Page 9 of All or Notching

“In the mornings, or any time?”

“Any time.”

“Tired?”

“Exhausted. I fall asleep as soon as I get home from work.”

I immediately picture her naked and sprawled out in her big bed, and I remember her dark rose-colored nipples that tasted like sweet berries.

“I’ll need to schedule an ultrasound. We’ll schedule a full blood workup at the same time. Do you know which month you might have had your last period?”

She swallows. Her gaze shifts away to dart around the room.

“Laurel? We need to have a sense of how far along you are, so I can give you an idea of what to expect. It’s going to take a few days before I can schedule the ultrasound to confirm, but we should be able to narrow it down.”

“Um…”

“Maybe your boyfriend knows?”

“I don’t have a boyfriend.”

Was the father of her baby an old boyfriend? Somebody she broke up with? The jerk needs to take responsibility. She didn’t get pregnant all by herself.

“I don’t mean to be indelicate, but do you know who the father is?”

I expect her to act affronted, but she avoids looking at me.

“Laurel? Whatever you say is confidential.”

“That’s not the problem.”

“Okay. Are you periods normally regular?”

Negative.

“Try thinking back to when you clearly remember having your period.”

She glances away, and I hear her mumble something.

“Excuse me?”

“July, I think.” The words are low, hardly discernible.

In one of the other exam rooms, a baby cries. Laurel cringes.

“Okay, we can start with that. Do you know the week?”

“No.”

I grab the wheel from the desk and spin it to find the estimated due date, working with the first week of July as a guide. “So, that means you’ll have this baby around the tenth of April.”

She’s staring at me, her eyes drilling into me.

“Does that sound about right to you?”

She pales slightly. I worry that she’s about to faint again. “Laurel, do you feel all right? Lightheaded?”

“Tristan.”