Live-In Position

by V. S. Tice

  “I’m happy you chose me.” I smiled, but Victoria shook her head. “I shouldn’t be happy?”

  “No, I didn’t choose you.” She grinned wide. “You were made to be my mommy and you just finally found me.”

  “I see. Thank you for correcting me.”

  After putting her back into her seat and buckling her up, I climbed back into the front. Before pulling away from the curb, I called the school to inform them Victoria would be out for the day. In the rearview mirror I could see her eager and curious eyes watching me, waiting for an explanation. I called Collin to let him know that I would have Victoria with me for the morning. There must have been a definitive tone to my voice because he didn’t question me. We hung up with a loving goodbye after confirming that we would meet at the house before the appointment. I drove to a nearby salon and spa to have a date with my daughter.

  Chapter Thirty

  -NINE

  WITH FRESHLY MANICURED hands and feet we entered the house laughing. Victoria was still trying to imitate the women at the salon. I should have made her stop, but it was just too funny. Collin met us in the foyer with amusement on his face, which turned into laughter when he heard our interaction.

  “Seems you two had a nice morning.” He stepped toward me and kissed me.

  “It was very nice,” I said, smiling at him. He leaned down and kissed Victoria’s head.

  “It was awesome. Look!” Her hands were fingernails-forward in Collin’s face. He flinched back just slightly and looked at her rainbow nails.

  “Those are very pretty.” He turned to me. “Are we ready to go?”

  I looked at my watch. “We still have time.”

  “We should get there early, just to be safe.” He was like an impatient child waiting to open birthday presents.

  “They won’t see me any earlier than my set appointment time,” I chuckled and headed upstairs to clean myself up.

  Stepping inside the bedroom, I suddenly felt clammy and hot. I pulled the collar of my sweater away from my body as nausea swept through me. It wasn’t until I was knees to the tile, bent over porcelain, that I realized this was all self-inflicted. I had only eaten a piece of toast with a small glass of milk this morning. My body was letting me know my mistake.

  In between groans, I heaved and my stomach began to feel sore. As my abdomen muscles began to relax, I sat back on my heels with my elbows on the seat of the toilet. There were a few small spasms, but it wasn’t something I couldn’t control.

  “Mommy,” Victoria’s voice came from the bedroom, “look I matched my…” Her voice died away. “Mommy?”

  As quickly as my body would allow me, I flushed the toilet and moved to the sink. She entered the bathroom as I was splashing cold water on my face.

  “Mommy, are you…eww,” she covered her face with her hand, “it smells in here.” Her voice sounded muffled behind her tiny fingers.

  “Sorry.” My cheeks flushed as I spit the light blue foam into the sink and rinsed it down the drain.

  “Are you okay?” Her brow crinkled. I nodded and rinsed the bristles of my toothbrush.

  “Yes, I just need to eat.”

  “Did you throw up?”

  “I’ll be fine.” Trying to reassure her, I put my hand on her shoulder. “Let’s go get a snack, then we can get ready to go.”

  “I already am ready.” She pulled away from my touch and posed. “Look, I match.”

  “Yes, you do,” I giggled. Victoria stood with a rainbow striped sweater dress and matching leggings. “You’re one big rainbow aren’t you?”

  “I’m your rainbow.” She wrapped her arms around me and squeezed.

  “Yes, you most certainly are. Now let’s go feed the baby.” Taking her hand, I led her through the bedroom door.

  “You mean my baby sister,” she corrected. She released my hand and skipped around me. I shook my head and followed.

  I pulled lunchmeat, cheese, lettuce, pickles, and mayo from the fridge. Victoria brought the wheat rolls from the bread drawer and we made a large sandwich to share. While I cut the sandwich in half, Victoria grabbed sliced carrots and apples from the fridge. We sat next to each other at the bar and dug in.

  “I guess you were hungry,” Collin chuckled, examining my mouth as I chewed on an extra-large bite.

  “Mommy got sick,” Victoria spoke without looking at her father. She bit into her sandwich.

