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“Thank you.”
“I want you to do more of the self-care. I also want to know how your relationship is now with the man you met.”
I looked at the doctor, then down to my feet. “At the moment, I am not sure. He was just out of a terrible relationship as well. We both were on a healing path. At the end of the summer, my mom got sick, and I left Eastport. He’d already told me he was moving out of Eastport. We saw one another three weeks ago or so, and we have spoken through text.”
“I see. Does he know about the baby?”
When I didn’t answer him right away, he put his pen down and looked at me. “Bella? Does he know about the baby?”
I shook my head. “No. I haven’t told him yet. Not sure I am going to.”
“I see. Why is that? Do you not think he has a right to know?”
“He, um, he told me he doesn’t want children.”
Doctor Love nodded, then stood up from behind his desk and came around, leaning on the front of it. “Well, there’s lots of time for you to tell him if you change your mind. I think the best thing is for you to take some time and think about it. Don’t just decide not to tell him because he doesn’t want children. His opinion may change.”
“No, it won’t.”
“Bella there isn’t a rush to decide. You have time. Now, I’d like to take your weight and blood-pressure. Then I will have you get changed into this robe for your physical exam.”
Doctor Love assured me that everything was fine and booked me in for my next appointment. I left the office feeling better than I had when I arrived and headed to my car. As I climbed in, I placed my purse on the passenger’s seat and dropped the appointment card in the cupholder. I did up my seatbelt and then looked down at the appointment card. The date for my next appointment was staring back at me. As I sat there, I realized I didn’t know how I felt. I was angry; I was upset; I was excited. These feelings flooded my body. I knew I had the support of Brielle and Sawyer. However, their support didn’t mean anywhere near what Asher’s would have meant.
There was no point in dwelling on it. He’d only know if I told him, and right now I’d decided against that. I had a lot of things to get organized before I started back to work. I put the key into the ignition, turned on my favourite radio station, and pulled out of the lot, heading toward my condo.
Asher
October
I droppedmy keys into the dish I kept at the front door and kicked off my sneakers. I’d gotten up early this morning to go for a run. It was my first day off in two months, and as much as I missed my practice when I wasn’t working, I hadn’t realized how much I’d needed some time off. The last couple of months had been stressful.
It appeared Dr. Kavanaugh had been behind on many appointments, and it had been hell trying to catch up. Every single day, Marie had booked me solid with appointments. I was hoping things would be slow to start; however, I’d gone at warp speed every day with no signs of things slowing down. I’d been so overbooked that I ended up needing to find an OB/GYN to hire to help with the overflow, plus to help me with the intake of new patients. With that simple change, I’d finally been able to take a day off.
Stripping off my sweat filled T-shirt, I made my way to the bathroom and turned on the shower. I quickly checked my phone, hoping that perhaps Bella had left me a message, but once again, there was nothing. Despite all that had gone on in the last couple of months, work hadn’t been the only thing to stress me out. It bothered me that I’d thought of Bella every single day since she’d left, with those thoughts getting stronger since I’d been in Columbus and spent the weekend with her.
She’d never know it, though. I’d messaged her a grand total of four times since I’d left. Four times, it was horrible for me to claim I cared for her. Anyone who looked at the situation would say I only wanted another romp in the sack. I didn’t even know if the messages had gone through. For all I knew, she could have changed her number, especially if she’d stayed in Columbus. I’d been so busy with work, I hadn’t even had time to stop over at The Cooling Rack. Even though I knew she wouldn’t be there, I could have at least inquired with Brielle. Surely, she would have heard something.
I figured today was as good of a day as any to make that change. I showered, quickly ate breakfast, and then made my way to The Cooling Rack. I had to go into town anyway, as I needed to do some errands.
I pulled into the parking lot. The place was a mess when I walked inside. Dirty dishes were on every table, and the two kids behind the counter didn’t seem to care that people were waiting for a seat. Surely, Brielle wasn’t here either, if this was the state of the place.
“Can I help you?” the kid behind the counter asked as the other grabbed a bus pan and headed out onto the floor, beginning to clear off the tables and wipe them down.
“Yeah, I’ll take a large coffee, and I was wondering if Brielle was here?”
“She isn’t here at the moment, but she should be back in shortly,” the kid said, placing a paper cup on the counter.
“I think I’ll take one of those blueberry scones as well. Also, please put my coffee into a mug. I’m going to just take a seat and wait for Brielle to come in.”
The kid looked at me, rolled his eyes, and dumped my coffee into a mug. Then he grabbed a scone from the display case and dropped it onto a plate and put it on the counter.
I’d just sat down and bit into the scone when out of the corner of my eye I was sure I spotted Bella. I looked and, sure enough, walking beside Brielle was Bella. Excitement built in me as I watched them approach the front of the building. I was about to get up and go greet them, but they walked right by the front door.
As they walked by the window, I took in her face. She looked upset, and she was talking frantically, her hands flying around as Brielle listened intently. I wanted to know what it was she was saying. They walked by and continued on their way to the side of the building. They must have been going in the back way, I thought to myself.
I took a sip of my coffee. I could wait, I thought. I had nowhere to be. Not today, anyway. I’d just finished my scone when Brielle stepped through the door. She spoke to the gentlemen who had served me. He said something to her, and her eyes met mine. I waved, only she didn’t wave back. Instead, she said something else to the kid and then went back into the kitchen.
A few minutes later, she reappeared and made her way over to my table. “Hey, Asher. How are you? Benny said you wanted to see me.”
