by Tiana Cole
“It's very soothing in here,” Jessica whispered as she stepped inside behind me. I couldn't help but agree, and was satisfied that I'd made the right choice in doctor for her. “You made the appointment under my name right?” she asked, clearly jittery and anxious to get the visit over with. After I nodded, she continued to speak nervously. “Okay, um, go sit. I'll check in.”
I found a seat near the reception window where Jessica was greeted warmly by a portly, middle-aged nurse who wore her red hair pulled up in a bun. There was a small end table next to my seat covered with maternity magazines, and when I picked one up I felt the gaze of a woman sitting across from me. I glanced up, and she smiled almost shyly before her eyes moved to Jessica who was returning to my side with a clipboard full of paperwork.
“Looks like you have to fill out a book,” I joked, and Jessica snorted as she took a seat next to me.
“Just about. Hopefully I can get through this fast,” she sighed, then stole a glimpse of the same woman who was now fastidiously studying the magazine in her lap. “It's always like this in these doctor's offices,” she whispered. “Women spot their prey like hawks.” I choked on a laugh, and Jessica continued to speak quietly enough that only I could hear. “I'll bet you fifty bucks she's going to be a single mom. She's nesting…looking for a mate. It's all a science,” she said, and I couldn't help but laugh out loud. Several women looked over at me, and I smiled at them politely.
“What are you going on about?” I asked softly with my hand covering my mouth.
“I don't like other women looking at my man, that's what,” she spoke a little louder while flipping through the papers on the clipboard. She paused to fire a scowl at the woman sitting across from us. I looked at her with a fond smile, and leaned over to kiss her just under her ear.
“You're the only woman your man is looking at,” I whispered.
“Damn straight,” she giggled. “Keep your eyes on the prize.”
I let her finish the paperwork so she could hand it back to the nurse at the front desk. Another nurse, this one a tall brunette, stepped into the waiting area with a smile and called one of the women into the back. Moments later, a different nurse appeared and politely summoned one of the other women into an examination room. Soon only Jessica and I remained in the waiting area, and it was obvious her nerves were still on edge. Her foot tapped on the floor restlessly as she flipped through the magazine I'd handed her.
“This is taking forever,” she groaned under her breath.
“Patience, dear,” I told her, and like magic her name was called by a voice that was definitely not female. We looked over at the rather attractive male nurse who stood smiling at her warmly. Probably only one male nurse in this entire office, and she had to get him, I found myself thinking. In that moment, I realized just how protective I'd become of her.
“It's okay if my husband comes back with me, right?” Jessica asked, and he directed his smile towards me. He had short brown hair, blue eyes, and his athletic build showed under his scrubs.
“Yes, of course,” he replied. “If you'll just follow me,” he said, motioning towards the narrow hallway leading to the back of the clinic. We followed him down the hall and into an examination room where I wasn't surprised to see a prerequisite table with stirrups attached. On one side of the room was a row of supply cabinets and a small sink, and on the other was a small curtained area with a few chairs positioned next to it.
“I'm going to take your vitals first,” the nurse began, “then I'll give you a gown to change into before the doctor comes back to see you.”
He gestured Jessica onto the table and moved the stirrups aside while I took her purse and sat in one of the chairs. I couldn't wait to get the preliminary stuff out of the way, and imagined Jessica felt the same.
I just wanted the doctor to come back and tell us what we needed to know about the baby, and impatiently fidgeted with Jessica's purse strap while we waited. The nurse took her blood pressure and temperature, then handed Jessica a small cup and pointed her to a bathroom down the hall. The wait was excruciating, but I managed to maintain my composure while she gave the requested urine sample. After Jessica returned and handed the full cup back to the nurse, he scurried out of the room and she changed into the gown he'd handed her. She climbed onto the table and looked over at me with humor in her big, brown eyes.
“You look like you want to murder somebody,” she smiled.
“I do,” I sighed with a nod. “This is taking forever. If they don't speed things up, I might turn this place into an abortion clinic,” I chuckled, then winced at how distasteful the joke had been. Thankfully Jessica was in good spirits and didn't take offense.
