Unexpected Chances (Fairshore Series Book 2)

by Christina Butrum

  “Oh, no, Amelia, I’m so sorry,” her mother said into the phone. “Do you need me to come visit you?”

  “No, Mom, I’ll be alright,” Amelia stated. “I just needed to call and tell you.”

  Her mother’s hesitation told her she was upset. Tears fell from Amelia’s eyes as the thought of losing another baby played out in her mind.

  “Mom, is it possible the baby’s still alive?” Amelia asked. She felt foolish for asking such a silly question.

  “It’s rare, but it could happen,” her mother said. “You won’t know until you have a follow-up with the doctor. They’ll have to do an ultrasound to confirm the miscarriage.”

  Amelia nodded. What her mother said made sense. “Okay, I’ll schedule an appointment with Dr. Bohage tomorrow. I want to find out as soon as I can.”

  “That’s a good idea, Amelia,” her mother told her. “Are you sure you don’t want me there?”

  Amelia wiped another tear from her cheek. “It’s not that I don’t want you here, Mom. It’s just I need to figure it all out and get through it. I don’t think I need you by my side for this one. Zach’s doing a good job with that,” she explained to her mother.

  “Okay, well, if you change your mind, I’ll be there,” her mother assured her. “Otherwise, I’m just a call away.”

  “Thanks, Mom,” Amelia said. “I love you.”

  “Love you, too, dear,” her mother said.

  Amelia hung up the phone and debated on calling Bailey. She looked at the clock – 9:42. She wondered if Bailey was still up. She grabbed the phone and dialed Bailey’s new number.

  Bailey answered the phone in a sleepy voice, “Hello?”

  “Bailey, did I wake you up?” Amelia asked. She felt bad for waking her friend.

  Bailey cleared her throat and said, “No, you didn’t wake me. What’s going on?”

  Amelia knew Bailey had lied. She had woke her up. “I think I miscarried.”

  “What? Why do you say that?”

  “I had severe cramps and bleeding. Zach took me to the hospital and Dr. Bohage thinks I might have miscarried,” Amelia explained.

  “Oh, my. I’m so sorry, Amelia,” Bailey stated. “Do you need me there?”

  Amelia smiled. She loved the fact her mother and best friend wanted to be here for her. “No, I think I’ll be fine. Zach is doing a great job with comforting me. He has helped me through this so far.”

  “Are they one hundred percent sure you miscarried?”

  “Well, Dr. Bohage had lab results, but I’m not sure what they told him,” Amelia said. “I want to believe the baby is still alive.”

  “Oh, Amelia, I hope so,” Bailey said. “I’ll pray the baby is fine.”

  “With my last miscarriage, the fetus was pushed out of my body,” Amelia explained. She didn’t feel ashamed or embarrassed for telling her friend this. “This time, I just had blood with no fetus.”

  Bailey sighed. “That might be a good sign.”

  Amelia shrugged her shoulders. “I guess I’ll find out tomorrow with the follow up.”

  “If you need me there, for any reason, call me,” Bailey demanded. “I’ll be there in a heartbeat.”

  Amelia smiled. She felt relieved to know she had a good friend she could count on in a time of need. “Thank you, Bai, I appreciate it.”

  “Try to rest and not think too much about it,” Bailey said. “I’ll be praying.”

  “Thanks, Bai,” Amelia said. “I’ll be praying, too.”

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  The alarm clock loudly beeped next to their bed. Zach grabbed the corner of the blanket and rolled away from Amelia. Amelia slapped at the alarm clock in an attempt to shut it off, but failed. She sat up and shut it off. She nudged Zach. “Zach, wake up,” she said as she elbowed him. “We need to get ready for the doctor appointment.”

  He groaned and rolled onto his back. “Have you made the appointment yet?”

  She rolled her eyes and said, “I’m going to in a minute. I’m sure Dr. Bohage will try to get us in right away.”

  “You go call him, I’ll hop in the shower,” he said as he rolled onto his side.

  “Zach, seriously, get up,” she pleaded.

  “I will. Go make the phone call.”

