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“Are you still wanting to know the gender?” Dr. Ellison asked.
Laurel looked away from the monitor to Paul, but he kept his gaze on the screen. “Yes,” he murmured again. She forgot sometimes that he wasn’t as connected to the baby. Laurel felt her every move, and she weighed on her physically and mentally and emotionally twenty-four seven.
But for Paul, he didn’t get to experience any of that. Laurel had him feel the baby move whenever she did and he was home, but it was different.
“Yes,” Laurel said, and Dr. Ellison looked back and the screen.
“She’s on her back,” she said. “Being shy, but her spine looks great.” She continued to detail the lines and parts of the baby. “Good, strong heartbeat. Let’s see…if we can’t get her to turn…” She pressed a little harder on Laurel’s belly, and she automatically tensed against it.
The baby did indeed roll, and Dr. Ellison said, “There you go, baby.”
Laurel had such an odd sensation of feeling the baby move inside her and seeing it on the screen too. Paul chuckled and leaned down to kiss her forehead.
“Oh, there we see it,” Dr. Ellison said. “See this right here?” She indicated a body part protruding from the baby’s body. “That’s your son’s penis.”
A sense of relief Laurel hadn’t anticipated filled her. She’d told Paul numerous times she didn’t care if their baby was a boy or a girl, and she didn’t. At the same time, she wasn’t sure how to deal with girls and all of their feminine issues. She herself didn’t feel very feminine, and as her eyes filled with tears, she realized she’d been secretly hoping for a boy.
The problem now would be the name. They still didn’t have a male name they both liked, but Laurel couldn’t keep the smile from her face.
Dr. Ellison said everything looked great with the baby, and she wiped the gel from Laurel’s belly. She and Paul pulled down her shirt together, and he offered her a hand to help her sit up. She couldn’t have done it herself, so she appreciated the help, and she got to her feet as the baby—her son—settled on her sciatic nerve and pain shot down to her ankle.
She hissed out a slow breath as Paul put his hand on her lower back and Dr. Ellison said she should come back in a month to see how things were going. “Vitamins okay?” she asked.
“I need more,” Laurel said.
The doctor nodded and started writing a scrip. “What else, Laurel? Are you sleeping?”
“Okay,” she said at the same time Paul said, “No, she doesn’t.”
Their eyes met, and his eyebrows raised. “You don’t,” he said. He faced the doctor again. “She tosses and turns a lot. Sometimes she gets up and can sleep for an hour or so on the couch. She’s tired all the time.”
Dr. Ellison wore concern in her eyes. “I can give you a light sleeping aid,” she said.
“No,” Laurel said, firm on this. “I don’t want to take anything.” She shook her head. “I’m trying to do some meditation and calming mind methods before I go to bed. I ordered one of those massage guns. But I don’t need any medication.”
“Partner massage is a good idea too,” Dr. Ellison said. “Paul seems very attentive.” She gave him a smile, because he was one of the most personable people in the world, and everyone loved him. “I’m sure he’ll rub your feet or back.”
“He does,” Laurel said, tucking herself into his side.
“Eat earlier in the day,” Dr. Ellison said. “Reduce naps.”
“She doesn’t nap,” Paul said. “I keep telling her to.”
“I’m going to today,” Laurel said, hipping him. She didn’t like talking about herself like this, as if she could change everything wrong with herself while she stood here in the doctor’s office, the scent of machines and gel hanging in the air.
“Other than being tired, you’re doing okay?” Dr. Ellison asked.
“The heartburn chews have helped a lot,” Laurel said. She’d also been avoiding spicy foods, and that had helped too. Sometimes, nothing helped, but the image of Laurel’s son streamed through her mind, and she knew any amount of heartburn was worth the little boy growing inside her.
“All right,” Dr. Ellison said. “Call me with anything.” She handed the prescription for the prenatal vitamins to Paul and opened the door. She held it for them while they left, and Laurel rested one hand protectively on her belly as she walked out of the building.
In the car, Paul started the ignition and the air conditioning started to blast into the vehicle. “A boy,” he said with wonder. A huge smile filled his face. “I can’t believe it.”
“I’ve been pregnant for six months,” Laurel said dryly. “You knew we were having a baby.”
“It’s just so…real now.” He looked at her, and Laurel loved the light in his eyes. “Are you going to call your mom?”
“Yes,” she said.
