AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Cade stands next to me, watching Dr. Esher as she squeezes cold jelly on my stomach and starts pushing down with a small wand. I’ve been quietly dreading this appointment. What if something is wrong? What if they were wrong last time? It’s only been a month. Four short weeks. But it only took the first beat of her heart on the very first day for my entire world to tilt on its axis, and I’ve spent those four weeks since that moment figuring out how I needed that world to look, so I could give my daughter the best life.
She’s surpassed every other priority I had.
She’s it now.
She’s the priority.
It only takes a minute before a quick, strong heartbeat fills the room, and overwhelming relief fills my body.
Cade’s fingers grasp mine, and he squeezes, then wipes away the tears I didn’t realize were falling down my face.
The doctor moves the wand around and pushes a little harder. “That’s a good, strong heartbeat. Everything looks good in there.”
Cade bends down and kisses my forehead, then leans his head against mine.
The move surprises me.
It’s intimate.
I don’t hate it.
I kinda wish I did.
The doctor wipes my stomach clean, then moves back to her computer. “Well, everything looks good with the baby, but I’d like to take your blood pressure again.” She sets the cuff on my arm and presses a button to start the process.
“Why do you need to do this again? Is something off with my blood pressure?”
She waits until it’s done before recording the numbers and finally answering me. It seems like it takes hours but is probably less than sixty seconds.
“I wanted to make sure the reading the nurse got earlier was right. I’m a little concerned with your blood pressure, Scarlet. You’ve always been right around one ten over seventy. But you were just one forty-eight over eighty-six. And that’s what you were earlier too.”
Cade sits next to me on the table and wraps an arm protectively around my shoulder. “What does that mean, Doc?”
“It means I have some questions. Are you still exercising?”
“Yes. Four to five days a week. Cardio and some light weights with my trainer.”
She nods her head. “Are you eating right? Getting enough sleep?”
“Is there ever enough time in the day to get enough sleep?” I mean, seriously. I’m thirty, not eighty.
“How’s your stress level?”
“I handle crises and make multi-billion-dollar decisions for a living. In my world, that’s not stress. It’s just a Tuesday.”
Dr. Esher looks at me with pity in her eyes, and I want to rip her pretty, blonde hair extensions out. “I want you to try to take it a little easier, Scarlet. I need you to try to watch what you eat. You can maintain your exercise routine for now. But I want you to make sure you get more rest and lower your stress level. Hypertension, this early in the pregnancy, can lead to other complications I’d rather not see you have to deal with.” She turns back to the desk, scribbles something on a pad and hands it to me.
“What’s this?” I ask.
“It’s a type of blood pressure cuff I want you to get. If you need a nurse to help you coordinate with your insurance, just let us know. I want you to take your blood pressure every morning and night and jot down the results for me. I want to see you back in two weeks.”
Cade’s arm has slipped down and is rubbing comforting circles on my back. “What should I be doing to help her, Doc?”
“She needs to rest and control her stress, Mr. St. James. I need you both to know that gestational hypertension is something to be taken very seriously, or it can lead to serious complications to both Scarlet and the baby.”
“What complications?” I don’t do well with maybes and what ifs. I need facts.
Dr. Esher stands from her stool. “Preeclampsia. Hospitalization. Pre-term delivery. We need to make sure we take this seriously and watch your blood pressure, Scarlet. If we aren’t able to control it over these next few weeks, you’re going to spend your pregnancy on bed rest. And I’m sure you’d like to avoid that.”
How am I supposed to cut out stress when I’m about to take over the Revolution?