“Bastian!” she laughed until an adorable snort escaped her. “You're awful.”
“Seriously, though, I'm sorry this is taking so long. I thought we'd be in and out,” I replied. I set her stuff aside on one of the other chairs and stood to hold her hand at the examination table.
“Don't worry. Just think of this as time off from work. Relax a little,” she said calmly.
“You're telling me to relax? Just an hour ago you were all anxious and worried,” I pointed out with a grin.
“Yeah, well, I figure since we're here we're going to find out something sooner or later,” she shrugged. “Not much we can do but wait.”
I took a deep breath and brushed her hair aside to kiss her forehead. Seconds later the doctor walked in followed by the male nurse who was pushing what looked like an ultrasound machine.
“Hello! I'm Dr. Wang. You must be Mr. and Mrs. Kosta, yes?” the doctor greeted with a smile, her Asian accent clearly audible. She was a petite woman, and her long, black hair that had a streak of silver in it was pinned up nicely.
“Hello,” Jessica chimed energetically. “You can just call me Jessica, or Jess if you'd like.”
Dr. Wang shook her hand limply, then extended her hand to me with a welcoming smile still on her face.
“Bastian. Bastian Kosta. It's nice to meet you,” I introduced myself with a polite grin.
“It's wonderful to meet you both!” she nodded. “I'm glad we were able to squeeze you in today. The lunch time rush just came in. We're usually very busy,” she explained as she walked around to Jessica's right side.
“Well, we really appreciate it,” Jessica told her earnestly.
“First thing's first—you're definitely pregnant. A quick test of your urine determined that easily enough,” the doctor said bluntly.
“Wow, you tested it already?” Jessica asked in surprise.
“Doesn't take long,” Dr. Wang replied. “I want to go ahead with a transvaginal ultrasound so we can get a look at things and see how far along you are.” She glanced at me and joked with a smirk, “I see this one is anxious.”
“You can say that again,” I muttered.
“I didn't even know I was pregnant until yesterday…” Jessica confessed, both her voice and her face expressing concern. Dr. Wang became a bit more serious as she addressed Jessica's fears.
“Are you take any substances, Jessica?” she asked.
“No. Well, just alcohol…” Jessica trailed off.
“Are you an alcoholic?”
“What? No,” Jessica scoffed.
“How often do you drink, and how much in the past six weeks?” the doctor continued to question. Jessica exhaled loudly while she thought it over for a moment.
“Really only a few times, and each I'd have no more than four drinks…” she answered, then glanced at me. I knew what she was thinking: the night we likely conceived—the first time she and I had sex and the only time she hadn't popped a morning-after pill when she awoke—she was drunk. After that, however, I'd only seen her tipsy one other time.
“Listen to my professional opinion, Jessica,” the Dr. Wang said as she held Jessica's gaze steadily. “The baby will be fine as long as you don't drink anymore, okay? And don't forget to take your prenatal vitamins. We'll watch the baby as it grows, and ev
erything will be good,” the doctor assured her. I could see the tension fall from Jessica's and heard her sigh in relief.
“Okay, so…what's next then?” she asked.
“Now we see the baby!” the doctor smiled at us while gesturing to the ultrasound machine. “I love this part. I've delivered more babies than I can count, yet I still get excited,” she confessed giddily. She instructed Jessica to lay down, and I eyed the nurse who was busy preparing the device. He didn't cast the smallest of glance Jessica's way, and I felt a sense of relief by this.
The doctor took a thin wand, connected to the ultrasound machine, from the man. It disappeared underneath the blanket and over Jessica's legs, and I instinctively reached out to hold her hand. She smiled up at me with a bit of amusement in her eyes, and our attention went to the monitor.
“Just a second here…” Dr. Wang smiled.
Our eyes remained glued to the screen that was displaying only static. Something dark resembling the shape of a small avocado came into view, and the nurse began clicking a few keys on the machine. The doctor instructed him where to zoom in, and he pointed to a small white dot that was sitting inside the avocado's space.
“Is that?…” Jessica gasped.
