“I deducted five pounds for you,” the nurse says, and Jade coos at her. We get into an exam room, and the nurse takes my vitals. “We’d like to get a urine sample.”
“Oh, okay.”
“It’s just to double-check for any infections, like a UTI, or pregnancy.”
I want to sayyeah right, but I take the cup and step down from the exam table.
After I give my urine sample, I return to the room to find Jade on the phone with someone.
“I had her write it on a piece of paper. It’s in an envelope in my purse. Yep, I know, exciting. Oh, I have to go, I’ll call you back.” She hangs up as I sit back down on the exam table.
“You didn’t have to hang up.”
She waves me off. “You know how?—”
Before she can continue, a knock sounds on the door.
The doctor walks inside the room and looks between Jade and me. “You again? Can’t keep yourself away, huh?” She comes over and pats my leg. “I assume your husband is missing for the same reasons as Jade’s?” She’s smiling, which I’m sure is her way of setting me at ease.
The first time I came here for my pap smear, on Kyleigh’s suggestion, the doctor recognized me and knew who my husband was. Not in a creepy way, but it happens sometimes.
“I heard all about your trip north. Sounds fun.” The doctor continues talking as she sits on the stool, scanning her card under the computer and pulling up my chart. “I assume we can discuss everything candidly?”
I glance at Jade and nod. “Yes.”
“All right. So, you’ve been trying to get pregnant and struggling?” I nod, and she continues. “Even women who have had three babies can have trouble getting pregnant sometimes, so it doesn’t necessarily mean there’s anything wrong. The body can be a mystery sometimes. But we’ll do an exam today. Even though you were here six months ago, let’s take another look. I know it’s tough, and some women are like bam, bam and they’re pregnant, while for others it can take longer.”
A knock sounds on the door, and the nurse peeks her head in. “Can I see you for a second?”
The doctor looks at me and smiles. “Be right back.”
She leaves, and I swing my legs around.
“You okay?” Jade asks.
I nod. “Yeah, I mean, it’s not a secret. You all know we’ve been trying.”
Conor likes to make announcements, so of course, he told everyone he would knock me up in record time. As the months have gone by and we haven’t announced anything, I’m sure they all suspected we’re having issues. We’ve been so blessed with our life together already that sometimes I feel guilty for being so disappointed. But every month when I get my period, I feel like a woman who malfunctioned, whose body is betraying her.
Jade opens her mouth, but is interrupted when the doctor knocks and comes back in.
“So…” she says, not sitting down at the computer but leaning against the cabinet. She’s dressed professionally in a pair of slacks, flats, and a nice blouse with her white doctor’s coat over it. “We tested your urine sample.”
My stomach drops. Is there a reason I’m not getting pregnant? Maybe I have an infection, or they found something else.
“I want to do a blood test to confirm that the results are accurate?—”
“What is it?” I ask, my voice trembling.
She smiles. “You’re pregnant.”
It takes a beat for the words to make sense in my head. “But I’m not even late. My period isn’t due yet. I thought a test couldn’t predict that early.”
She chuckles and goes over to the computer again, sitting and scanning her card. “That’s why I want to confirm it with a blood test. If you give us the sample today, I’ll put a rush on it, and someone will call you with the results by the end of the day. So I’d say we’re cautiously optimistic.” She types something into my chart.
I glance at Jade, whose smile could light up the Las Vegas Strip.
My blood is drawn, and she says she’ll call in a prescription for prenatal vitamins. I make my next appointment, and the whole thing goes so fast that it’s not until she steps out that I realize Conor missed it. I look at Jade. He wasn’t the first to know, and that seems terribly unfair.
