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The tightness is my chest was easing, and I took a full breath. “I know, but I wanted to. I promise I’m not all hung up on it.”
He nodded again, and I just felt—okay. That was all I needed.
A moment later, we were walking in, and the receptionist smiled at me, her eyes bouncing curiously to Chase.
“I'm here for my appointment. Hallie Thomas.”
“Yep. Just a sec. Let me check you in.” She typed on her keyboard. “Any updates for insurance?”
“No changes.”
“Okay, have a seat. Dr. Williams will be with you shortly.”
We sat down, and I looked around. At the moment, no one else was waiting. Chase glanced over at the magazine rack and then back at me. “Wow.”
“Wow, what?”
“It’s all parenting or health magazines. These aren't the kind of magazines I see in my doctor's office.”
I burst out laughing. “It’s usually women here unless they're bringing a guy with them.”
Just then, the door to the back hallway where all the offices were opened, and my doctor peered out. “Hey, Hallie. Come on back.” She waved us toward her.
We stood together. I didn't know what to think about the fact that I reached for Chase’s hand, relieved to discover he was reaching for me at the same time. My doctor’s eyes dipped down to our clasped hands when we approached her.
“This is Chase,” I said.
She held a computer tablet in her hands and dipped her chin in a nod. “Nice to meet you, Chase. I'm Dr. Williams.”
Chase smiled. “Nice to meet you too.”
“Come on back,” she added as she turned to lead us down the hallway.
My heart was thumping hard in my chest. It was weird to have a baby inside me. For my entire life, I was accustomed to feeling my own body have reactions. Now, whenever something happened, I felt like I could also feel my baby's response. The rush of blood felt different through my system. We walked down the hallway, which had cream-colored walls and soothing watercolor paintings. Our footfalls were muted on the thin carpeting.
Dr. Williams turned into a doorway, and we walked into the exam room. “Here we go. So let's have a seat first.”
Chase and I sat together on the only two chairs against the wall, and she sat on a low stool that had an attached desk with a computer screen mounted on it. She set her tablet down and shifted the computer screen to look at it before smiling.
“Chase is the father,” I said quickly.
“Okay. I'm glad you're here. How do you two want to handle this appointment? I need to do an exam. Do you want him in here for that? He can be here for the whole thing if you’d like.”
“That's fine,” I said quickly. I'd already thought this part through. We'd had sex. This was no big deal.
Dr. Williams nodded. “We're going to do the ultrasound so you can find out the baby’s gender.”
“Today?” I squeaked. “We thought there would be an official appointment for that.”
She smiled. “I mentioned it, but it’s possible you have a lot on your mind and it didn’t sink in,” she explained with a warm smile before adding, “You’re eighteen weeks along now. The big question is do you two want to know your baby’s gender? Have you had this conversation?”
“Yes. We decided we want to know,” I said. We’d had that convo via text with a phone follow-up, and I was grateful we’d thought ahead.
She smiled. “Okay. That's a relief. I don't mind keeping the secret, but it's nice when I don't have to worry about it. Every so often, I've slipped up by accident.” Chase grinned. “It’s not like I announce it. I have to be careful to call the baby, the baby all the time. This makes it easier. All right, well, let me go over what we do at these upcoming appointments. As long as Hallie wants you here, you are welcome at any of the appointments, but I’ll always defer to her.”
“Completely understood,” Chase said with a nod.
“They're kind of boring. This is the most exciting one,” she offered.
