A sound from down the hall captures my attention, reminding me of what I need to take care of this morning.
Alyssia’s awake and has showered this morning already.
“We’ll talk about it later.”
“Okay, that reminds me of the Hammerson deal. They’re close to sending me the paperwork for you to sign the dotted line.”
Hammerson is a popular sports apparel company based in Europe but has a growing market share across Asia.
“There were a few executives there last night, but they didn’t get a chance to speak with you directly.”
“I’m not worrying about Hammerson or any other deal right now.”
“I know. With the start of the season coming up you have other things on your mind. And I know you wanted to keep a low profile until the first race, but I think you need to get back out there to show people you’re not broken after what happened at the end of last year.”
My grip on my phone tightens as I grit my teeth.
“What happened last season is done. Over with. I’m not discussing it anymore.” I’m damn sure not about to talk about it in public either.
The bedroom door swings open and Alyssia comes out, dressed in a T-shirt and jeans with a long sweater. She comes to a sudden stop, her mouth forming a circle as if she hadn’t expected me to see me.
“I have to go.”
“Yeah, sure, listen. I’m in the city until Wednesday. We have a breakfast scheduled for Tuesday morning but?—”
“Yeah, great. I’ll see you then,” I tell Norm, disconnecting the call.
“You’re here,” Alyssia says as I hang up, confirming my earlier thought.
“We have an appointment at ten.”
She nods. “I assumed you wouldn’t want to come.”
“Why would you assume that?”
She looks away, not answering.
“I don’t mind going alone. I can give you a call later to give you the results of the test.”
I search for the memory of what test she’s referring to. “The ultrasound?”
She nods. “And the blood test.” Her gaze drops to the floor at the corner of the room.
“Did the hospital recommend a blood test last night?” Alyssia didn’t tell me much about the doctor’s recommendations at the hospital, aside from making an appointment with her OB, and to get some rest.
Since I didn’t want to put too much strain on her once we arrived last night, I didn’t press for answers.
“You should sit down,” I say, taking her arm and leading her to the couch. “Shouldn’t be on your feet too long.”
She opens her mouth as if to respond but quickly closes it, her shoulders slumping slightly.
“The paternity test,” she finally answers.
It takes seconds before my mind processes what she’s said. All that goes through my head are visions of needles plunging into Alyssia’s stomach, sticking the baby inside. My eyes drop to her belly. She’s not yet showing at just over two months, but after last night’s scare—a suspected subchorionic hematoma—my body tenses.
Last night it took me hours to get to sleep. In addition to the discomfort of the couch, I spent an unnamed amount of time trying to wrap my head around the fact that I’m going to be a father.
I’m still working on it, but to help I ended up buying a few pregnancy and parenting books. I also looked up the term subchorionic hematoma. Short explanation: it’s a clot or bruising that forms in the uterine wall which can cause stomach cramping, bleeding, and in extreme cases, miscarriage.
