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Big Mike and Roberta looked at each other with a smirk, shrugging their shoulders.
“If Tina wants to cook, let her,” Roberta said. “I’ve had about all I can take today.”
“What were you going to fix?”
“Oh no you don’t. You wanna cook? Look in the fridge and figure it out. I’m taking my grandson into the den to watch cartoons.”
“But he’s not reallyyourgrandson, is he,” Tina stated.
“Ignore her,” Roberta whispered to Bridget. “She’s an idiot.”
Cringing, there it was again, the word that made Bridget’s skin crawl. Moving her hands down over her belly, she hoped so badly that her baby was going to be okay, hating it that Roberta’s thoughtless words would make her think of her baby. She was in protection mode, the mother tiger she would become exposing herself a little bit.
Baby girl will be fine.
The week between Christmas and New Year was regroup week for the Saints. Big Mike, Tony and his brothers redoubled their efforts to get the house on Seacrest back to its original condition before the fire.
“I don’t even care about a new kitchen now,” Bridget proclaimed. “A working bathroom and a microwave to heat up bottles and I’m good to go.”
“We can do better than that,” Tony said. “We’re getting the electrical in place this weekend, and once that’s finished, everything else will fall into place.”
“How did I get so lucky?” she murmured, slipping into his arms.
“How didIget so lucky, you mean,” he replied, then looked down. “I’m getting kicked in the gut, but other than that, everything is perfect.”
“She has been so active lately.”
“You’re almost in your third trimester, time for another ultrasound.”
“I could have one, but I don’t see the value in it, honestly.”
“You should have one, Bridget. Just for peace of mind.”
Oh yeah,she thought.I’ll have one, but not when you’re around.
Purposely making the appointment on Friday evening when Tony was at work, Bridget trembled with apprehension driving to the office. Once inside, the nurse noticed Bridget was nervous as she weighed her and took her vital signs.
“Bridget, are you okay today?” the kind woman asked. “I took care of you through your pregnancy with Flynn. You’re not yourself.”
“There was a sign my baby might have Down syndrome, and I’ve been avoiding it. I haven’t even discussed it with the baby’s father. I refused further testing and the twenty-week ultrasound. I don’t think I would cope knowing ahead of time. But it’s unfair of me to keep this from Tony.”
The nurse leafed through the chart. “You’re seeing Gloria today, the nurse practitioner. Let’s ask her for some insight.”
“Okay,” Bridget said, relief washing over her.
The dream of her baby might change dramatically if she asked more questions. Was that what she wanted? Wouldn’t it be better to find out at delivery? That was the big question. How would she cope in the coming weeks? How would she prepare?
Gloria listened to Bridget spill her heart out, holding her hand while she talked.
“I have your latest blood work right here. Because of the results of the first trimester ultrasound, we ran a test at twenty weeks that we can compare with the early blood test. It will give us an idea of the probability of your baby having trisomy 21. It’s an extra chromosome.”
“I know that. I Google.”
“Please don’t anymore,” Gloria replied, smiling. “It won’t be helpful. If you must go online, there are some wonderful blogs where parents of children with Down syndrome share their experiences. You’ve spent months processing the unknown. You’ll get to the point where you can’t do anything else until you see her at birth.”
“I’m there now. I’m ready for answers. I’m ready to share the news, if any, with Tony.”
“Okay, this will just take a moment.” Gloria turned her back, giving her privacy for a few more minutes.
