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My gaze meets a pregnant woman sitting across from us. She scowls at me as she strokes her belly. Another woman sitting diagonal from me scowls while she cradles her baby close. Their gazes lower to the phone in my hand. What the- Why are they so upset I am making a phone call? It’s not like I’m speaking loudly or making a scene.
Then I see on the wall near the receptionist’s desk that there is a no cellphone sign. Why would they have a no cellphone sign in… My eye widen and my phone lowers. I press the hang-up button and shove it into my pocket, feeling like a complete idiot. Cellphone usage is bad for the baby. Why am I such a fucking idiot? Seth will just have to wait.
There are a couple toddlers playing in front of me. A little boy and girl. I think they’re twins. I smile as I watch them play with the trains, scooting them around on the carpet while another little boy about the same age stacks some blocks. It makes me think of the baby in Rachel’s baby, how soon I will get to meet them and I wonder if they will be more interested in blocks or trains. I can’t help, but feel a little disappointed that the child isn’t mine. Does Rachel want to have another child? Will she want to have one with me?
I suppose it’s too soon to be thinking about such things. She’s currently busy dealing with growing one baby. I doubt she’s thinking about having more kids. Still, I imagine us in our house, with four kids running around, playing in a kiddy pool during the summer months and making snowmen during the winter. As an only child, I’ve always wanted a big family. I wonder if the others are just as interested as I am. We’ve never talked about these things and suddenly I feel like we’ve skipped a very important step in our relationship. What about marriage? Who will get to marry Rachel? Or will we all be symbolically married to her? Will we grow old in that house, or move elsewhere?
“Miss Miller?” The nurse calls with a sweet smile.
I pop up from my chair, feeling very nervous about what the doctor might say. There are so many things that can go wrong, and of course me being me I looked everything up. Rachel walks past me, moving slowly.
“How are you, Rachel?” The nurse asks, her smile dimming as she looks Rachel up and down.
That can’t be a good sign, right? Why is she looking at Rachel like that? I follow her inside, keeping my mouth closed. I’m sure the doctor will tell us if anything is wrong.
“I’m okay,” Rachel says as the nurse closes the door behind us. “I’ve been a bit dizzy.”
“Dizzy, you say?” The doctor says while typing from her desk in the middle of the room. Her gaze slides to us, her brows pinching together as she watches Rachel step on the scale before narrowing on me. “Oh, is this the father?”
Rachel grimaces. “Oh, no, this is Lucas, he’s… a family friend.”
My heart twists and I clench my jaw. I guess I’m a family friend today even though I’m her boyfriend. I suppose I shouldn’t be upset about it. Things can get weird if I’m labelled the boyfriend even though the child isn’t mine. Still, it hurts.
“It’s nice to meet you,” I say, putting on my best charming smile while I shake the doctor’s hand.
“I’m Dr. Nancy Adams, and it’s a pleasure.” Dr. Adams turns to Rachel and she smiles, yet I notice it doesn’t quite reach her eyes. There’s worry there. Fuck. Something must be wrong. “Now, tell me about this dizziness.”
Rachel shrugs as she steps off the scale. “It comes and goes.”
“Do you feel nauseous at all when it happens?” Dr. Adams asks while Rachel sits down and has the nurse take her blood pressure.
Rachel makes a face and shakes her head. “Not really.”
“Have you fainted at all?”
Rachel shakes her head again. “No.”
The nurse makes a face as she writes down a note on, what I can only suspect, is Rachel’s blood pressure.
“Is something wrong?” I ask, feeling uneasy.
Dr. Adams doesn’t say anything as she takes the notes from the nurse. She frowns as she reads it, and for some odd reason I feel like the nurse and the doctor are passing notes back and forth about Rachel. Something has to be wrong. Why else are they being so quiet?
“Well?” I ask when no-one answers me.
Dr. Adams sighs and she turns to Rachel, completely ignoring me. “Your blood pressure has gone up. Quite significantly.”
“What does that mean?” I ask.
Dr. Adams shrugs. “It could be nothing, but we’ll run some tests just to make sure everything is going well.”
“Is the baby okay?” Rachel asks and I notice the slight quiver in it.
“Shall we have a look?” Dr. Adams asks while standing up and moving toward the bed.
She pats it and I watch as Rachel moves from the chair to jump up on the bed. She moves her dress up, exposing her high waisted underwear. Everyone ignores me while the doctor takes out some cream and places it on Rachel’s belly. Then, Dr. Adams takes some sort of plastic stick thing I’ve only seen in movies and presses it against Rachel’s belly. The screen nearby lights and all my worries grow as I take in the image of the baby inside.
Dr. Adams smiles. “Your baby is fine, Rachel. You’re doing really well.”
