Dr. Feelgood

by Marissa Monteilh

  “You’re back now? And they didn’t have phones where you were?”

  “Makkai, I’m telling you now.”

  I turned my back from the nurse who stood nearby. Lowering my voice as best I could, I battled to figure it out. “Telling me now, after months and months? So you’re telling me that the one time the rubber busted, you got pregnant?”

  “Yes, I am. And I’m having your baby.” She spoke like she was simply telling me what the weather was like.

  “And there’s no one else?”

  “No.”

  “Now, Monday, we met at a swingers’ club. You expect me to believe there’s no one else?”

  A sound of irritation flavored her every word. “I practice safe sex just like you, Makkai. I’ve had sex with you far more regularly and frequently than anyone else. You can try to deny the baby’s yours if you want. But, I’m telling you, it is yours.”

  “Monday, I can’t believe you didn’t pick up the phone way before now. That’s just not right.”

  “Why is it not right? Would you have preferred that I let you know before the third month so that you could’ve suggested that I get an abortion, Makkai? That is so damn selfish. Maybe that’s why I didn’t tell you. You don’t care about what my body goes through, yet you stick your dick in me and bust a nut, knowing that condoms break and tear and come off. So don’t get funky with me. You’d better be glad I’m telling you now. Some women make the call when they’re about to deliver, or not at all. So don’t try me. I am not in the mood to be scolded. This has been hard on me, so screw you, Makkai. I’ll do this on my own.”

  I breathed a deep, long sigh. Waited, and then asked, “What time is your appointment?”

  “It’s this afternoon.”

  “Where?”

  “King Drew.”

  I fought to keep my voice down. “King Drew. You mean the county hospital? Is that where your doctor is?”

  “Oh, excuse me. Yes, I’m going to see the OB/GYN at King Drew, Dr. Taksa.”

  “No, you’ll come here. I’ll get Dr. Marshall to see you right away. Come to my office. Now.”

  She exhaled loudly. “Fine.” She hung up in my face.

  Dammit, I said in my head while heading back to my office.

  Right away I made a few calls to arrange things as quickly as possible. A text message from Carlos popped up on my phone.

  What up?

  Hey.

  Man, Palm Springs was a bust. Anyway, guess who I’m seeing?

  Look dude, not right now. I’m headed out. Something came up.

  What?

  Man, Monday claims she’s pregnant.

  By who? I know not by you.

  She says it is. So, I’ll get back at you.

  Handle your business, dog. Let me know if there’s anything I can do.

  Out.

  Chapter 37

  Monday

  I had an abortion maybe ten years ago. I got pregnant and then started clotting early on, so the guy I was with talked me into getting it done. I never got over that. And so I’m not doing that this time. I just can’t kill a life again. Even if I don’t end up raising this child, I’m going to give birth, unless God chooses to take it from me first. I admit that I’m absolutely not the motherly type, though. I’ve got some things about me I need to straighten out before I let anyone call me Mom. Maybe adoption. Maybe Makkai will agree to it. Maybe not. I really don’t give a damn.

  “Well, Miss Askins, your own weight is on track for your height, but your blood pressure is a little high. Have you had any pre-natal testing done to check the baby for Down syndrome and neural tube defects? I mean, considering your age? Being that you’re over forty,” Dr. Marshall asked at Cedars, while sitting on a small stool. “The blood test?” “It’s called maternal serum.”

  “Yes, they did that at King,” I replied while sitting on an examination table wearing a white gown.

  “So if you’ve been getting treated there, then why are you changing doctors now, if I might ask?”

  I used my eyes to point to Makkai. “Ask him.”

  Makkai stood near the sink with his hands in his pockets. “It was my idea. I want to be close by when she goes into labor, since I’m here more than anywhere else.”

  “I’ll bet,” said the doctor.

  He continued, “And she has to get the best care. I’m financially responsible one-hundred percent.”

  I’m sure I flashed a look of shock.

