“I have something to share that you won’t believe either,” Amelia stated.
“You go first,” Zach said.
”No, you go ahead and tell me first.”
He held up a letter with a check attached to the bottom. “This is the inheritance check.”
Amelia looked down at the check in front of her. With wide eyes, she looked up at Zach. “Is that…” she stuttered, “Is that the correct amount?”
Zach nodded his head. “A quarter of a million dollars.”
Amelia was in shock. She had been in shock when she had read the lawyer’s letter, but now it seemed unreal. She pointed to the check and said, “I can’t believe that.”
“The letter says the estate might be sold and the money will be sent soon,” Zach stated as he held the letter for her to read it.
“Zach, I didn’t think we were going to sell her house.” Amelia was confused. They had not discussed Anna’s estate. They had decided to keep the business, but had not mentioned the estate.
Zach shrugged. “I’m not sure we shouldn’t sell it. We have enough going on to worry about.”
Amelia agreed. “Maybe we should move into her house.”
Anna had lived on an acreage just outside of town with plenty of land to raise kids and animals on.
“Amelia, I love the thought, but I think this house is fine for now,” Zach stated.
“What if we want more kids?” Amelia asked.
“Then we’ll figure it out when that time comes.”
Amelia agreed to disagree. It was his grandma’s estate, so the choice was not hers to make. She trusted him to make the right decision.
Chapter Nineteen
Amelia looked at the calendar. She quickly grabbed her purse and her keys. She had almost forgotten she had a scheduled doctor’s appointment. Dr. Bohage had one of his nurses call her last week to set up a date and time. He needed Amelia there for a bunch of tests; half of them she had already forgotten what they were for.
She turned back to the table and scribbled a quick note for Zach. I’m on my way to doctor’s for an appointment. Love you, Amelia. She slid the note under the napkin holder so it would not fly away. She had mentioned the appointment to Zach, but they had both decided he would stay at work and get things done since the appointment would be minor. The test results would take a few days to get back and Amelia knew there was nothing to worry about.
She arrived on time at the doctor’s office. The receptionist at the front desk welcomed her with a smile. “Here for your latest checkup?”
Amelia smiled. “Yep, the doctor said I needed to come today for a bunch of tests.”
The receptionist nodded and said, “You’re almost due aren’t you?”
“I’m due in October,” Amelia confirmed. “October 28th is my due date.”
The woman flipped the calendar in front of her by her computer screen. “Let’s see, it’s July 25th now, so that means just a few more months.”
She flipped the calendar down and smiled at Amelia. Amelia inhaled a deep breath and let it out. “Yep, it’s going fast.”
“It does seem to go by fairly quick,” the woman stated. “I’ve had three kids and time just flies. When they’re inside and out.”
Amelia pulled her insurance card out of her purse and handed it to the woman who chuckled loudly. The woman reached for the card and looked at it. “Has anything changed with your insurance in the last thirty days?”
Amelia shook her head. “Not that I’m aware of.”
“Then I won’t need to do anything with this,” the woman slid the card onto the desktop toward Amelia. “They don’t have us worry about them unless there are changes.”
Amelia tucked her card back into its slot in her wallet.
“Go ahead and have a seat,” the receptionist pointed to the waiting area. “The nurse will call you when they’re ready to see you.”
Amelia nodded and waddled to a maroon colored chair. She squeezed between the arms of the chair and glanced around for a more comfortable chair to sit in. All of the chairs in the waiting area were the same as the one she sat in. She sat and waited patiently for the nurse to call her name to take her back to an exam room.
She flipped through a Parents magazine and read an article titled Less Sleep, More Activity. The article described how much babies slept and the lack of sleep the parents get. Amelia shook her head and turned the page. She did not want to think about losing sleep at the moment. For the last few months, it had taken everything she had to get out of bed in the mornings. The next page was a picture of a baby and a mother who looked to be juggling between duties of a mother. Amelia smiled. She welcomed the thoughts of being busy with her little girl.
“Amelia Edwards.” A voice called out from the front of the waiting area.
