“But it’s true,” I told him softly.
He shook his head, but he didn’t say anything else. Lifting his chin toward my plate, he said, “Stop fighting with me and eat your breakfast. The doctor will be here soon.”
Grateful to stop talking, I dug back into my pancakes. I felt like I hadn’t eaten in…well…a week.
We’d just finished when there was a knock on the door.
“I’ll get it.” Enzo ran into the bedroom first, pulling on a black T-shirt as he walked over to the door.
The doctor Enzo had called was a short, portly woman who looked to be in her fifties with kind eyes and a business-like manner. She took me back into the bedroom and chased Enzo out when he tried to follow us, then closed the door in his face after telling him we’d be out shortly.
I almost smiled at the shocked look on Enzo’s face right before he was shut out.
“Okay, let’s take a look at you,” the doctor said after I’d gone into the bathroom and changed into a gown. I’d gotten to thinking while we were waiting for him that it wouldn’t be a bad thing to get an exam. Although I felt okay, Enzo was right. I could have some kind of internal damage. Or worse, Icouldbe pregnant. The doctor indicated for me to lie on the edge of the bed where she’d covered the mattress with a sterile sheet. “I apologize for the lack of a professional setup. Just lie here like you normally would on an exam table and scoot down to the edge, leaving your heels on the bed. Enzo told me you’ve had a rough time this past week.”
I handed her the clear plastic cup I’d just peed in. “You could say that,” I told her as I got into position.
“I’ll try to make this as quick as possible,” she told me.
Sitting down on the chair she’d pulled up to the bed, she told me to relax my legs, and I did, letting my knees fall open. She had a bright light standing next to the bed. I wondered where it came from. “How often do you make house calls like this?” I asked her to take my mind off what she was doing.
“Oh, you’d be surprised,” she said. “I’ve been working for the family for quite a few years now. I have an office, but I rarely use it. I don’t mind, though. It gets me outside.”
I stared at the ceiling and tried to relax.
“Do you remember having any pain, Sera?”
“Some cramping. I thought it was my period.”
“And when did that start?”
“I don’t remember exactly. It usually only lasts three days. Sometimes four. I’m on the pill, but I wasn’t taking them this past week.”
She made a knowing sound. “Were you due to get your menstrual cycle?”
I tried to think back. “Honestly, I don’t remember. But they’re in my bag. I could check.”
“Okay. That’s fine.” She pulled her instrument out of me and pulled the gown back down over my knees.
I lowered my legs and sat up.
“I didn’t see anything that won’t heal up pretty quick,” she told me in a sympathetic voice. “But if you have any pain or any other concerns, call me right away.”
“Okay.”
“I don’t know everything that happened to you, but if you feel up to it, it’s perfectly okay to have sex again. Or to wait. It’s up to you and what you’re comfortable with, Sera. But physically, you should be fine. And you can go ahead and start taking your pills again.”
I nodded to let her know I understood. “Can I go get changed?”
She smiled. “Yes. I’m finished.”
“Thank you,” I told her. “For coming here and doing all of this.”
“No need to thank me,” she said. “Mr. Delligatti paid me very well to make a house call.”
After I was dressed again, I joined her and Enzo out in the other room. The doctor was giving Enzo a full report, and she smiled again when she saw me. “The preliminary pregnancy and STD tests came up negative, but I’ll send them to the lab just to be safe, so still take precautions until you hear from me.”
I nodded, as a feeling of relief nearly overwhelmed me. “Thank you.”
