“Why are you looking so nervous?” I ask Gracie as she lies on the bed, chewing her thumbnail. The private doctor I’ve employed, so she doesn’t have to go to the hospital, is in the bathroom washing her hands, and seeing the sonogram equipment all set up on the bedside table seems to have her worried.
“What if I’m not pregnant? What if it’s all been in my head?” She pouts.
“It’s not in your head. We did like a hundred tests, not to mention the fact that your body’s already started changing,” I remind her, sitting on the edge of the bed and taking hold of her hand.
“Okay, but what if there's two of them in there…? Or three?” She looks adorable when she’s panicking. “Could you cope with three babies?”
“Gracie, a second ago you didn’t think there would be one in there; now you're worried there’s three.” I raise an eyebrow at her, hoping to make her think more rationally.
“Okay, but what if there were?”
“Triplets would be awesome. Twins would be fine. You could have five in there, for all I care.”
“Five?!” She sits bolt upright, looking alarmed.
“I was joking.” I kiss her forehead to try and keep her calm; things between us have been so much better since last night. All the tension has lifted, and just like that, we’re back to being us again…whateverusis.
“You know, you’d have to pay double if there were two, right?” She looks at me in a way I can’t tell if she’s being serious or not.
“Just joking.” She gives me a smart smile before resting her head back on the pillow.
“Is everyone ready? Dr. Stratton comes out of the bathroom with a huge smile on her face. I guess she should be happy with the amount I’m paying her to be here. Not that it bothers me, I’d pay triple it if it meant keeping Gracie relaxed through all of this.
“Let’s meet your little one.” She picks up the wand from her machine, then makes Gracie jump when she squirts gel all over her stomach.
“Sorry, I’ve been doing this for such a long time that I forget to warn people.”
“It’s fine.” Gracie smiles back at her, squeezing my hand a little tighter as we both watch her run the transducer across Gracie’s slightly risen tummy.
“So, is there a baby in there?” Gracie breaks the silence, biting her lip in suspense.
“There sure is.” The doctor spins around the monitor and points to a tiny bean-shaped figure in the middle of the screen. “And that there is his or her little heart beating beautifully.” She smiles. “I’ve brought along my instant printer so I can get you a photo printed, once I’ve got all the measurements I need.” She puts her focus back on the screen, and Gracie rolls her head to look at me with the most excited smile on her face.
“It wasn’t in my head.” She laughs.
“I told you.” I reach down to kiss her, but she pulls slightly back.
“Jack,” she warns, reminding me that we’re taking things beyond the limits. Sex is a need; this kind of affection is obviously too much for her.
“Oh, don’t mind me.” The doctor laughs, thinking her being present is the problem, and I decide to kiss Gracie, regardless of her warning. The way she inhales, like she wants to make the moment last, makes it impossible to regret, even if she does look mad at me when I pull away.
“I’m all done, and everything looks great. I’m dating you at twelve weeks and three days, but due dates are rarely accurate. Babies tend to come whenever they are ready.” She rips a copy of the photo off her digital printer and hands it to Gracie. “I’ll need to see you in about four weeks to listen to the baby’s heartbeat and a routine check-up, but aside from that, I’ll leave you to keep doing what you’re doing.” She smiles.
“We did want to talk to you about me having a home delivery,” Gracie speaks up.
“Okay, what questions do you have?” She listens intently.
“Is it safe?” I go in with the first one.
“Perfectly. We have some very well-trained district midwives; in fact, they would be able to answer all your questions much better than me.” She starts rifling through her bag… Pulling out a leaflet, she hands it to Gracie, too.
“You hear that, Jack? Perfectly safe.” She turns her head and smiles at me.
“And if therewerecomplications?” I check, still not convinced it’s a good idea.
“Most women find labouring at home very relaxing; there are rarely complications, especially if mother and baby are healthy and the baby is in a cooperative position,” she assures us.
Gracie nods like her mind's at rest, but mine still needs some convincing.