  She threw the covers back and stood up out of bed. She looked at Zach who was asleep in their bed. She walked down the stairs and into the kitchen. She picked up the phone and dialed her doctor’s number.

  The receptionist answered the phone.

  “I need to make an appointment to see Dr. Bohage for a follow-up,” Amelia stated.

  “What’s the appointment for?” the receptionist asked as she popped her bubble gum.

  Irritated, Amelia said, “A follow-up.”

  “Yes, I got that, but what’s the follow-up for?”

  “Can I just make the appointment or not?”

  “I can schedule your appointment once I know why you need to see the doctor.”

  “A follow-up isn’t a good enough explanation?” Amelia snapped.

  The receptionist sighed. Amelia imagined the receptionist as a young, ditzy blonde girl who chewed her gum and twirled her hair with her finger.

  Frustrated, Amelia said, “I’d like to see him this morning, before noon.”

  Amelia could hear the receptionist typing on the computer’s keyboard. Within a minute, the receptionist said, “He’ll be able to see you in a half hour. Will you be able to make it here by then?”

  “Yes!” Amelia nearly shouted in the phone.

  “What’s your name?”

  “Amelia Edwards. I’ll be there soon,” Amelia confirmed. Before she hung up, she said, “Thank you.”

  She hung up the phone and raced up the stairs as fast as her body allowed her to. She reached the top landing of the stairs and looked at their bed. Zach had made their bed and was now in the bathroom. She walked to the bathroom door and knocked on it.

  “Come in,” Zach called out.

  “No time for games, Zach,” Amelia said through the door. “We have an appointment in a half hour.”

  “Okay, I’ll hurry,” Zach assured her.

  She hurried to her closet and grabbed a pair of loose-fitting jeans out and a hooded sweatshirt. She wanted to be comfortable.

  Within ten minutes, she was dressed and Zach had finished his shower. She waited for him downstairs in their living room. He walked to the front door and put his shoes on.

  “Ready?”

  Amelia nodded. “I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.”

  He held out his hand and she interlocked her fingers with his. She let him guide her to the car. As much as she felt in a hurry, she still felt the need to take it slow. She wasn’t sure if she was ready to face the truth or not.

  * * *

  “The doctor mentioned you may have had a miscarriage? Is that correct?” the young nurse asked as she shut the exam room’s door.

  Amelia nodded. “Yes, that’s right.”

  The nurse flipped open the patient chart folder and examined it. “It says here that you have had a previous miscarriage within the last two years,” she said as she looked at Amelia for confirmation.

  Amelia nodded slowly and swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat. “Yes, I did have one miscarriage.”

  The nurse used her pen and marked something down in Amelia’s chart. She looked at Zach and back to Amelia. She pointed her pen at Zach and asked Amelia, “Is he the potential father?”

  “Yes, I am,” Zach stated. Amelia could see he was annoyed. “Is the doc going to be in here soon?”

  The nurse’s eyes were wide as she looked at Zach. She refocused her attention on Amelia and said, “Just a few more questions before the doctor can see you.”

  Amelia nodded. She refrained from getting annoyed. The nurse was doing her job like she was supposed to.

  “Is there any chance you could have an STD?”

  Amelia gave the nurse a puzzled look. She was confused why the nurse had to ask
this question.

  “An STD is a sexually transmitted disease,” the nurse announced as she tapped her pen on the paperwork.

  “I know what an STD is, and no, there’s no chance I could have a disease,” Amelia confirmed. “You have my chart, look through it. I was just in here a couple of months ago for a follow-up after I had my gallbladder removed.”

  The nurse nodded and checked something off on the sheet. The emotionless expression from the nurse irked Amelia. She wondered why the nurse didn’t have any empathy.

  “What does this have to do with a miscarriage?” Zach asked as he lost his patience.

  The nurse eyed him for a minute before she responded. “Sexually transmitted diseases can cause a spontaneous abortion.”

  Zach shook his head as he said, “There’s no way Amelia or I have an STD.”

  The nurse nodded again as she wrote something on the paper. She looked at Amelia and asked, “When did the bleeding and cramping stop?”

  “A little over an hour after we got home from the hospital.”