  The young female gynecologist asked, “Did you put her on your health insurance? You know you don’t need to be married.”

  “No, we haven’t discussed that,” said Makkai. “We’re not living together.”

  I added, “We haven’t discussed a lot of things, Doctor.”

  “I’d say now’s the time,” she said while she wrote. “Okay, so, we’ll get your file sent over here from King Drew Medical Center. Just make sure to sign the release document when you make your next appointment.” A nurse walked in and stood behind the doctor.

  “Okay,” I said.

  She stood up. “I’ll need to examine you now. Nurse Thomas, did you set up an exam tray?”

  “It’s right here,” the nurse replied while wheeling it toward the doctor.

  “Can I get you to lie back and scoot forward as close to the edge as you can?”

  “Sure.”

  Makkai actually stepped forward and helped me scoot my butt down by bracing my upper body.

  “Have you had an ultrasound yet to determine the gestational age?”

  “Yes.”

  She smiled. “Did you see the baby’s image? Did they give you a copy of the image?”

  “No.”

  “Did they tell you the sex of the baby?”

  “Yes.”

  Makkai looked confused. More like dumbfounded. “They did?”

  I decided to stop looking at him. “It’s a girl,” I said to the doctor.

  Makkai said, “A girl?”

  My lips were as tight as my jaw.

  The doctor put on her clear, thin gloves and began the vaginal exam. “So, let’s see here. What due date were you given?”

  “They said eight more weeks from now.”

  Makkai cleared his throat as if he had doubt.

  She had her fingers inside of me and was looking at the wall behind me. “I’m not so sure about that. Your cervix is pretty thin. Are you sure this is your first pregnancy?”

  “Yes.” Why was I lying to her?

  “I’d like to see you back in one week and we’ll know more. But, it looks like you might be back here sooner if this baby has her way, and we don’t want that. Have you had any pain or pressure at all, or any spotting?”

  “No.”

  “And your last period was when?”

  I felt Makkai looking at me. “I don’t know. Maybe eight months ago. My periods have been sporadic for years. I didn’t think I was still ovulating.”

  She removed her hand, taking off each glove. “Well, then, this little one might just be considered a little miracle. It’s extremely difficult for women in their forties to conceive. Especially after one’s cycle starts to become irregular.”

  This time I did eyeball Makkai, who looked both a little excited and a little like, why would he be the lucky one to impregnate a woman with half-dried-up eggs.

  “Do you remember when was the last time you had sex?”

  I replied quickly, “It was about six months ago.”

  Makkai replied quickly, “It was less than that, wasn’t it?”

  “Six months,” I reiterated to her.

  “Let’s take a look at the ultrasound. You can stretch out your legs,” she said as she extended the padded table.

  She put a generous amount of cold, conducting gel on my belly, and we all looked over at the monitor. She rubbed the small disk with her hand to warm it up, and then placed it on my belly, moving it up and down and side to side.

  She said, “It looks like your uterus is fairly small to be t
hat far along, and the fetus is very tiny, so it’s difficult to determine. I’d say you’re not as far along as they thought. I’d say about twenty-four to twenty-seven weeks, so roughly five months, but I wouldn’t say six. The average pregnancy term is thirty-eight to forty-two weeks, so you might be more than halfway there. And yes, it is a girl. But as I said, she is very small.”

  Makkai spoke, while eyeing the image, but his eyes spoke louder. “I can make out her eyes, and her nose and mouth. And look at her legs.” He asked, “How do you determine gestation, by measuring the diameter of her head?”

  “Yes, the side-to-side diameter of the head, and the length of the longest bone, and a couple of other factors, including measuring the size of the uterus. We can still be off by about a week or so but it looks like she’ll probably be, maybe six pounds full term. It’s just hard to determine an accurate gestation period this way, without knowing the last cycle date.” She wiped off the excess gel and pulled my gown closed. “Did you want this?” she asked after tearing off the printed image of my daughter.

  I pointed at Makkai with my head again. “He can have it.”

