Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 91213 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 456(@200wpm)___ 365(@250wpm)___ 304(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91213 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 456(@200wpm)___ 365(@250wpm)___ 304(@300wpm)
“And hear the heartbeat,” Dr. Woods says with a grin. “But I’m guessing Stephanie might feel a little more comfortable if you step out during this part of the exam.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” Lucas says indignantly, and I have to suppress a giggle.
I jerk my head toward Lucas and tell Dr. Woods, “He’s the one that knocked me up.”
“Oh,” Dr. Woods says with wide eyes. “Oh, okay. I see. That’s um…well, okay. Got it. I just thought you were friends.”
“With benefits,” Lucas adds, and this time I can’t stop the laugh. Lucas shoots me a grin.
“Okay, that was too much information,” Dr. Woods chastises us with an easygoing laugh. “So, Lucas, you’re the father and you’re going through this pregnancy with Stephanie?”
Lucas nods. “That’s the gist of it.”
“All right,” Dr. Woods says with a clap of his hands as he grabs some latex gloves. “Now I’m caught up on everything. Let’s do the pelvic exam and then we’ll do the ultrasound.”
“And one other thing,” I say hesitantly, and slide an unsure look to Lucas briefly before I turn back to the doctor. “Can you do a paternity test?”
Dr. Woods’s eyebrows furrow deep with question. “I don’t understand.”
At the same time, Lucas growls, “I don’t want a paternity test.”
“You said you did,” I snap in reminder, although inside I want to dance with joy that he doesn’t.
“Well, yeah…that was back when I didn’t know you any better than I know Dr. Woods here. In fact, I’ve probably had more conversation with Dr. Woods than I did with you that night I knocked you up.”
My face heats up and I glare at Lucas. “Oh grow up, will you?”
Lucas merely turns to Dr. Woods and calmly says, “I do not need a paternity test. I know I’m the father.”
“You could have mentioned that before now,” I grumble, and I can tell Lucas finds me hilarious as his eyes dance with humor.
Dr. Woods’s eyes go back and forth between us a few times before he just shrugs, seemingly to accept our very weird relationship. I’m sure he’s seen it all, though.
Next I suffer the indignity of putting socked feet in the stirrups. When a woman is essentially naked with her legs spread, she shouldn’t be sporting fuzzy socks, and yet here I am doing just that. Then he inserts the speculum, which is perhaps my least favorite thing in the world. I wince a few times as he takes a culture, then probes after removing the speculum.
“Everything feels just fine,” he says reassuringly as he removes his gloves, discards them, and then grabs a new pair. He goes to the machine I’d noticed in the corner of the room and wheels it to the side of the table. He turns it on, adjusts a few knobs, and then picks up a thin wand that’s connected to it. “I’m just going to insert this into your vagina, Stephanie. It won’t hurt, but it might be slightly uncomfortable as I move it around so I can find the baby.”
“Okay,” I say, but my voice sounds small and terrified. I didn’t mean to sound that way but in a nanosecond, Lucas has my hand engulfed in his.
My eyes move to his and he smiles at me. He doesn’t say a word, but then he doesn’t need to. He’s one of the most transparent people I know. A man whose expression will tell you all you need to know about how he’s feeling and doesn’t care if you see it. His look tells me that he’s right beside me and it’s all going to be fine.
He confirms it by leaning over and putting a feathery kiss on my forehead. My eyes go to Dr. Woods, and he smiles back at me as if to say, You’re a lucky girl.
Am I? I don’t feel that way, since things have felt so off with Lucas lately. But here he is acting like I’m precious, and I’m so confused I just want to go to sleep and wake up when the baby comes.
Dr. Woods puts some lubricant on the wand and sits back down on his rolling stool, bringing himself up close and personal with a part of my body that probably only Lucas has seen more of than me. I can’t help but tense up when he starts to insert the wand, and Lucas murmurs to me, “Just relax, Stephy.”
I suck in a deep breath and try to force myself to relax.
The wand is so narrow it doesn’t hurt, but when he bumps the end into my cervix, I suck in a tiny breath from the discomfort. Lucas’s other hand comes to my head and he strokes my hair, whispering, “It’s okay. You got this.”
I let the air out and watch as the ultrasound screen comes alive with a mass of gray-looking static. Dr. Woods moves the wand a little and then says, “There’s your uterus,” as he points to a small black area.