Amelia stood up and tossed the magazine on the table where she had found it. She waddled toward the blonde nurse and smiled.
“How are you feeling today?” the nurse asked.
Amelia read the name tag on the nurse’s blouse, Caroline. Amelia smiled. “I feel fine today.”
“I’m sure you’re just wishing this pregnancy was done with,” the nurse said with a smile on her face. “I know with mine, I just couldn’t wait to have him.”
Amelia shook her head. With the near miss of miscarriage they had had with this pregnancy, and the constant fear of a miscarriage, Amelia was in a slight rush to get to the due date, but she actually enjoyed being pregnant.
“We can’t wait to have her in our arms,” Amelia stated. “But I’m enjoying being pregnant.”
The nurse looked at Amelia like Amelia had something crawling on her face. Amelia smiled. She realized at that moment not everyone enjoys their pregnancies.
The nurse guided Amelia to an exam room and pushed open the door. She directed Amelia to sit on the edge of the exam table. Amelia obeyed the nurse and scooted onto the edge of the table.
“Go ahead and lay back for me, please.” The nurse fluffed the pillow and helped Amelia lay down. She grabbed a cloth ruler and lifted Amelia’s shirt above her stomach. “The doctor wants me to get measurements of the fundal height.”
Amelia raised an eyebrow. “Fundal height?”
The nurse chuckled. “Measuring the fundal height allows us to measure the size of the uterus, fetal growth and development.”
Amelia nodded. “Okay,” she said as the nurse helped her sit up. “How are the measurements today?”
“They are spot on with how far along the doc thinks you are,” the nurse said as she scribbled the measurements onto Amelia’s chart. “Which is a good thing.”
Amelia smiled. “That means the due date is the same as he estimated before?”
The nurse nodded and set the chart on the desk. She opened the drawer and pulled a blood pressure cuff from the drawer. She wrapped it around Amelia’s upper arm and put her stethoscope in her ears. She pumped the cuff up and it squeezed Amelia’s arm. She deflated it little by little until she received the result. “Your blood pressure is good. 124/84.” The nurse tossed the blood pressure cuff and stethoscope into the drawer and closed it. “The doctor will probably want to do an ultrasound to make sure the baby is doing fine.”
Amelia smiled. “The best part of being pregnant is the ultrasound.”
The nurse nodded and opened the door. “I agree. He’ll be in within the next few minutes.”
The door closed behind the nurse. Amelia glanced around the small, plain white room. Doctor offices were creepy. She would have thought they would have painted them to be cheery and colorful.
A knock at the door startled her. The door creaked open and Dr. Bohage walked into the room. “Hi, Amelia,” he greeted her and held out his hand. She shook his hand and waited for him to explain what tests she would be doing today. “How are you feeling?”
“Pretty good.”
“That’s good. Did the nurse tell you what tests I would like done today?”
“She mentioned an ultrasoun
d, but nothing about the other tests.”
Amelia thought about the ultrasound and how Zach was going to miss it. She looked at the desktop where a dull gray colored phone sat. She pointed to the phone and asked, “Do you mind if I call Zach and ask him to come?”
Dr. Bohage smiled and said, “Go ahead. I don’t mind a bit.”
Amelia hopped off the edge of the exam table with assistance from Dr. Bohage. She explained to him, “I didn’t know I was going to have an ultrasound, so we both decided he’d work today and I’d come by myself. I’m sure he wouldn’t want to miss an ultrasound.”
“I’m sure he wouldn’t,” Dr. Bohage stated. He waited patiently for her to make a phone call to Zach.
“Zach, it’s Amelia. We’re having an ultrasound done today,” Amelia told him.
“Okay, I’ll be there in a minute.”
“Okay, love you.” Amelia hung up the phone and clasped her hands together. “He’s on his way.”
Amelia stepped onto the step and scooted onto the edge of the table. Dr. Bohage wheeled his chair out from under the desk. “While we’re waiting for Zach, I’d like to talk about the tests I’m going to do today.”
