Total pages in book: 98
Estimated words: 96833 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 484(@200wpm)___ 387(@250wpm)___ 323(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96833 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 484(@200wpm)___ 387(@250wpm)___ 323(@300wpm)
He shrugged. “The whiskey was good.”
“Is that all?”
“I’ve been there plenty of times. Nothing too exciting. It was mostly business, not pleasure.”
“Right. I figured.”
“How are you feeling about today?” he asked.
“Nervous.”
“Yeah, you’re not the only one,” he admitted.
“Kate and Phil were hoping to come for the first ultrasound,” I told him. “But Phil’s mother down in Florida isn’t doing well. They’ve had to move there temporarily to be with her. Not sure if you knew that.”
“They called and have been keeping me apprised of that situation, yeah.”
“There’ll be other opportunities for them to come.”
He nodded.
We kept the conversation light for the remainder of our ride to the medical center in London.
When we arrived, we checked in and waited our turn. After a few minutes, the ultrasound tech called us into a dark room. Sig stayed in a corner, leaning up against the wall.
“You want to come sit here by your wife so you can see?” the tech asked.
I cringed, my stomach forming knots. Ugh. Why did she have to make that assumption?
Sig said nothing, stone faced.
“I’m not his wife,” I explained. “I’m a surrogate.” I glanced over at him. “We’re not together.”
“Oh. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have assumed.”
“My wife is the biological mother. But she’s deceased,” Sig added. “Abby is carrying our baby.”
The woman’s mouth dropped open. “Wow. All these years doing this… I can’t say I’ve ever had such a situation before.” She smiled. “That’s amazing.” She shook her head and put on some gloves. “I’m gonna have to ask you to remove your trousers and knickers.”
What? “Um, my underwear? Isn’t this done on my stomach?”
“No, the earliest ultrasound is done transvaginally.”
Oh boy.
“Would you be more comfortable if I left?” Sig asked, already walking toward the exit, ready to flee the premises.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” I said. “You can’t see anything from behind me. Just look at the screen.”
He swallowed. “Alright.”
He kept his distance as she eased the wand inside of me. There was a bit of pressure as the probe went in. Once something appeared on the screen, I waved him over. “Come closer so you can see.”
My heart raced as I waited for the tech to say something. I couldn’t make much out within the snowy image myself.
“See that?” She finally pointed. “That’s the baby’s heartbeat.”
I finally noticed it, a little rhythmic flickering of light—of life. I felt like a stranger in my own body, because how could I not have felt that? For the most part I still didn’t feel any different, and yet this life was forming within me, growing by the day.
“I’m happy to tell you that everything looks good. You’re about ten weeks along.” She typed a few things into her computer. “Due date of February tenth.”
I finally pried my eyes away from the little beating heart to look behind me at Sig. He stared at the screen, mesmerized and barely blinking. I imagined he was wishing Britney could’ve been here. Heck, I could barely hold it together, and it wasn’t even my baby. That’s what I had to keep telling myself—this is not your baby. Don’t get attached. But I still felt emotional, seeing that little heartbeat.
When I looked over at the ultrasound tech, she was also looking at Sig, perhaps trying to gauge his reaction.
She cleared her throat. “I’ll print a picture for you.”
She then removed the wand, and the image disappeared. My chest remained heavy with emotion as I got dressed. After she handed me the printout, Sig and I went back to the waiting room. I stopped at the desk to make my next appointment as he waited by the exit.
We were quiet as we walked out together. I didn’t want to say something dumb that would undermine how difficult it must have been for him to see his child for the first time without its mother being alive.
When we’d settled in the car, rather than start the engine, he laid his head back on the seat.
“That made it feel real, right?” I murmured.
“Yeah,” he agreed.
“February tenth. Hope you don’t have plans.”
He turned to me. “That’s Britney’s birthday.”
My stomach dropped to the floor. “Oh. That’s… Wow. I didn’t know.”
He looked out the window. “Chances are it won’t be born on the due date, but yeah…”
I placed my hand on his forearm. “Are you okay?”
He turned to me and forced a slight smile. “I’m fine.”
I offered him the photo. “You want to keep this?”
“No.” He shook his head. “You keep it.”
“Alright.” I slipped the printout into my purse. “What are your plans for the rest of the day?”
“After I drop you off, I have to head back to the office.”
“I’m actually going to Felicity’s, since I took the rest of the day off,” I told him. “She invited me over. Leo has some event tonight, and she wanted company. You want to skip work and come along?”