“That's your little one,” the doctor said, her smiling widening. I beamed as a sea of emotions washed over me, and saw that Jessica's eyes had begun to tear up as well. I was overjoyed, excited, impatient, and I felt an incredible sense of attachment to both Jessica and the little dot.
“So, from what I see, I'd say you're around five or six weeks along,” Dr. Wang told us. “The baby looks good so far,” she continued. “We'll schedule regular appointments to make sure everything progresses as it should.”
I had to take a deep breath and close my eyes to control my feelings. I opened them to find Jessica looking up at me with a smile, and I bent down to gently kiss her forehead. The appointment wrapped up with the doctor handing us a bundle of pamphlets loaded with information on what we could expect going forward. We thanked both her and the nurse several times before heading back to the firm, stopping first to pick up prenatal vitamins and grab a bite to eat. I couldn't stop looking at the picture we'd been given of our little dot, and every time Jessica caught me looking at it she'd laugh.
“I bet if we have a girl, you'll totally spoil her rotten,” Jessica remarked as we rode the elevator up to the office.
“I would, and I won't deny it,” I replied with a smile, evoking a fit of giggles from her. The elevator doors parted and we stepped into reception, running directly into both Nick and Jeannie who were mingling by the water cooler.
“Hey, we were wondering where you two disappeared to,” Nick grinned. Jeannie's keen eyes went right to my hands where I was holding my purse in one and the printout of the baby in the other.
“Holy shit, is that what I think it is?” she exclaimed, snatching the picture from me. Nick leaned in to glimpse what had gotten Jeannie so excited.
“You're pregnant, you're pregnant, you're pregnant!” Nick burst so loudly that half the office heard. Several employees looked over at us with their faces painted in shock before rushing over to offer their congratulations. They quickly dispersed back to their workstations, but two lingered behind.
“You're pregnant, Jess?” Jason, I believe his name was, asked with a look of disbelief. The other employee, whose name I remembered as Kasey, glanced between both Jessica and I.
“You two are actually, like, a real married couple now. You're having a baby and everything!” she smiled. “This is fantastic!”
Jessica looked at me with wide eyes that told me she wasn't appreciating all the attention. Nick gave me a fist-bump and a wink, then gave Jessica a hug while Jason and Kasey studied the ultrasound he'd passed to them.
“I guess the cat's out of the bag now,” I muttered. Jeannie looked up at me and laughed, though what I said wasn't all that funny.
“I think you want your cat to stay in the bag until nine months have passed,” she said, making what I assumed was a rather lame joke. I looked at her strangely, but smiled nonetheless. She was one of Jessica's closest friends, after all. She laughed again, then moved in to hug Jessica tightly while words of praise and encouragement poured out of her. The ultrasound photo made its way onto the office floor, and we spent the next fifteen minutes politely thanking people for their support.
The office was abuzz with the news, and those who had shunned Jessica for making partner began speaking to her again. The pregnancy definitely laid to rest any question of our relationship's legitimacy. This seemed to please Jessica, which in turn made me happy as well. The work environment would now be much more comfortable for everyone, and that was obviously a good thing.
“Can we stop and grab a bite to eat?” Jessica asked when the work day reached its end. “I haven't eaten since lunch and I'm starving.”
“That's not good. You need to eat more now that you've got a bun in your oven,” I told her with a smirk as we made our way through the parking garage to my Mercedes.
“I know, I know,” she shook her head. “I looked up a good nutrition plan for pregnant women earlier. I think I'll give it a try. They say I won't put on a ton of weight, but I'll still be eating healthy enough for me and the baby,” Jessica shared excitedly. She proceeded to rattle off a list of fruits, vegetables, and lean meats she'd be stocking up on while I drove us to her favorite sandwich shop.
“So…we have to tell my mother you're pregnant,” I said as I pulled into the parking lot of Manhattan Sandwich Company. Jessica looked at me with wide, nervous eyes.
“I've never even spoken to your mother before,” she replied. “She wasn't even at the wedding…”
“She wasn't at the wedding because I gave her 'too short of notice,'” I explained, “but I have to tell her about this baby. If she finds out any other way, she'll disown me.”