Amelia listened carefully as Dr. Bohage explained each test to her. He pointed to the chart behind him that hung on the wall. Amelia could see the breakdown of each trimester on the chart. It gave descriptive detail of what to expect in each trimester. Beside the chart hung another chart which described tests to be performed at the doctor’s office for each trimester. Five months was outlined in bold print.
“Even though every month is important in a pregnancy,” Dr. Bohage explained. “Month five is the most important of them all.”
The door opened and the nurse allowed Zach to enter the room. Amelia smiled and pointed to a chair by the desk. Zach sat down and let out a deep breath.
“Hello, Zach,” Dr. Bohage greeted. “I was just telling Amelia about the important tests we have to do today.”
“Alright,” Zach stated. Amelia could tell he was a bit nervous. “Is everything okay with the baby?”
“These are routine tests performed on every pregnancy in its twenty second to twenty eighth week.”
Zach nodded and looked at Amelia. Amelia smiled at him and waited for Dr. Bohage to explain the tests.
“The nurse has already completed two of the most important tests,” Dr. Bohage stated. “Blood pressure and fundal measurement.”
Amelia nodded. “She said they are both great.”
Dr. Bohage nodded. “That, they are,” he said and continued on, “A few other tests I will be getting today include a urine specimen, a blood test, and a multiple marker screening. We will go from there and decide if we should offer you an amniocentesis.”
Amelia and Zach exchanged frightened glances. Dr. Bohage held up a hand and said, “Now, before you two get excited, let me explain.”
Dr. Bohage readjusted in his seat and pointed to the charts behind him. “We use blood pressure as an indicator for preeclampsia. High blood pressure alerts us to the increased risk of it occurring.”
“I don’t have that to worry about,” Amelia stated.
Dr. Bohage shook his head. “With your blood pressure low, I don’t think we’ll have to worry about preeclampsia,” the doctor confirmed. “We’ll also test for gestational diabetes and Down syndrome.”
Amelia’s eyes widened and she looked at Zach. “Down syndrome?”
Dr. Bohage nodded. “Usually a blood test will inform us whether the baby will have Down syndrome or not,” he explained. “But, there are a lot of false positives with the blood test.”
“We do all these tests today?” Zach asked.
Dr. Bohage nodded. “Yes, in fact, they are urine and blood tests,” he explained to Amelia and Zach. “Easy as one, two, and three.”
Zach squeezed Amelia’s hand. Dr. Bohage stood up and grabbed her chart. He placed a hand on Amelia’s shoulder and squeezed. “If you’re ready, I’ll let the lab techs and the radiologist know you’re on your way there. I’ll have my nurse give you a call with the results,” he explained. “If results are good, I’ll see you back in a couple weeks for your next prenatal appointment. Keep taking the prenatal vitamins.”
Amelia nodded. “Okay, thank you.”
Dr. Bohage looked at Zach and back to Amelia. “Do either of you have any questions for me? Sometimes this prenatal checkup can be overwhelming.”
Zach stood up and shook his head. “Nope, I don’t have any questions,” he said. He looked at Amelia and asked, “Do you have any questions?”
Amelia slid off the table and said, “Nope, we’ll see you in two weeks.”
Dr. Bohage smiled and nodded. “Very well. Take care.” He turned to Amelia and pointed at her. “Take it easy and don’t overdo it at work.”
Dr. Bohage patted Zach on the back while Zach smiled proudly. Amelia smiled and shook her head at their playful exchange. She wondered if Zach had mentioned her work habits to Dr. Bohage.
* * *
“Aww, look at her tiny hands and feet,” Amelia said with excitement. She and Zach stared in awe at the small computer screen that showed them their baby girl. Amelia pointed at the screen and said, “It looks like she has her daddy’s nose.”
Zach smiled and said, “There’s no denying that. Looks like a Gallagher nose for sure.”
“She’s definitely a girl,” the radiologist circled an area on the screen, typed it’s a girl, and clicked enter. She moved the ultrasound probe back and forth on Amelia’s stomach. Amelia giggled. “This is the best day ever.”