  The nurse wrote this down. She flipped the chart closed and walked to the wall to grab the blood pressure cuff and stethoscope. “I have to take your vitals before the doctor sees you. This will only take a minute.”

  Amelia nodded.

  “Your blood pressure and pulse are fine,” the nurse said as she wrote the vitals down on the paper. She walked to the door and opened it. She turned to Amelia and said, “The doctor will be with you shortly.”

  Amelia exchanged a glance with Zach. His face was beet red. He was annoyed and Amelia understood why. The nurse lacked empathy and the way she had asked the questions was downright rude.

  A knock on the door alerted them. The door creaked open and Dr. Bohage entered the room. “Good morning,” he greeted as he grabbed the chart from the desk. He opened it and examined the nurse’s notes. He looked at Amelia and asked, “How are you feeling this morning?”

  “I feel fine. The cramps and bleeding stopped an hour or so after we got home,” Amelia confirmed.

  “I think I’m going to schedule an ultrasound,” Dr. Bohage stated. “That way we can go from there.”

  Amelia nodded in agreement. Anxiety rose inside of her. She was not sure if she was ready to find out if she had lost their baby or not. She fanned her face with a magazine that had sat on the table next to her.

  Dr. Bohage picked up the phone and requested an ultrasound to be done on Amelia. He hung up the phone and turned to Amelia. “They can do an ultrasound now if you’d like?”

  Amelia nodded. Dr. Bohage guided Amelia and Zach to the room where the ultrasound would be done. “Have a seat here, someone will be out to get you when they’re ready,” he said as he pointed to a set of chairs. “When you’re finished here, come back to my office, please?”

  Amelia and Zach nodded. Zach reached for Amelia’s hand and held it until a lady with short brown hair and glasses came into the hallway. “Amelia Edwards?”

  Amelia stood and reached for Zach’s hand. He interlocked his fingers with hers and walked beside her into the ultrasound room.

  The radiologist directed her to lift her shirt. She squirted gel onto her belly and smoothed it around. The monitor beeped and the screen lit up. Amelia watched the screen. On the screen, a cluster of black and white fuzz clouded the view. Amelia had no idea what to look for. She squeezed Zach’s hand as he sat next to her. She laid as still as she could as the radiologist moved the ultrasound probe back and forth across her stomach.

  “Interesting,” the radiologist said.

  Panic shot through Amelia. She looked at Zach, who illustrated the same look of panic on his face. They both asked the radiologist, “What? What is it?”

  The radiologist shook her head.

  Frustration and annoyance crossed Amelia’s face. She wondered why the radiologist would say something and not explain why she said it. “What’s interesting?”

  The radiologist looked at the screen and moved the probe closer to the lower part of Amelia’s stomach. With her free hand, she pointed at the picture of a baby. It was small and not as clear, but Amelia could see the outline of their baby. The radiologist pressed into Amelia’s stomach with the probe and they watched the screen. The baby moved its arm.

  Amelia about choked on her words as she shouted, “The baby just moved! Did you see that?” She looked at the radiologist and asked, “The baby moved, didn’t she?”

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Amelia and Zach were guided back to Dr. Bohage’s office after the ultrasound was completed. They were told Dr. Bohage would look at the ultrasound and be with them shortly.

  Amelia sat in the chair next to Zach. “Am I crazy? I wasn’t the only one who seen the baby move, was I?”

  Zach shrugged. “I thought I had seen the baby move, too.”

  Amelia sighed. “I wish the radiologist could’ve said something!” She raised her voice.

  “Amelia, calm down. She has a job to do. I’m sure giving false hope isn’t in her job description,” Zach said.

  Amelia leaned away from him and eyed him. “False hope? Is that what you call it?”

  “I’m not going to argue. You know what I meant,” Zach stated.

  “False hope, because if she would’ve said she had seen the baby move, it would’ve got our hopes up?” Amelia asked. She did not want to hear his explanation. All she cared to hear is if he had seen the baby move or not. “You think I’m crazy?”

  Zach shook his head. “That’s not what I’m saying at all. I’m only saying…”

  Amelia moved away from him. She stood up and paced the length of the room. “I know what you’re saying.”

