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“Vanessa, this is Doctor Summers,” I explain, gently pushing Vanessa farther into the room. I close the door behind us. “She’s going to look you over. Doctor Summers, this is Vanessa. We need to make sure she’s in perfect health to carry Giulio’s children.”
Vanessa casts a pleading look at the doctor, who’s seen it so many times that she doesn’t even bat an eyelash. She knows what’s going on here, and she knows better than to think she can play savior to any of the women who enter this place.
“Sit down, please,” Doctor Summers says, gesturing to the chair next to the table.
The room smells vaguely of harsh disinfectant, and the chair still looks damp from where she had to have wiped it down.
Vanessa glances at me, though she doesn’t even bother to appeal to me for help. She sits down in the chair, grimacing as she immediately gets stuck against the plastic covering.
Doctor Summers picks up a clipboard and pen. “I’ll need your medical history. Who was your primary care provider in Benton City?”
“Um. I didn’t have one.” Vanessa clenches her hands in the oversized shirt she’s wearing.
I sigh and pull the rolling chair closer so I can sit down next to Vanessa. “Please answer the questions, Vanessa. I can find the information through other means, but they’ll be a lot more painful for you, and potentially other people.”
Her eyes widen slightly, like she hadn’t even thought that was a possibility, and I almost chuckle at her naivety. She really doesn’t understand what she’s gotten herself into. Unlike her sister, who had seemed to personifymafia princess, Vanessa feels so…purein comparison.
“Doctor Laurence Page,” she finally mumbles. “My father’s private doctor.”
I smile at her and reach out to stroke her cheek with my knuckles. She flinches, jerking her head to the side, and I let her move away from me.
For now.
“Thank you. Continue, Doctor Summers.”
Doctor Summers nods. “We’ll get your medical records from him, but let’s go through the list anyway. Any history of…” She goes through the usual questions about personal and family health, and Vanessa answers almost rotely. I hope she’s telling the truth, but I’ll find out soon enough once we compare her answers to her other medical records.
“Are you sexually active?” the doctor asks, and Vanessa’s eyes widen now.
“No!” she says quickly, but then she hesitates, like she’s just remembering the night before. Her shoulders slump, and she adds much more softly, “...yes.” She casts a look in my direction that’s borderline accusatory, and I can practically see it when the doctor chooses to ignore the way Vanessa changed her answer to the question.
“Have you had any STIs, such as chlamydia or gonorrhea?” Doctor Summers pauses for a second. “Most of the girls here have, so don’t be ashamed to answer the truth.”
Vanessa looks downright offended. “No! I haven’t. I’ve always been safe.”
I’m glad to hear it. I’m not sure how I would have handled knowing that she’d been… infected… by somebody.
“And what was the date of your last period?” Summers asks.
Vanessa glances at me, biting her bottom lip. “I… two weeks ago?” she says.
I pull out my phone and open the special app I’d downloaded. “It started on…” I give the date, “and ended five days later.”
Vanessa stares at me with wide eyes. “How would you know that?”
I close the app and pocket my phone again. “The trash can in your bathroom at your house contained discarded products.”
“You’ve been keeping track of my periods?” Her voice is high with anxiety.
I nod at her. “Of course. I need to know when you’re most fertile.”
“How long have you beenplanningthis?”
The doctor looks between us, but she doesn’t interrupt.
The answer to Vanessa’s question depends on whether she means planning a child in general, or with her in particular. I’ve always known I wanted to see Giulio’s children, so I’ve been making preparations for that eventuality for a while. But for Vanessa’s specifically…
“I enjoyed talking with you in the days leading up to the wedding,” I say. “And I had hoped Giulio would take a liking to you as well. I only need to be sure you’re viable.”