Zach bent over Amelia and kissed her on the top of her head as he watched the screen. Their baby was no bigger than the palm of Amelia’s hand on the screen, but they could see her attributes. Zach stood speechless beside Amelia as she laid on the small cot next to the ultrasound machine.
Amelia reached up and grabbed his hand on her shoulder. “She’s amazing, isn’t she?”
Amelia looked up at Zach and saw tears had welled up in his eyes. She squeezed his hand and smiled. “Yes, she’s definitely something special.”
The radiologist made a few adjustments to the screen and clicked a button. The screen zoomed in closer to the baby’s face. “We’ll get a few more pictures and then we’ll listen to her heart beat.”
Amelia’s eyes clouded with tears and she held in a cry. Today had to be the best day of her life, other than the day she had moved to Fairshore and had met Bailey and Zach.
“I think she looks like mommy,” the radiologist said.
“We’ll have to see about that,” Zach said with a chuckle.
Amelia laughed and said, “I’d be okay with her looking like you.”
Zach leaned down and pressed his forehead against hers. He rested his lips against hers and said, “And I’d be okay with her looking like you, or both of us.”
Amelia and the radiologist laughed. “Okay, lovebirds, are you ready to hear her heart beat?”
Amelia scooted up and waited for the speakers to blare the heartbeat. They waited patiently as the radiologist made a few adjustments and clicked on a few buttons. Amelia looked at Zach and held in a squeal as she silently clapped her hands.
Within a few minutes, the heartbeat sounded through the speakers. Tears filled Amelia’s eyes and she held a hand over her open mouth. She held back a shriek and squeezed Zach’s hand. She watched as he listened in amazement.
“Her heartbeat is strong and at one forty five a minute,” the radiologist stated. “That’s good news. It looks like she’s going to be a healthy little girl.”
Amelia smiled. The radiologist handed her a towel to wipe the goop off of her stomach. Amelia pulled her shirt down and stood up. “Thank you so much.”
The radiologist smiled and winked at them. “Good luck and congrats to both of you.”
Zach nodded. “Thanks.”
Amelia opened the door and allowed Zach to walk beside her down the hallway.
“What’s next?” Zach asked.
Excitement pinged in his voice.
Amelia pointed down the hallway. “I have to get blood drawn and pee in a cup.”
Zach crinkled his nose and cringed. “Yuck, I’d hate to have their job.”
Amelia rolled her eyes and said, “I’m sure it’s not that bad.”
Amelia stopped outside the lab room door. The lab tech inside the room smiled and waved. She walked to the door. “Are you Amelia Edwards?”
Amelia nodded.
“Then come on in,” the older woman with a long white coat said as she guided Amelia into the room. She pointed to the seat next to the counter and said, “Go ahead and have a seat right there.”
Amelia did as she was told. She sat and clasped her hands together. Sweat pooled on the palms of her hands.
“Are you nervous?”
Amelia chuckled nervously. “A little bit.”
“Oh, there’s nothing to be nervous about,” the lady said. “Unless, of course, you don’t like needles?”
Amelia shook her head. “Oh, no, I’m just thinking about the test results.”
The lady smiled and shook her head. “So many things to worry about these days, huh?”
Amelia shrugged her shoulders.
“When I had my children, we didn’t have to worry about any of this stuff,” the older lady explained. “Sure, it existed, but doctors didn’t test us for everything and anything for just-in-cases.”
Amelia nodded. She wondered how long it had been since this woman had last been pregnant. She imagined more than forty years ago. She smiled at the tech. The tech arranged three tubes on the counter and withdrew a needle from a package. “Ready?”
Amelia shrugged. “Do I have a choice?” she asked with a chuckle. She nodded when the woman did not respond and said, “Ready as I’ll ever be.”
The woman wrapped a blue rubber tourniquet around her upper arm and cleaned the inner part of Amelia’s arm with an alcohol pad in a circular motion. She fanned her hand over the site she had cleaned. She reached and grabbed the needle. After she removed the cap, she said, “You might want to look away.”
Fair Chances (Fairshore Series Book 3) Page 11