  “Are you okay?” His warm hand on my arm sent a shiver down my spine. I nodded and swallowed.

  “Yes, I’m fine. I hadn’t eaten since this morning, that’s all,” I shrugged.

  “You’re sure that’s all it is?” Long smooth fingers tilted my face up to look at him.

  “I’m sure.” Smiling, I placed my hand on his before turning back to my food.

  “Be sure to tell the doctor about it today.”

  My mouth was still full so I just nodded. The smoky flavor of the turkey breast mixed with the spicy pepperoni caused my taste buds to rejoice—nausea forgotten.

  The waiting room of the doctor’s office was lined with black and gray chairs against the walls. Small tables with health magazines sat at the end of each row. Two women sat waiting.

  We took seats with Collin on my right and Victoria on my left. It was silent for a few minutes while I completed paperwork, until a nurse called for the woman in the business suit to follow her back to the exam room.

  For a moment, my thoughts drifted to Grace. Would Victoria ever know her other sibling? Would Grace ever appear and if she did, would it be to simply cause more drama? Part of me was sad Victoria may never know her brother or sister.

  “Sophia?” My head snapped up when a tall, thin nurse with long, red hair called my name.

  “Yes?” Standing, I approached the open door. Victoria and Collin followed close behind.

  “Come with me.” Her thin lips parted into a bright white smile. Walking by the desk behind the sign-in window, she led us to a large, open room. I caught sight of the scale and groaned.

  “Okay, so I’m going to ask you a couple of questions and then just get your basics.” She approached with a wide black nylon cuff and wrapped it around my arm, pumping it up. “When was your last period?”

  “About three months ago. I don’t really have an exact date. I got the shot, and my cycle changed, mostly only spotting.”

  “You were on the shot?” She looked at me astounded.

  “Yeah, why?”

  She shrugged. “It’s not one hundred percent, but it’s rare to have someone get pregnant while on the shot.” Her attention turned to Victoria. “Are you excited to be a big sister?”

  Victoria’s head nodded. “I’m gonna have a baby sister.”

  “You’re hoping for a girl?” The sinewy nurse smiled in amusement.

  “I know it’s a girl,” Victoria said matter-of-factly.

  Getting on the scale wasn’t as bad as I imagined it would be. The worst part had to be answering all the questions concerning my symptoms. Collin jumped right in to tell the nurse how I got sick most mornings, including right before coming to the appointment today. Victoria decided it was also a good idea to elaborate on how horrible the bathroom smelled.

  The nurse escorted us to the exam room and instructed me to strip down, put on the gown, and take a seat on the table. I looked at Collin hoping he wasn’t going to stay while I changed. When he took a seat with Victoria, I pulled a privacy curtain around me.

  “Are you nervous?” he asked as I changed into the gown.

  “A little bit,” I responded, unsure of how I really felt.

  Collin stood and took my hand just as there was a knock on the door. Dr. Marshall entered the room with a bright smile.

  “Dr. Bishop?”

  “Yes,” Collin answered and extended his hand. They shook firmly but briefly.

  “I wasn’t aware you were, well, that your wife was a patient.” He looked back down to the chart.

  “My future wife,” Collin stated with a smile
, “as well as the mother of my children.” His hand tightened around mine. My heart fluttered at the word children, plural.

  “Oh, well, I guess double congratulations are in order.” Dr. Marshall took a seat on a stool and started going over my symptoms while preparing me for the upcoming exam.

  “Can you take Victoria out for this part?”

  “I want to be here.” Collin looked exasperated.

  “I know, but I don’t think she is ready to experience the internal exam.” Realization broke over his face.

  “Oh, of course.” With a kiss to the back of my hand, he released it and reached for Victoria. “We need to give the doctor and Mommy a minute alone.”

  “I want to see the baby,” Victoria whined and crossed her arms over her chest.

  “Victoria,” Collin warned.

  “The nurse out front has lollipops,” Dr. Marshall interjected. “Tell her I sent you to get one for you and your mommy, okay?”