  “I’m only saying it’s not her job to confirm whether the baby is dead or alive,” Zach said with emotion in his voice.

  Amelia’s gut twisted as he said the words. She quickly sat next to him. He placed his hand on her leg and squeezed it. She realized he was just as anxious as she was. It was not fair to him for her to argue with him. It wouldn’t be fair, not now, not ever.

  “I’m sorry,” Amelia apologized.

  “Don’t apologize,” Zach said. “We’re in the same boat. We’ll get through this, I promise.”

  He squeezed her leg and let go. She reached for his hand and weaved her fingers gently in his.

  Dr. Bohage knocked once on the door and stepped into the room. “I have the results of the ultrasound. I have to say I’m surprised with the results.”

  Hope overcame Amelia and Zach. They sat anxiously in the chairs and waited for the doctor to explain why he was surprised by the results.

  “She’s as healthy as she could ever be at the moment,” Dr. Bohage said. When he received no response from Zach or Amelia, he confirmed, “She’s alive and well. So far, so good.”

  * * *

  “The doctor told us everything is fine!” Amelia announced into the phone. “He said she’s healthy!”

  “A girl?!” her mother shouted into the phone. Amelia heard her mother tell the news to her father. Both parents were thrilled with the news. “Oh, my gosh, Amelia, that’s wonderful news! So thankful for answered prayers!”

  “I know, Mom, we’re thankful, too,” Amelia said. “I have to let you go and call Bailey. She’s going to be excited to hear the news, too.”

  “Okay, dear,” her mother said. “I’ll talk to you later.”

  “Love you,” Amelia said.

  “We love you, too, Amelia Jean,” her mother said.

  Amelia hung up and then dialed Bailey’s number. Bailey answered on the fourth ring.

  “Hello?”

  “Bailey, I’m still pregnant!” Amelia announced. “She’s alive and healthy! Dr. Bohage confirmed it with an ultrasound today!”

  Excitement filled the phone line as Bailey shrieked with joy. “Did he say everything will be okay?”

  “Yes, he has no doubts things will be okay. He thinks the bleeding and cramps was some random fluke and he doesn’t think it’ll happen again.�
��

  “Amelia, I’m thankful our prayers were answered!”

  “We’re extremely thankful,” Amelia stated.

  “We’ll have to get together soon to celebrate!”

  “I’m sure my mother is planning a baby shower as we speak,” Amelia confirmed.

  “You’re probably right,” Bailey agreed. “Tell Zach congrats. I’ll see you guys soon.”

  “Okay, thanks so much for being here for me, Bai,” Amelia stated.

  “No need to thank me, that’s what friends are for,” Bailey reassured her. “I can’t wait to spoil that little girl.”

  “I’ll give you a call later or tomorrow, okay?”

  “Sounds good, but I want you to relax. You need to take it easy,” Bailey demanded.

  “I will. I’ll talk to you later.”

  Amelia hung up the phone and looked at Zach. He sat on the couch in the living room as he watched her.

  He stood up and walked toward her. He swung his arms around her and twirled her in a circle. He gently lifted her off her feet and shouted, “We’re having a girl!”

  Amelia squealed, “Yes! We’re having a girl!”

  Zach grabbed the keys off the counter and grabbed her arm. “Let’s go to the furniture store and check out cribs and baby dressers.”

  Amelia’s gut twisted. “I think it’s a little too soon for that just yet.”

  Zach stopped by the door and smiled. “Amelia, I know you’re still having fears, but let’s go. You heard the doc. Everything’s going to be okay.”

  Amelia nodded and said, “You’re right. Let’s go.”

  He grabbed her hand and guided her to the car. Once they were buckled in, he drove them to the furniture store. “And I’ve heard this Gallagher’s Furniture store has a lot of great options to choose from.” He winked at her as he guided the car into the parking lot.

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Zach and Amelia had planned to invite her parents, Bailey, and Benny to their house to celebrate their pregnancy. Her parents arrived the night before the big day of celebration. Bailey and Benny had shown up bright and early the morning of the day.