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)
“What are you doing here?” I ask dumbly.
He just shakes his head at me as he shuts the door. “You knew I was going to be here.”
“But you weren’t,” I say somewhat petulantly, and I hate that tone coming out of my mouth, but it doesn’t stop me from saying, “You’re late.”
“Have you seen the doctor yet?” he asks me, and I want to punch him.
“No,” I mutter.
“Then I’m not late,” he says with a smirk.
He’s right and I give up on discussing it further. “I guess you’re not.”
I drop my head and study my hands for lack of anything better to do. Another knock on the door and its opening again, this time an older man with silver hair and black framed glasses comes in. He looks first to me and sticks his hand out. “Hi, I’m Dr. Woods and I’ll be your primary obstetrician throughout your pregnancy.”
“Stephanie Frazier,” I say as I shake his hand.
He turns to Lucas and then his mouth drops open. “You’re…you’re…”
“Lucas Fournier,” he finishes for the doctor as he shakes his hand. “Nice to meet you.”
The doctor gives a little laugh and shakes his head in amusement at himself. “Sorry, that just caught me off guard for a minute.”
“No worries,” Lucas assures the doctor, and then shoots me a wink. He’s in an awfully good mood for some reason and that makes me grumpier.
“I didn’t realize you were married, Mr. Fournier,” Dr. Woods says pleasantly, and it’s an honest guess I suppose. I mean, you don’t have to be married in this day and age to have a baby, but Dr. Woods is from a different generation and he probably just thinks differently.
“We’re not married,” I explain, and Dr. Woods looks to me. “We’re just friends.”
“Oh, I see,” he says with a hesitant smile, but I can tell by the confused tone he doesn’t understand anything about our relationship.
Join the club, Dr. Woods. Join the club.
Dr. Woods sits on a low stool and rolls it to a desk. He opens up a laptop that he’d been carrying, and after a few moments of reviewing whatever information he has on me already, turns and says, “You estimate that you’re around eight weeks pregnant according to your history.”
“It’s not an estimate,” I tell him.
“Well, sometimes you can’t always pinpoint the exact date you got pregnant—”
“I know the exact date I got pregnant,” I interrupt him so we can just get on with this. “It was a one-night stand and there’s no one else in the picture near that time.”
“Oh,” Dr. Woods says as his eyebrows rise. He glances to Lucas, who’s come to stand beside me as I sit at the end of the examination table. “Oh, I see. Well, then…it doesn’t appear that you have any major complicating factors according to the history form you filled out. Here’s what we’re going to do today. I’m going to do a physical examination of you, including a pelvic exam. We’ll also get some blood and urine samples. And then after that we’ll let you get dressed and then go over into my office where it’s a little more relaxed and we can talk about what lies ahead for you.”
I can only nod, suddenly feeling overwhelmed. I’m not sure if I’m giving that vibe off or not, because Lucas’s hand comes to the back of my neck and he gives me a reassuring squeeze. I have to force myself not grab his hand like it’s a lifeboat.
“Good,” Dr. Woods says with an encouraging smile, and stands from his stool. He washes his hands and dries them, and proceeds to give me a regular examination by checking my eyes, ears, throat, and heart. He pushes around on the lymph nodes on my neck and then has me lie down to press on my stomach while asking me if anything hurts.
Dr. Woods then helps me to sit up. “Have you been having any issues so far, Stephanie?”
“Morning sickness,” I reply, as that’s the worst symptom.
With a chuckle, Dr. Woods nods and says, “That should be gone by week sixteen. Anything else?”
“Spotting,” I tell him, and from my peripheral vision I can see Lucas tense up. “Yesterday morning, and it was just a little when I peed. Nothing else since and I’d read that can be normal.”
“You were spotting?” Lucas asks, his voice rough with annoyance. “And you didn’t tell me?”
“I didn’t think it was a big deal since it didn’t happen anymore and I feel fine,” I tell him with my eyes narrowed.
Dr. Woods decides to intervene, so he says a little loudly, “Tell you what, while spotting can indicate something wrong, it can be perfectly normal too. So after the pelvic exam, we’ll do a vaginal ultrasound and check that little baby out.”
“You can see the baby this early?” Lucas asks with wonder.