Page 28 of An Unexpected Encounter

I set my purse in the chair and begin to undress, not even phased that Sam is in the room. It’s not like he hasn’t seen me nude before.

Just as I finish folding my clothing and placing it in a neat pile on the chair, I hear a whistle behind me.

“Looking good, mama,” Sam cackles behind me. As I roll my eyes, I take a seat on the end of the table, covering my lap with the paper. I swing my feet back and forth, gripping my hands together nervously.

“It's going to be okay. We’re about to see our baby.” He steps over beside me, taking a seat on the rolling chair.

I love Sam with all my heart; he’s like the brother I always wished I had. But there’s a small part of me that feels like a villain. Am I wrong to keep this baby from his biological father?

There’s a knock on the door before it opens and in steps Dr. Anklan.

“Good afternoon, Selena. How are you?” The nurse steps in behind him, shutting the door. This room has gotten awfully crowded, really quickly.

“Wondering how long morning sickness lasts?” I laugh awkwardly.

“It’s every woman’s question, I think. For the most part, it calms down after the first trimester. You already know, but your tests did come back positive for pregnancy. Two months by my estimations of your last period and when you suspect to have conceived. And you are?” He extends his hand to Sam, shaking it.

“Sam. The baby’s daddy. Not biologically, but for all intents and purposes.”

“Very well. Let’s have a listen to the heartbeat and then we’ll do a vaginal exam, some more tests, and we’ll try to get a picture of the bundle of joy. I’m just going to do a quick breast exam and then we'll listen to the heartbeat.”

I shove the fact that Sam’s present for all of this and not one of the three men who helped create this life inside me to the back of my mind. Guess when he said he would be at all the doctor’s appointments, he meant it. But should it be him? I know he’s willing and excited, but should Elijah, Ezekiel, or Elias have the chance to come? He reaches out and takes hold of my hand as the doctor moves the paper top and examines each breast.

“Everything looks good. Now, let’s take a listen.” The nurse hands him the fetal doppler.

He squirts some cold gel first before placing it on my stomach, moving it around until finally, the baby’s heartbeat fills the room and tears come to my eyes.

“That’s a good, strong heartbeat,” he tells me as he pushes it around, furrowing his eyebrows.

“You hear that, Selly? That’s our Chicken Nugget.” Sam’s face is beaming, his eyes tearing up just like mine as he squeezes my hand tightly.

“Let’s do the pelvic exam and then we’ll take a look inside. You’ll even get a picture to take home and show off. Just slide down and put your feet in the stirrups.”

I do as he says and scoot down until my ass is flush with the end of the bed, then place my feet up. I never in my life imagined Sam being present while another man examined my hoo-ha and my face burns in embarrassment.

“Okay, Selena, there’s going to be a little bit of pressure, but we’ll get it done quickly.”

It takes a couple of minutes, and some uncomfortableness, but the exam is finally complete. All we need to wait for now is the test results. The doctor states one of the tests was for STDs, while I would think my new brothers are clean, you never know. I didn’t use a condom with any of them. Maybe Zeke, but I was drunk, so I don’t remember.

“Okay, time to see your baby.” His face tenses, as he clenches his jaw, and creases form on his forehead. What’s that about?

He pulls over the monitor, taking a wand out of the holster. “We’re going to do a transvaginal ultrasound to get the best view of the baby.”

He squirts some gel in his hand and spreads it along the wand before inserting it inside my vagina.

He moves it around and a picture appears on the screen. I’m not even sure what I’m looking at, it looks like nothing.

“Okay, Mama and Daddy, you see this right here?” He uses his free hand and points to a spot on the screen. “This is your baby.”

“Sam, it’s real. There’s a baby in my stomach.”

“Selena, Sam. I’m not done. You see this right here?” He points to another spot. “This is your other baby. You’re having twins. I heard an echo heartbeat and had a suspicion, but this confirms it.”

“Twins! I’m having twins?” My eyes widen and I feel like I’m about to pass out. I had just come to terms with one baby, but two? How am I going to do this alone?

“Do you or the biological father have a family history of twins?” Dr. Anklan asks as he presses some buttons, then pulls the wand out and places it on the cart.

“Umm, yeah they do.”

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