[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
.”The door opened and we both plastered on fake smiles.“Hi, I’m Dr.Sheri Adams.” She extended her hand and I shook it.“Hi, I’m Lexi and this is my friend, Delaney.”“Hello, ladies.” She glanced at her tablet, as though referencing who had the appointment.“So, Lexi, we ran a pregnancy test at your request.”“And…” I waited, holding the air in my lungs.“And the results are positive.”I felt like someone had dropped a ton of bricks on my lap without warning.Even though it shouldn’t have been a surprise after doing three home pregnancy tests, I guess I was hoping for some kind of miracle, like their test could reverse the effects of enjoying sexual ecstasy in South Padre Island.“I don’t understand.I have an IUD.I shouldn’t have been able to get pregnant.” I paced the room back and forth, processing my options, because now it was definitely reality.Dr.Adams took a seat and said, “Why don’t you sit down for a moment, so we can talk?”I sat on the table and faced her.She scanned through her tablet.“I see that you had the IUD inserted on January tenth, correct?”“Yes, that sounds correct.” I quickly checked my phone, making sure.“And did you a have a menstrual cycle that month?”“Yes, I had just finished my period when I had it inserted.”She typed in the information on her tablet as I spoke.“Okay, what about February.Did you have a period then?”“Yes, and it was regular… well, maybe a little heavier than normal.And I had a period on March fifth,” I sighed.This couldn’t be happening.Not to me.What had I done to deserve this? “I don’t understand.Why didn’t it work? I was told that it was effective immediately.”“They are, but sometimes periods can stop.They can also alter your hormones, though you didn’t have the one with hormones.”“Yes, I was informed of that.That’s why I wasn’t concerned when I missed my period the last two months.”“The IUD can also shift and if that happens, an egg can slip through.”“What do you mean it can shift?” I narrowed my eyes at her.The doctor set the tablet on the counter behind her.“Well, when it is first inserted, it’s not firmly imbedded.So, during a heavy period or vigorous activities, such as sex, it can shift.”“Yeah, Raven is pretty big.” Delaney nudged me.My head spun around.“How the hell do you know?”She held up her hands.“No, I didn’t mean his junk — I wouldn’t know about that.I’m just referring to him being a muscular guy and…” she shook her head, “never mind.”“Laney, you’re not helping.”The doctor tried to conceal the smirk on her face.I had to admit, it did sound funny hearing Delaney plead her innocence to me, but it didn’t change the fact that I was supposedly pregnant, or that Raven was really big.Like deliciously big.Why do I keep thinking about him?“If the first day of your last period was March fifth, then you would have been ovulating from March seventeenth through the twenty-second, based on a twenty-eight day cycle,” she said, pointing to a calendar she retrieved from the counter.No wonder I was so horny.“Were you sexually active during those days?”Was I? That was an understatement.That’s all Raven and I did — have sex during Spring Break.I recalled how happy we were.We had just gotten engaged the week before.We had definitely celebrated.“Yes, I was.My fiancée and I had sex several times,” I said with a heavy voice.“Then I think it’s safe to say that the test is correct.”Shit.“So, I would like to do a sonogram.By my calculations, you should be about eight weeks pregnant.” She smiled and I wanted to cry.“Great.”She opened a drawer and pulled out a hospital gown.“If you’ll please put this on, with it open to the front, we can take a look.” Before she walked out of the room, she turned around.“And don’t forget to get undressed from the waist down.”“I need to take off my panties so you can see my belly?” I glanced at Delaney out the corner of my eye.Did this lady doctor have something else in mind?“Yes.I will do a sonogram across your stomach first, but if I can’t see anything, I’ll need to do a vaginal sonogram.I’ll also need to remove the IUD.We can’t leave it in there if you’re pregnant.”“Oh, yeah, forgot about that.”She shut the door and I felt the color drain from my face.I hoped I wasn’t pregnant.It could just be the IUD preventing my periods and showing a false positive — if there was such a thing.“I’ll just wait outside.” Delaney walked toward the door and gripped the doorknob.“No.I need you in here,” I said, unzipping my shorts.“Unless you’d prefer not to be.”She dropped her hand and turned around.“Of course I do.I’m here to support you, Lexi.”I gave her a lopsided smile.Hearing her say that made me want to cry.Why the hell was I feeling so emotional?Oh God.Maybe four tests hadn’t lied after all…Come to think of it, I had been very emotional the past few weeks, but I had good reason to be.My fiancée left me.I finally decided what I wanted to do with my life.I had been accepted to grad school, received a promotion at the writing center.Shit! This is all going south quickly.I got undressed and slipped on the nightgown.I wanted to get this over with and be on my way.As I sat on the cold table with my arms supporting my body, I tried to avoid the footrests staring at me.I mean, who in the hell likes to sit spread eagle while someone sticks a cold instrument inside of you? Had to be a man that invented that technique; I doubted it was a woman.“Damn, I should have opted for the pill instead.Maybe I wouldn’t be going through any of this”“I told you.” Delaney looked up from the magazine she was thumbing through.“Damn, how old is this magazine? I didn’t know Christina Aguilera was pregnant.”“I think she already gave birth.” A knock sounded at the door.“You can come in,” I said, laying against the paper cover beneath me.The doctor shut the door and sat on a stool to the side of me.“Move up, just a little.” She took out a clear bottle from a drawer and shook it a few times.“We’ll start with your stomach first.It might be a little cold.”She opened my nightgown and squirted a jelly like substance all over my slightly protruding belly.When did my stomach start looking like that? It had always been very flat and lean.Something was definitely wrong.She flipped on the computer monitor and pressed the mouse- like instrument to my stomach.Flesh bumps dotted my skin and I took a deep breath.“Laney.” I reached my hand out toward her and she quickly came to my side.“Okay, let’s take a look.” She moved the wand around my belly as I stared intently at the screen.It was hard to make out the images since everything was in black and white.It looked like a scrambled TV station to me.She pressed a few buttons and zoomed in on my uterus.At least, that’s what I assumed she was looking at.“Ah ha.There you are.”“What? There’s what?” I lifted my head, trying to get a better view.“Just looks like a bunch of circles to me,” Delaney said, squinting her eyes.“See that wishbone looking thing that’s a little crooked?”“Yes.”“That’s your IUD.”“Oh,” Delaney and I said simultaneously.Then she pressed the instrument firmly against my stomach and moved upward.She hit another button on the keyboard and the screen zoomed in again.“And see that?” Using a mouse on the keyboard, she circled two areas on the screen.“Those would be your babies.”“Babies?”“What the fu…” Delaney started and stopped.“Wh-what do you mean ‘babies’?”“Just a minute [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]