“Well, okay,” Jessica sighed. “Is she nice?” she asked.
“Um, yeah, sure…” I answered unconvincingly.
Chapter 14
Jessica
Bastian had noticeably tensed up at the mention of me talking to his mother, yet he wanted me to believe that she was nice. I wasn't buying it.
“Bastian…” I began, but he waved his hand dismissively.
“We should tell Jay and Tasha first, actually,” he said as he put the Mercedes in park. Realizing he was right, I fished my cell phone out of my purse to dial my brother and sister-in-law. They were still staying at Bastian's place in the Hamptons, and we could have easily made the drive to the beach house to deliver the news in person. For some reason, though, this bomb seemed easier to drop over the phone.
I watched as Bastian nervously tapped on the steering wheel while grinding his teeth. He was typically calm and collected, yet thinking about his mother clearly made him anxious. I hoped I'd get along with her since Bastian was now going to be a part of my life for much longer than we'd both expected. I took a deep breath and dialed Jay.
“Jess! How are you?” he greeted cheerfully.
“I'm good,” I replied, then paused to put him on speakerphone. “Are you near Tasha by any chance?” I asked.
“Let me grab her real quick,” Jay answered with a trace of concern. “Why, what's up?”
“Just get Tasha and put your phone on speaker,” I chuckled. Bastian didn't look like he was paying attention, so I snapped my fingers at him startled him back to the present.
“Hey, Jess, what's up?” Tasha's voice sounded through my phone as I held it hovering over my lap.
“I have a bit of news for you two,” I croaked nervously, my pulse suddenly racing. “I'm, uh…I'm…” I swallowed hard, unable to form the words. For some reason I was having trouble telling my own family about my pregnancy, yet the entire firm already knew and a copy of my ultrasound was still circulating.
“Don't tell me you're getting a divorce,” Jay groaned. “I thought Bastian took care of the whole sex tape thing? You guys are perfect for each other,
even though I don't think either of you fully realize it yet,” Jay said, wasting no time launching into lecture mode. Bastian and I shared a surprised look and he cracked an amused smile at me.
“Calm down, Jay,” Bastian blurted. “We're not getting a divorce. We're having a baby.” We both winced as Tasha squealed loudly on the other line.
“Oh my God, seriously?” Jay asked in shock. “My kid sister is having a baby. This is so…so…surreal,” he said, still processing the news that had just been unexpectedly dropped on him.
“Jesus, you two like to move fast!” Tasha laughed.
“Married and pregnant within, what, a few weeks?” Jay's voice chimed in.
“This is wonderful!” Tasha gushed. “Oh, Jay, we have to stay now so we can help Jess with the baby!”
“What's this about having to stay?” I asked as I stared curiously at the phone, trying not to get too excited and jump to conclusions.
“Well, Jay has the opportunity to take up a few commissions that would keep us in New York for at least another year,” Tasha explained. I gasped in excitement and began bouncing up and down in my seat.
“Really? You guys have to stay! Please take the commissions, Jay!” I begged. Bastian laughed at me, and I can't say as I blamed him. I was acting like a three-year-old, and I didn't even care.
“Tasha's right,” Jay spoke up. “We can't leave now. I have to stick around and be the world's best uncle.”
“Are you being serious right now?” I asked as I began bouncing in my seat again while gripping Bastian's shoulder tightly.
“Totally serious,” Jay replied, and I could tell that he was smiling on the other end of the line.
“I wish I could hug you right now!” Tasha said, and I had to agree with the sentiment. I regretted not breaking the news face-to-face so I could squeeze them both.
“We'll do dinner tonight, okay?” I told them, and was pleased to hear they were free. We made plans to meet, and they congratulated us again before we said our goodbyes.
“Quick, now let's call my mother before our good mood fizzles out,” Bastian chuckled, pulling out his cell to make the call. I was already nervous since I hadn't even talked to the woman on the phone. Yet, here I sat, gearing up to tell her that I was carrying her son's child. I feared she may think I was just some gold digger who was using a baby as a means of chaining Bastian to me.