  He took it, eyeing it with great focus. “Thanks.” His face looked different. Different from the way I’d ever seen him look before. Less like a renowned doctor, and more like a man who just might be moved by seeing his very own daughter for the first time.

  The doctor sat down again while making notes in a manila folder. “Well, I’d say that’s about it. I’ve ordered a Doppler sonography so that we can check the health of the baby and take a closer look at your cervix, and I’ll request the previous ultrasound from King Drew, just to see if we can use that for dating purposes.” She spoke while looking up at me. “Since it was taken earlier on, it’ll give us a better idea of the gestational age. The best time to guess, because that’s all we’re really doing when we don’t know without a menstrual date, is usually between eight and eighteen weeks, but you’re past that. Let’s see, we can do the sonography when you come back next week. I’ll be able to determine a better due date then. The nurse will give you an appointment time when you check out. But, please call me if you need me sooner.” She handed me a business card from her white coat pocket.

  “Even if I’m out of town, I’ll be available via cell if you need me,” Makkai told me.

  I spoke up, again without looking at him. “I’ll be fine on my own.”

  He didn’t reply.

  The doctor broke the silence. “Okay, then, any questions?”

  “No,” I said.

  Makkai told her, “I have one. Is the baby healthy?”

  “From what I can see, she looks fine.”

  He looked back down at the ultrasound photo. “I’m just glad everything’s okay.”

  She told him, “But that’s why we’re doing the Doppler sonography, Dr. Worthy. And Ms. Askins, I want you to stay off your feet as much as you can until I see you again.”

  “I will. And why wouldn’t she be fine, Makkai?” I asked him with frustration in my eyes.

  “No reason.” This time he answered without looking up.

  Men.

  Chapter 38

  Okay, that’s it. I’ve had it. That’s enough. I’ve had enough of all of my women telling their stories from the female perspective. This is my story and this is something I need to finish off myself. And so if you don’t mind … I’ll take it from here.

  Let’s see, where should I pick up? Oh yeah, after the pre-natal exam, Monday took her time getting dressed, while I paid the front office clerk for the last-minute doctor’s visit. In complete silence, after she made her appointment and signed the paperwork, she simply walked ahead of me as we headed down the hallway. She then popped into the restroom, without saying a word to me, leaving me standing there.

  My cell vibrated so I stepped down the hall a bit to catch it. Oh damn. “Hello.”

  “You asshole.”

  Here we go again with the blocked number expert. “What, Salina?”

  “First off, I heard you got some woman pregnant?” She was breathing a mile a minute, blasting 50 Cent in the background.

  I kept an eye on the ladies bathroom door. “And how did you hear that?”

  “I called you to get answers, not the other way around. So is it true?”

  “I’m about to hang up, Salina. I am not down for this. Find a man who will love you and try your best to be true to him.”

  “Why wasn’t I good enough, Makkai?”

  “Salina, it was what it was. You married a man who you continued to stay with, and you saw me on the side. And you know what? Honestly, I agreed to lesser charges for your husband because I thought the quicker he got out, the quicker you two could work things out. But, whether you two do that or not, I am out of your life, and I don’t want you calling me. Now, is that clear?”

  “Oh, please, like you’re not gonna be the one calling me within a week to get your dick sucked anyway, trying your best to play tricks with my coochie. I’ve heard this before. Like when you denied me so tough when you were getting your ass choked and then called the next afternoon.”

  “I mean it. Now, I don’t want to be a jerk, but it’s over.” I kept my words firm and low.

  “I know you. Whoever this chick is, you’ll try to talk her into getting rid of it so this baby doesn’t ruin your career. You are so selfish. Anyway, why in the hell didn’t you wear a condom with her? Oh just forget it. I already know you’ll be in my bed before my next period is over. And rest assured that I’ll be ready when it does happen. You’re not a one-woman man, Makkai.”

  “Salina, I know you’re mad, and I understand that you’re hurting. But, I can’t help you get over your husband.”

