“Okay. Thank you.”
“Wait.” She lowers her voice, her eyes darting around. “I have a couple of questions I need to ask.”
I nod.
“Do you feel safe at home?”
I frown at that. “Of course.”
“Is anyone controlling your access to money, birth control, medical care, or friends and loved ones?”
Well, shit. I don’t know how to answer the second one, but the other three…
“Absolutely not.”
This shit is weird. I peer around the small room looking for cameras. The mirror looks legit, but maybe somebody’s on the other side watching.
“Okay, you’re all set,” the nurse finally says. “You can have a seat in the waiting room and we’ll call you when the doctor is ready.”
I’m still confused by the time I make it back, but I don’t say a word to Ace. He’s working, and I don’t interrupt men when they’re working hard.
After about twenty minutes, they call us both back. Dr. Bernard greets me with a big smile, warm like she always is. But when I introduce her to Ace, she goes cold.
After we’re seated, she types a bit on her computer before giving me her full attention.
“Any cramping, bleeding, or spotting since our last visit?”
“No.”
“Nausea?”
“Um, for about a day or two, but I fixed that.”
Dr. Bernard’s eyebrows lift. “What do you mean, you fixed it?”
Ace, too, is curious.
“I saw on Google that half a Unisom and vitamin B6 taken together keeps the nausea away.”
Her eyes shift to Ace, then back to me. “Well, aren’t you resourceful? Those two together absolutely do mimic one of the drugs we prescribe for nausea.”
“Is it healthy?” Ace asks.
“No less healthy than what we prescribe. Cheaper, too.”
She types something on her computer. “How do you feel?”
Fuck. I don’t know how to answer that.
“I’m not sure yet,” is what I say, and it’s the truth.
“That’s fair,” she says. “First pregnancy, I would expect a little anxiety about what’s to come. Before we get to the ultrasound, did you have any questions or concerns?”
How soon can I get this fucking baby out of me?is what I wanna say, but instead, I simply shake my head.
She leaves me to undress, then comes back in and has me lay back.
“We’ll do a transvaginal ultrasound today since you’re so early.”