  Victoria jumped from the seat and ran for the door. The moment the door was closed, the doctor got down to business.

  The familiar cold touch and discomfort of the devices lasted no longer than a normal pap smear. When he was finished, Dr. Marshall called Collin and Victoria back into the room.

  “Do we get to see the baby now?” Victoria spoke around the large lollipop bulge in her cheek.

  “Not today,” the doctor explained. Her face fell. “But you do get to hear the baby.” Her eyes came back up to his, excitement all over her face.

  Dr. Marshall moved the material away from my stomach where he applied a small amount of gel. From his deep white pocket he pulled out a beige box and pressed a wand to my abdomen, moving it around slowly. It took him a few moments to get a read on the heartbeat, and I could tell Collin was getting more anxious than Victoria.

  When the swooshing sound filtered out of the box Collin relaxed with a large grin, but Victoria looked confused. “What’s that?” Her nose wrinkled up.

  “That’s the baby’s heart beating,” Dr. Marshall answered as he wiped off my stomach and helped me to sit up.

  “That was it?” Victoria sounded disappointed.

  “For today.” Dr. Marshall grinned at her. He turned his attention to Collin and me. “I want you to make an appointment for an early ultrasound so we can determine how far along you are, okay?”

  After discussing a few more things and agreeing to make the appointment with Dorothy, the nurse at the checkout desk, he left me to redress. Collin kept Victoria busy while I slipped back into my clothes and discarded the gown into a hamper in the corner of the room. On our way out, we set up the appointment for the following week.

  The day before our wedding, we found ourselves back in the doctor’s office. Sitting with an uncomfortably full bladder, I was crossing and uncrossing my legs. Victoria giggled. I looked to her amused face.

  “You’re doing the pee dance.” She giggled again.

  “You think it’s funny, huh?” I tickled her side with my fingers. She began laughing louder.

  “Sophia Ashwood?” A short, dark-skinned ultrasound technician leaned out the door. I stood and walked toward her with Collin and Victoria in tow. She led us back to a room with an exam table. The nurse rounded the table, stepping up to a machine with a monitor on top.

  “Can you lie down on the table, please?” She gave it a pat.

  With a deep breath, I hopped up onto the table and lay back, my head resting on a small pillow.

  “I’m going to apply some gel to your abdomen.” She began pulling my shirt up over my midsection and stuffed some white tissue into the top of my pants, folding it over the front. “It’s warmed, so there shouldn’t be any discomfort,” she said with a gentle smile.

  “Okay,” I breathed out nervously. Collin took my hand.

  “Are we going to see the baby?” Victoria looked over my body to the small monitor.

  “I need to get a few measurements first, but after that, yes.” Victoria squealed with happiness.

  She squeezed the gel out and then slid a plastic wand over my skin. Her face became serious, lined in concentration. Collin held my hand tighter and leaned over to kiss my forehead.

  “Everything will be fine,” he spoke just above a whisper. I nodded, still nervous.

  “He’s right.” She turned her head and looked at me. “Everything looks good. I would say you are two months along.” Her hand reached up to the monitor and turned it.

  Before us, in shades of gray and white, was a small blob. Focusing in closer, trying to decipher what everything was, I saw a fluttering movement.

  “Is that—?”

  “Oh no,” Victoria gasped. “You’re having a hamster.”

  The room fell silent before we burst into laughter. Tears streamed down my cheeks as I gasped for breath. Collin’s loud laugh began to die down to a chuckle, and the technician was giggling quietly.

  “I believe that’s a first for me,” she admitted.

  “Me too.” I sighed in contentment.

  “See this?” The nurse pointed to the spot where I had seen a flutter. “This is the heartbeat.”

  “But it looks like Henrietta,” Victoria whined.

  “Who is Henrietta?” Collin looked back and forth between Victoria and me.

  “The classroom pet,” Victoria stated.

  “Let me guess,” Collin chuckled, “Henrietta’s a hamster?”