  “Well, then maybe Carlos can.”

  No she didn’t. “Oh. I’ve got it. Okay, whatever, Salina. Goodbye.”

  Women.

  “Call Carlos,” I spoke into my phone one second later, still keeping an eye out for Monday. A moment later, his voice mail came on. “Hey, Carlos, your ass can’t hold water. And now I know who it was you were about to tell me you’re seeing. Look, do something for me, man. Scratch the idea of ever contacting me again in life. I mean it. Don’t even think about calling me. Not my home, not my cell, not my job, and don’t text or email me. Forget that you ever knew me, brotha. Good riddance.” That fool’s trying to be like me. He can have it.

  I stood outside of the restroom as Monday exited, she was moving extra slow like she was struggling to walk, big time. We took the elevator down to the lobby and exited the front doors.

  A young resident walked by and nodded. “How’s it going, Dr. Worthy?”

  “I can’t complain.” I lied.

  Monday definitely looked pregnant from the front, but not at all from the back. She really was all baby. And damn her, she was still sexy. But, obviously, she was still mad.

  Finally, she had something to say. “Makkai, if you could just get over me being in my forties, you’d sound a whole lot more like a father who’s expecting a healthy child, than one who’s expecting something to be wrong. I’m only seven years older than you, you know. I’d say you waited a long time to have a child yourself. And maybe it’s about time.” Woman sure knew how to fuss.

  I walked side-by-side with her. “It’s all in God’s time.”

  “Yeah, blah, blah, blah.” Her eyes were red, and she was heated.

  “You act like I’ve had time to get used to this. You just told me a few hours ago. Now, that is what I think is unbelievable.”

  “Whatever. Have a good time in Florida. We’ll be fine, my daughter and me.”

  “Hold up, Monday. Really though, are you going to be okay?” I asked, trying to get her to look me in the eyes.

  She looked everywhere but at me. “Blah, blah, blah.”

  I reached out to hug her. “I’ll call you. And call me if you …”

  She turned her body and turned up her nose. “Like I said. We’ll be fine.”

  I just looked at her as sh
e walked away toward the parking lot. “Okay, stubborn.”

  “Blah, blah, blah,” she said without looking back.

  I turned around and headed back toward the hospital front doors.

  What the hell was that?

  While I was barely inside of the elevator, I glanced down at the display on my phone and it was her already. I suppose she just had to continue with her cranky, hormone-filled attitude.

  “Yes, Monday.”

  “Five thousand, Makkai.”

  “Five thousand for what?” I asked her loudly, repeating what she said in case my ears were deceiving me, or in case the elevator had caused a bad connection.

  “For baby furniture.” In that short amount of time, she sounded a little more upbeat but feisty and unreasonable nonetheless. And the connection was just fine.

  “What kind of baby furniture is that?”

  “That’s not a lot of money. And it’s surely not like you can’t afford it.”

  I ended up saying, “We’ll talk about it.”

  “Sure.”

  She hung up as I stepped out of the elevator. I talked out loud as if it would begin to make some type of sense. “Okay, so all of a sudden Monday is mad because I won’t give her five thousand dollars to buy baby furniture.”

  My cell rang again. “Hello. Yes, this is Makkai. Hey, how are you? Yes, I’m still at work. Uh huh. I thank you for returning my call. Oh, so you can make it. Good. I’ll pick you up on Monday night at seven-thirty, is that cool? Good, just leave your address on my voice mail if that’s okay. I’ll be returning from out of town that Sunday. So let’s just write it in pen. It’ll be great to spend my thirty-eighth birthday with you. Yes, it’ll be a great first date. See you then.”

  Chapter 39

  By the time I headed home, barely pulling out of the parking lot at nearly one in the morning, a voice blasted through my earpiece. Why in the heck did I not even glance at the caller ID only to see that it was blocked?

  “Makkai, I can’t believe that I’m going through this shit in my life.”

  I turned down my sounds.

  “I thought you got what I was said before. What is it, Salina?”