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“Where’s Dad anyway?”
“In the waiting room. Said he’s not taking any chances on seeing anything he’s not supposed to.” She picks up the magazine Damon left behind.
A doctor who is not Dr. Griffin walks into the room with the nurse who’s been helping me. He scans the room before his attention lands on me. I want to point at myself and say, “Me, I’m the patient.”
“I’m Dr. Porter, the doctor on call. You called Dr. Griffin and told her you were here, correct?”
I nod. “Yes.”
“I’m sure she’s en route then. I’m just going to do a quick exam to see if you’re dilated.” He glances at the machines I’m hooked up to. “Everything on the monitors looks good. How are the contractions?”
While I answer, he goes over to the sink and washes his hands. Putting on gloves, he looks around the room again, as if maybe he’s missed Damon Siska, the Grizzlies wide receiver, being in here. Does he think Damon’s hiding behind the curtain? As though he’s going to pop out and yell surprise? Seriously, I’m getting annoyed.
The nurse puts my legs in the stirrups and glances between my legs. Maybe if I told him Damon Siska’s tongue was just on my vagina, it’d make this doctor more eager to pay attention to me.
He takes a seat on the stool at the end of the bed, does his exam, and slides away, taking off his gloves. “You’re a couple of centimeters dilated, so you have some time. I expect contractions to start getting worse. Did you want an epidural?”
What I want is Dr. Griffin. Not this man, who seems more worried about seeing my baby daddy than taking care of our actual baby.
“I think I want the epidural.” Damon and I discussed it, and he agreed that it’s ultimately my decision what route I want to go. I’d like to have the bragging point of being able to say I did it without the drugs, but I know my limits.
“Good choice. Especially if…” He looks around the room once again.
“Damon’s not here, okay? He’s in the building, and you’ll probably see him at some point, but he’s not hiding from you,” my mom says. “And I can tell you one thing, he wouldn’t be happy you’re giving my daughter half your attention when it’shisbaby she’s giving birth to.” My mom crosses her arms and stares at the doctor.
I bite my cheek to keep from laughing. Guess I wasn’t the only one who noticed.
“My apologies, it’s just rare that… anyway, you are right.” His cheeks are a little red now with embarrassment. Good. “I’m one hundred percent focused on you until Dr. Griffin gets here.”
“The cafeteria sucks.” Damon walks back into the room. “So, you’re not missing anything.” He’s busy staring at his phone.
The doctor’s jaw slowly opens, and his head falls back to look up at Damon since he probably has him by a foot.
“Damon, meet Dr. Porter. He’s the interim until Dr. Griffin gets here,” I say.
Damon looks up and stuffs his phone in his pocket. “Good to meet you. Everything is okay?” He looks at me instead of the doctor.
I give him a small smile and nod.
“Good, and our privacy is protected under HIPAA, right? I don’t need you to sign an NDA?”
My head falls back on the pillow. Damon and his legal stuff.
“Of course, HIPAA protects you,” Dr. Porter stutters, because now he seems seriously starstruck. Must be a big football fan, I guess.
“Good.” Damon sits in the chair beside my mom.
And then the worst pain of my life contracts my uterus, and I shout in pain. Yup, I will definitely be getting that epidural.
Chapter15
Damon
The sound that flies out of Adeline’s mouth makes it sound as if she’s being eaten alive. I spring up from the chair, my phone dropping on the floor, and I rush to her side.
“This is normal. All good signs.” Dr. Porter, who I can tell is more into me than his patient, smiles.
Adeline’s eyes widen, and she arches her back, hands on her stomach. “Holy hell!” She looks at her mom with an expression of, “Is this really what this is like?”
