Page 48 of Coach Sully
“No.” I quickly shake my head. “Alaska is not an island. It’s along the Canadian border. It’s not tropical. A quarter of it is in the Arctic Circle.”
“Nooo… They’re both islands.” She actually laughs atme! “They’re right next to each other on the map.”
“That’s not—” I glance around the restaurant. This is a prank, right? This is all an elaborate joke at my expense to see how I react.
She turns her head, following my gaze. “Whatare you looking for?”
“Ashton Kutcher…” I murmur.
“Oh my God, I love him!”
I snap my eyes back to her. I can’t do this. “Okay”—I look over at Jeremy—“Hey, can we take a break?” I toss down my cloth napkin and head to the restroom to get a little privacy.
Pulling out my phone, I send a text off to Kendra. I’m annoyed.
You told me there wouldn’t be scripted conversations.
Was Becca some kind of test? Next time, be less obvious.
Could I have scheduled the doctor’s appointment earlier this morning? Yes, they had several openings, but Sully has a dinner date at six with a new woman named Becca, and I don’t want to be there to watch it. I made sure I was gone before he showed up.
I recline in the dimly lit small room while the ultrasound tech taps away on the keyboard. My first ultrasound. I keep my eyes fixed on the screen even though it’s black.
“Ready to see the baby?”
No.“Yes.”There’s nothing that could make me ready for something so monumental. She smiles and squirts some warmed-up clear jelly on my stomach.
“Great! Let’s see how far along you are.”
She places the transducer wand, pressing into my flesh and moving it around, and my eyes are dry as I stare at the screen. I’m afraid to blink and miss it. It’s all black and white. I don’tknow what I’m supposed to even look for. I’ve never seen an ultrasound performed.
“There,” she says, I hear the smile in her voice. “This is the top of its head, you can see the arms on the side… Let’s see if we can get a better view.”
She adjusts the wand and suddenly, I see my baby. “Oh my God,” I whisper. My jaw is nearly on the floor. It’s a baby.
“There we go. Perfect profile… You can see the little nose and mouth. Arms and legs.”
That’s Bo. This is real. I stare in amazement at the life growing inside me. Wow.
“See that little flicker? That’s the heartbeat. Would you like to hear it?”
“Yes, please”
The sound of static fills the room before it clears to make room for a speedy thumping. That’s the heartbeat? I tense, it’s racing too fast.
My eyes snap to the technician. “Is it supposed to be like that? That fast?”
She chuckles and nods. “Yes. It’s measuring around 150 beats per minute, that’s perfectly healthy.”
I swing my head back to the screen and blow out a breath, relaxing my shoulders. Thank God it’s normal.
“I’m going to take some measurements so we can confirm how far along you are.”
She draws little lines on the screen, getting different angles and drawing new lines.
“This is the spine…” I can see it. It has a strong backbone. Of course it does, it’s my baby. “Right here is a little hand… And here’s the other one… And the legs and feet.” As she takes her measurements, I watch my baby, its arms and legs jerking around. It’s… cute. Really cute. My baby is alive in my belly, with the tiniest nose and mouth. I’m growing a human.
“Looks like you’re about seventeen weeks. Baby looks very healthy.”