Lawful Wife
Page 34
Holly shook her head and opened the entrance door to the brick building, holding it open for her. “Don’t stall. That’s just nerves talking. Now, come, let’s do this together.”
Pushing her shoulders back, Sabrina nodded. “I can do this.”
Then she walked inside and headed for the front desk, Holly by her side. “I’m Sabrina Palmer. I have a ten-thirty appointment with Dr. Chandra.”
“Good morning, Miss Palmer. Your insurance card please.”
Sabrina pulled her insurance card from her purse and handed it to the receptionist.
After the receptionist ticked a name off the list and ran her insurance card through her system, she reached for a clipboard, pinned two forms to it and handed it to Sabrina together with a pen. “Fill these out and bring them back when you’re finished.”
“Thanks.” Sabrina took the clipboard and turned toward the waiting area.
Both she and Holly sat down. While Holly reached for a glossy magazine with celebrities on the cover, Sabrina filled out the questionnaire as thoroughly as she could. Then she handed it back to the receptionist and sat back down.
Holly closed the magazine and leaned closer. “So, what are you gonna name her?”
Sabrina glanced around, looking at the other women in the waiting room and found one of them looking at her. Did this woman recognize her from the picture in the newspaper? Had she read the article? Sabrina sighed. How could she think about babies and a future with Daniel right now when there was so much chaos in her world?
“We don’t even know whether I’m pregnant,” she responded under her breath and looked back at her friend. “It could all be a false alarm. It happens all the time; you miss a period, because you’re under stress. And if anybody is under stress right now, then it’s I.”
Holly put a reassuring hand over hers. “Sweetheart, you need to learn to relax. Maybe I should take you to a spa for an afternoon.”
Sabrina rolled her eyes. “I don’t have time to relax. There’s still so much to do. And now that my parents are here, I have to play referee on top of it. Besides, my mother is still miffed at me for forgetting her arrival day.” She shook her head.
After consulting her cell phone, she’d had to admit that she’d indeed received her mother’s text message apprising her of her earlier arrival. Sabrina must have simply forgotten it. Could this mean that she was really pregnant? She’d once read that a woman’s short term memory suffered during pregnancy. And then there’d been the dizzy spells, and in the mornings she’d occasionally felt a little unwell. She wouldn’t classify it as morning sickness, just a sensitive stomach.
“The way things are right now, I’m not sure I’m ready to be a mother.”
Holly chuckled and shook her blonde locks. “You’ll do fine, and you know it.”
“Still, maybe this is not the best time.” Their gazes locked. “You know.”
Holly nodded.
Sabrina had had a talk with Holly the day she’d found out about the article, after Daniel had told her on the way home from the beach that both Tim and Holly knew about the article. After digging deeper, Daniel had also confessed that his parents were aware of the situation, but that he hadn’t told them the whole story. And once Sabrina had heard the sanitized version Daniel had dished up to his parents, she felt a tiny bit better. At least Daniel’s parents weren’t horrified. They actually thought that the way Tim and Holly had set up their blind date was cute, despite the fact that it was unorthodox. If only they knew the truth!
“Don’t worry, we’ve got it under control,” Holly assured her, leaning closer. “Tim, Daniel and I are working on a few things. Give it another day or two, and we’ll get the newspaper to retract the story and issue an apology.”
“Tell me what you’re doing.”
Holly shook her head, glancing around the waiting room, before looking back at Sabrina. “I can’t. Please, you just have to trust us. I just don’t want you to get all excited. You’ve got enough to worry about right now. Leave it up to the guys and me. We’ll take care of it.”
Sabrina couldn’t keep the frown off her face. “I would be less stressed if I knew what you’re trying to do. At least then I’d have some hope that this . . . this problem will go away. But just knowing that Audrey is behind all this makes me want to throw up.”
Holly patted her hand. “That’s just the morning sickness talking. Don’t worry about Audrey. She’ll get what she deserves. I’ll guarantee it.”
Pushing her shoulders back, Sabrina nodded. “I can do this.”
Then she walked inside and headed for the front desk, Holly by her side. “I’m Sabrina Palmer. I have a ten-thirty appointment with Dr. Chandra.”
“Good morning, Miss Palmer. Your insurance card please.”
Sabrina pulled her insurance card from her purse and handed it to the receptionist.
After the receptionist ticked a name off the list and ran her insurance card through her system, she reached for a clipboard, pinned two forms to it and handed it to Sabrina together with a pen. “Fill these out and bring them back when you’re finished.”
“Thanks.” Sabrina took the clipboard and turned toward the waiting area.
Both she and Holly sat down. While Holly reached for a glossy magazine with celebrities on the cover, Sabrina filled out the questionnaire as thoroughly as she could. Then she handed it back to the receptionist and sat back down.
Holly closed the magazine and leaned closer. “So, what are you gonna name her?”
Sabrina glanced around, looking at the other women in the waiting room and found one of them looking at her. Did this woman recognize her from the picture in the newspaper? Had she read the article? Sabrina sighed. How could she think about babies and a future with Daniel right now when there was so much chaos in her world?
“We don’t even know whether I’m pregnant,” she responded under her breath and looked back at her friend. “It could all be a false alarm. It happens all the time; you miss a period, because you’re under stress. And if anybody is under stress right now, then it’s I.”
Holly put a reassuring hand over hers. “Sweetheart, you need to learn to relax. Maybe I should take you to a spa for an afternoon.”
Sabrina rolled her eyes. “I don’t have time to relax. There’s still so much to do. And now that my parents are here, I have to play referee on top of it. Besides, my mother is still miffed at me for forgetting her arrival day.” She shook her head.
After consulting her cell phone, she’d had to admit that she’d indeed received her mother’s text message apprising her of her earlier arrival. Sabrina must have simply forgotten it. Could this mean that she was really pregnant? She’d once read that a woman’s short term memory suffered during pregnancy. And then there’d been the dizzy spells, and in the mornings she’d occasionally felt a little unwell. She wouldn’t classify it as morning sickness, just a sensitive stomach.
“The way things are right now, I’m not sure I’m ready to be a mother.”
Holly chuckled and shook her blonde locks. “You’ll do fine, and you know it.”
“Still, maybe this is not the best time.” Their gazes locked. “You know.”
Holly nodded.
Sabrina had had a talk with Holly the day she’d found out about the article, after Daniel had told her on the way home from the beach that both Tim and Holly knew about the article. After digging deeper, Daniel had also confessed that his parents were aware of the situation, but that he hadn’t told them the whole story. And once Sabrina had heard the sanitized version Daniel had dished up to his parents, she felt a tiny bit better. At least Daniel’s parents weren’t horrified. They actually thought that the way Tim and Holly had set up their blind date was cute, despite the fact that it was unorthodox. If only they knew the truth!
“Don’t worry, we’ve got it under control,” Holly assured her, leaning closer. “Tim, Daniel and I are working on a few things. Give it another day or two, and we’ll get the newspaper to retract the story and issue an apology.”
“Tell me what you’re doing.”
Holly shook her head, glancing around the waiting room, before looking back at Sabrina. “I can’t. Please, you just have to trust us. I just don’t want you to get all excited. You’ve got enough to worry about right now. Leave it up to the guys and me. We’ll take care of it.”
Sabrina couldn’t keep the frown off her face. “I would be less stressed if I knew what you’re trying to do. At least then I’d have some hope that this . . . this problem will go away. But just knowing that Audrey is behind all this makes me want to throw up.”
Holly patted her hand. “That’s just the morning sickness talking. Don’t worry about Audrey. She’ll get what she deserves. I’ll guarantee it.”