  “No, a guinea pig, but it still looks the same.” Victoria crossed her arms over her chest.

  “The baby still has to grow.”

  “You looked the same way, you know.” Collin knelt down to her height. Victoria’s eyes widened.

  “I did?” It was almost a whisper. He nodded, kissed her cheek, and stood back up.

  “Yep, and look how beautiful you turned out.” She smiled at that.

  “It’s a girl, right?” Victoria changed the topic.

  “It’s a bit too soon to tell.” The nurse removed the wand and began to wipe my stomach clean

  Victoria huffed and scowled at the nurse. “I know it’s a girl,” she mumbled.

  With the ultrasound complete we were shown to an exam room. The doctor discussed the scans with us, inquired how I was feeling, and told us the baby was due in early August. Soon we were on our way back to the house to get our things and drive to Whidbey Island for the wedding.

  Ilene and her significant other joined Connor and Juliet at the house in Whidbey and worked together to prepare. There were about sixty guests confirmed to join us for the wedding and reception. Ilene was overseeing the catering from a local restaurant while Juliet was handling decorations. I only hoped Felicity would survive until I got there to help her out.

  When we pulled up to the house, memories of my previous stay swept through me. It had been one heck of a stay, filled with a great deal of drama and emotion. Victoria, shoving the rear door open, broke me from my thoughts. She darted out of the car and into Connor’s arms. Carrying her, he walked over to the car.

  “Hello, Sophia.” He gave me a one-armed hug and a kiss to my temple.

  “How are you feeling?” I looked up to him from under his arm. He looked better than the last time I saw him.

  “I’m feeling much stronger,” he smiled proudly, “strong enough to hold my princess.” Victoria beamed. “Do you need help?” Connor asked as Collin walked by with his arms full of luggage.

  I slipped out from under Connor’s arm and walked to the rear of the car. Reaching in, I pulled out two bags.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” Connor took the bags out of my hands.

  “I’m helping.”

  “You shouldn’t be carrying bags.” His eyes dropped to my stomach and then back to my face with a knowing expression. I could feel myself blushing.

  “I can carry a bag.”

  Victoria reached around me and grabbed one of her small bags. I reached in and pulled out another bag. Connor shook his head. I made it to the door of the house.

  “Why ar
e you carrying these?” Max’s boisterous voice carried across the room. He was out of his seat and taking the bags from me before I could take my next breath. Connor chuckled. I sighed and gave up.

  “Get used to it.” Larissa put her arm around my shoulders. “The moment they even think a baby might be in there, you are considered disabled.” She laughed. “They mean well.” Larissa led me up the familiar stairs and down the long hallway. As I walked past Collin’s room, an arm wrapped around my waist and pulled me inside. I could smell his cologne and nuzzled against his chest.

  “Where do you think you are going?” His mouth pressed to the top of my head.

  “I guess I was following the same path I used to take.” I tried to hold him tighter, but he pulled back and looked down at me with a half-grin.

  “There is no way I’m suffering through that again.”

  “Again?” I furrowed my brow, but his lips turned into a large grin.

  “You have no idea.” With that, he kissed me and walked from the room. My mind was reeling. What could he have meant?

  “I’m going to miss you.” Victoria’s pouting pulled me out of my own head.

  “I’ll be right down here. It’s not too far.” I knelt before her and cupped her face. “I love you.”

  “I love you too.” She smiled and hugged me.

  After settling in, Ilene and Juliet led me around the house. Juliet pointed out the candles, told me where the flowers would go, and told me how she envisioned the ceremony. Ilene discussed the menu as well as the set up for the ceremony and the reception. Felicity appeared from the office and began to go over some of the details. Collin, Victoria, and I had to go through the procession. Felicity planned for me to dress upstairs and come down the staircase. Chairs would be set up for the guests in the main entryway and sitting room. At the bottom of the stairs, Collin would take my arm from my father and walk us to the middle of the sitting room, where I would become Mrs. Collin Bishop.