelia was lying back on the table with her feet up. She had a paper sheet draped over her, but his eyes still widened as he took it all in. “The nurse said we were going to do an ultrasound. I thought that meant rubbing gel on your stomach.”
“That’s for later trimesters,” the doctor explained, gesturing toward a stool where he could sit by Amelia’s side. “A transvaginal ultrasound gives us a better picture of what’s going on early in the pregnancy.”
Amelia took his hand and tugged until he sat down. “We’re watching the television screen. Stay north of the sheet and you’ll be fine.”
Tyler nodded and watched the screen intently as the blurry gray images swirled around. A black circle came into focus and inside it, a tiny gray blob that looked a little like a pinto or kidney bean.
“There’s your baby,” the doctor announced.
