I have my hand on the door when she stops me. “Miss Trevers, I don’t advise you to leave. Your blood pressure is high, and I suggest you stay to be seen.” I pause, but I’m still determined. I love my doctor. He’s an older man that has delivered thousands of babies, and he’s nice. I’m about to tell her I’ll make another appointment when she continues, “And I understand you want to see Dr. Parks, but for the health of your baby, you should at least stay and let Dr. Reynolds check you out.”
I let my head fall. It’s not just me anymore. I can’t just do what I want; I need to look out for my child now, and even though this baby is a surprise, I already love him or her. I grit my teeth and turn back to my seat. “Fine.”
She doesn’t gloat or anything since she obviously got her way. She just singsongs, “The doctor will be in shortly” and then walks out the door.
I sit back in my seat and cross my hands over my belly. I’m not sure how long I sit here, but when I wake up, I have a very handsome man with a white coat on standing over me.
“Hi, Miss Trevers, I’m sorry to interrupt your sleep.”
I sit up higher in my seat and wipe at my mouth because yes, I even have some drool that has pooled at the corner of my lips. “No, it’s fine. I’m sorry for falling asleep.”
He pulls his rolling stool over and leans toward me. I will give it to the nurse because she wasn’t lying. Dr. Reynolds is nice to look at. He smiles at me. “It’s completely understandable. So let’s talk.”
I nod and cross my hands over my stomach.
He grabs my chart and starts reading before closing it and tilting his head to the side. “You look familiar…”
I push my hair off my face. “Well, I’ve lived in Whiskey Run my whole life.”
He nods. “Aren’t you Austin Blaze’s…”
Before he can finish that sentence, I tack on. “Best friend? Yes, we’ve been friends practically our whole lives.”
He frowns at that but nods his head. “Right. Well, I’ve got good news, and I have some bad news. Do you have a preference of what you want first?”
I blow out a breath. “The good news.”
He smiles again. “Good. Okay, well the good news is that if you do what I tell you to do, then you and the baby will have a better chance of being healthy.”
I can feel a tug in my chest because I know I’m not going to like the bad news. “Well, that is good. So what’s the bad news?”
He crosses his arms over his chest. “Uh, do you have someone you’d like to be here with you?”
For the first time since I found out I was pregnant, real fear takes over. I’m nervous by the change of his tone. I grip the sides of my chair. “Doctor, quite honestly, you’re freaking me out. Please tell me what’s wrong.”
He crosses his arms over his chest and nods. “Okay, well, we found protein in your urine, and your blood pressure is high. Way too high.”
I cross my feet at my ankles which even seems to be a feat. “Uh, what does protein in my urine mean?”
He ignores my question, grabbing for my foot and bringing it up, “You have quite a bit of swelling.”
I gulp. “Yep.”
“Any headaches?”
I’m not one to ever complain, and even being honest with the doctor right now feels like complaining. “Uh, yes, I usually have one every day, but if I sleep or take a pill”—I hold my hand up—“Dr. Parks said it was okay to take them while pregnant.”
Dr. Reynolds nods his head. He’s got my file open again and is jotting things down. “Okay, so I know this is not what you want to hear.”
I throw a hand up. “Just tell me, Doctor, because right now, you have me freaked out a little bit.”
He rolls his little stool closer to me, and his voice drops at least an octave. “You have to rest, Miss Trevers.”
I literally let out a breath of relief. Thank God. Okay, I can do this. “Rest, right. I can do that. And if I do, the baby will be okay?”
He shakes his head. “I don’t think I’m explaining myself clearly. What do you do for a living?”
My forehead creases, already not liking where this is going. “I’m a hair stylist.”
His frown deepens. “So you’re on your feet all day?”
I don’t want to, but there’s no getting around it. I nod. “Yeah.”
He grabs a prescription pad and scrawls something across it before ripping it off the pad and handing it to me. “Here you go. Give this to your boss and let them know you’re taking the next two weeks off. But just so you know, Miss Trevers, it may be longer. Now, I’m not going to put you on bed rest… yet.”
My mouth hits the floor. “Uh, bed rest? I don’t need a note. I’m my own boss, I just rent out a space at the salon, and I can’t take two weeks—”
He starts to interrupt, and I hold my hand up. “I can’t take two OR MORE weeks off. I mean, I know it’s important for me and my baby to eat, so yeah, I can’t afford to take time off. I can’t.”
He reaches over and puts a hand on my shoulder. “I understand what you’re saying, but for your health—and the baby’s—you really have to. I’m worried about preeclampsia, and that can be dangerous for you both. I think you need to go ahead and prepare yourself that the baby may need to come earlier than expected.”
I just stare back at him, speechless. Everything he’s said is whirling around in my head, and I’m feeling completely overwhelmed.
He seems to sense that and pats me on the shoulder. “It says here the last time you did an ultrasound, we were unable to see the sex of the baby. What do you think if you hop up here and we take a look?”
I nod, still unable to form a sentence. It seems like my whole world is falling down around me.
He holds his hand out to help me up, and when I’m settled on the bed and leaning back, he asks me again. “You sure you don’t want anyone here with you…”
His voice trails off, and I shake my head. “Nope, the, uh, father is not involved.”
If anything, his frown gets even deeper. “Oh, okay. So let’s see here. Can you pull your pants down a little right under your belly? Now this may be a little cold at first—sorry, the warmer in this room broke.” He squirts some cold jelly on my belly and starts pressing around my stomach. I just emptied my bladder, but I’m afraid that if he keeps pressing the way he is, then I’m going to embarrass myself and pee right here on the table.
He turns a screen so both of us can see it and continues moving around on my belly. The sound of my baby’s heartbeat fills the room, and I let out an audible sigh. “Good, steady heartbeat,” he says.
I bite on to my lower lip and wait for something to appear on the screen. Right now, it looks just like a grainy television feed. The doctor clicks a few buttons, and the screen freezes as he takes pictures. “Do you want to know the sex of the baby?”
“Yes!” I answer way more enthusiastically than I should in the small, quiet room.
He chuckles and then nods his head. “A daughter. You’re having a little girl.”
I can’t help it; tears start rolling down my cheeks. I make promises to myself and even pray to God that I’m going to love and care for my baby. That she will always be loved.