I turn my head straight ahead.I’m going to see my baby on that little monitor.I wonder if this brings back any memories of him and Kate; it must be like déjà vu for him.He’s standing next to me at the exam table by my head when he asks, “You nervous?”
“No, just thinking.”
“About what?”
I’m saved from answering the question tugging at my heart when the tech comes in.“Good evening, Ms.Reed, my name is Victor.I’ll be doing your sonogram.”
“Okay,” I tell him, smiling back at him, but Nick doesn’t look too happy.I hope he doesn’t say anything.
“How far along are you, Ms.Reed?”
“I think about two months.”He looks at my chart and puts it down on the table beside the sonogram machine.He does a few things with the machine then holds up a long white large ice-pop-looking thing.
“Can you please put your feet in the stirrups and slide down to the end of the table,” Victor asks.
What the hell is this—a gyn exam?I thought a sonogram was a little rolling machine they used over your stomach.
Nick turns his head to me with raised eyebrows, and I shrug my shoulder.I don’t know what Victor’s going to do; I’ve never done this before.Wasn’t he in the room when Kate was doing this?
He turns back to Victor with a nod of his head at the ice-pop-looking thing in his hand and asks him, “What is that for?”
“It’s a transvaginal ultrasound wand.The baby’s too small to see with a regular handheld probe.”
“Transvaginal.”Nick says slowly, sounding out every syllable as he looks at me.
Oh man, here we go.
He turns back to Victor and puts his hands in his pockets, a sure sign things are going to go bad real fast.“You’re going to do it?Isn’t a nurse supposed to be in here?”His eyes close a bit and he bites the middle of his bottom lip as he openly glares at Victor.
Geez, he’s making the poor guy uncomfortable.
The tech clears his throat and puts the wand down.“I could have the nurse come in, if it would make you feel more comfortable?”
I give Nick a hard loo , but he’s not even looking at me, he’s staring at Victor.“Victor, it’s fine, that won’t be necessary,” I say.
His head goes back and forth between Nick and me.I give him a reassuring smile and he turns back around hesitantly.
I yank on Nick’s jacket to get his attention.“Nick, you’re being rude,” I whisper up at him.
“No, I’m not.I’m asking questions.I need to be informed.”
“It’s embarrassing.”
“He’s going to put that thing in your most intimate body part, and me asking a question is embarrassing you?”He squints his eyes at me.“A total stranger, and he’s not even a doctor.”
Tight-lipped, I shake my head and hiss, “Keep your voice down.You put something in my most intimate body part and I wasn’t this embarrassed.”
“And look at you now.Let me ask my questions.”
My mouth pops open.Did he really say that to me?“Really, Nick, really?”
“Really.”
Oh my God, he turns back around at the exact same time Victor’s rolling a condom on the wand.All I can do is cover my face when I see the look on Nick’s face.
“Ms.Reed, scoot your butt down to the end of the table and lift up your gown.”
“HELL NO!”I hear Nick explode.“I’m sorry, but you go out there and tell them you need a female technician in here.”He looks at me eyes blazing.“Put your legs down.”
