A Perfect Ten

Page 129

So, we sat in the waiting room for damn near an hour and a half with a sighing Blondie continuously telling us this was ridiculous because she felt fine.
I was never so happy to hear someone call her name. “Thank fucking God.”
The three of us stood and when they led us back to the room where she sat on a cot, Caroline took one side and grabbed one of Blondie’s hands, while I did the same on the other side. I gave her fingers a supportive squeeze as the nurse started to ask her the routine questions and checked her vitals.
As the questions slowly got a little more personal, Blondie’s face quickly got a lot redder.
“How have your menstrual cycles been?”
And fuck. This time, I turned beet red with her. I coughed into my hand and caught Caroline snickering at me. I scowled at her while Blondie lowered her face and admitted, “They’ve been pretty light the past few months. I mean, a lot lighter than usual. I...I’m not even sure I had one last month.”
The nurse nodded as if she suspected as much. “Is it possible you’re pregnant?”
All three of our jaws dropped pretty much simultaneously. Finally, Blondie shook her head. “No...I...I’m taking birth control. That’s not possible.”
The look the nurse sent her told us it was entirely possible. “Have you been sick lately? Vomited any?”
“No,” Blondie started, only to pause. “I mean, way back in March I guess I did. I had a stomach bug, but it only lasted a day.”
“It only takes one missed pill to get pregnant, and if you vomited a pill...” She shrugged, telling us that was that.
“And you got nauseous on the way to Lake Tahoe,” Caroline chimed in, implying the beginning of morning sickness.
Blondie glanced at Caroline and then me, her expression beyond panicked.
I lifted my hands. “Well, let’s find out if she’s pregnant.”
The nurse pulled up a plastic cup and instructed Blondie to go pee in it. While she was gone, Caroline came to me. I pulled her into a tight hug, kissing her hair. “Well, at least it might not be something life threatening,” I said, relieved out of my mind.
But when Caroline looked up, her gaze was still concerned. “Are you sure? I mean, is it okay for her to get pregnant this soon after her operation?”
“Oh, shit.” I closed my eyes and gritted my teeth. “I forgot about that. I don’t know.”
Blondie returned then, so we shut up about our concerns and flanked her once more.
Moments later, her doctor entered, smiling. “Congratulations,” he said, lifting his smile to encompass both me and Blondie. “You two are having a baby.”
Blondie squeaked out her shock. Caroline sprang toward the door that led to the hall, already tugging her phone from her pocket. “I’m getting Quinn,” she called as she fled the room.
And I looked at Blondie before turning back to the doctor. “Well, damn, that’s impressive, since I’ve never had sex with her.”
“I...I’m sorry.” The doctor flushed and stuttered a moment before asking, “So, you two aren’t...?”
Both Blondie and I shook our heads. Then I looked at her. “She’s...my sister,” I finally said and gave a warm squeeze to her hand.
“Oh! Well...” The doctor’s smile eased. He consulted his chart. “It looks like—”
“Wait.” Blondie lifted her hand, stopping him mid-word. “I...I...no. I can’t get pregnant right now. I donated a kidney five months ago, and they said...they said I needed to wait at least three to six months before I could get pregnant.”
The doctor winced. “Yeah...that definitely makes a difference.” He checked the chart. “And you said your periods have been light recently, plus you missed a pill in March, so you could be as far as two months along. Add that to the fact that you’ve been taking birth control the entire duration, and that puts you in a definite risk category.”
“Oh God.” Blondie covered her mouth with both hands. She looked so scared that I wrapped an arm around her shoulders. She leaned against me, clutching my arm. “So what...what’re we supposed to do then?”
“Well...” The doctor blew out a breath before glancing over a rack full of pamphlets hanging from the wall. Then he pulled one free. “If you’re asking about termination, there’s some information about that here, places to call for locations and...and...ma’am?”
Blondie recoiled from the pamphlet he was trying to give her and burst into tears. “Are you saying...oh God...I have to get an...an abortion?”