Page 51 of The Regrettable Mistake

“I don’t think you’d be here if she didn’t.” The woman had a lot of gall to talk about such things.

“Steph is a good person and we’re having a baby together. She doesn’t have to forgive me to allow me to be a part of our child’s life, even before he or she is born.”

“Whatever you say.”

“No matter who I bring with me, it isn’t your job to be rude to them.” Steph had apparently caught some of our interaction because when she came out of the bathroom it was with those words being thrown at the woman who had just been shitty to me.

“Sorry, I didn’t realize you actually took him back.”

“That’s not your business to know,” Steph informed her. “Considering this is the only place we have been seen together, I’d think twice about spreading that information as well. HIPAA laws apply here.”

While I wanted to cheer my wife on for standing up to the woman who appeared to be calling her out, there was a twinge of something rooted deep in my belly that wondered if she fought so hard to make sure the woman kept her theories to herself because she was embarrassed of what others might say. If that was the case, then I didn’t see how I’d ever convince her to be with me again. It already seemed like an uphill battle to convince her that I was in love with her.

“Is there a problem here?” A middle-aged man asked as he passed by our stalemate in the cramped hallway.

“Dr. Peterson,” Steph greeted. “I was just explaining that my relationship status wasn’t anyone’s business and that HIPAA laws exist.” She pointedly turned from the man to the nurse who still stood there scowling at me, like I was responsible for getting her in trouble.

“I see.” Dr. Peterson turned to the woman. “Gabby go wait in my office and send Misty to aid me today with my patients.”

“Sir,” the woman started to argue.

“Gabby, my office,” the doctor repeated in a stern voice. Gabby snapped to it and took off for the office while he escorted us to the open room for her examination. “I apologize, you are right, unless something at home is pertinent to your health, it is no one’s business. We’re only going to do a quick check of the heartbeat and take some measurements today, so you only need to remove your pants and use the drape to cover up, we can just scoot your shirt out of the way. Go ahead and get ready while I go get a different nurse to assist.”

“Thank you.” Steph smiled at the man and then grabbed my hand and pulled me into the room. She pointed to a chair beside the table and told me to wait there as she grabbed what looked like a miniature sheet and took it behind a screen. When she came back out, she was in her socked feet, bare legs, and had the oddly-sized sheet – which I assumed was the drape – wrapped around her lower half.

My wife awkwardly hopped up onto the table and made herself comfortable despite the crinkly paper beneath her butt.

I laughed and glanced down looking at the end of the table. “I thought these things all had the little foot holders.”

“Stirrups?” She asked.

“I guess that’s what they’re called.”

“They do, Ollie. The doctor would fold them out if he needed to. There’s also a flat table extender if he needs me to lie down while being examined.” She shrugged her shoulders as if that was all common knowledge.

“I wouldn’t know.”

She sat up then and stared at me with a puzzled look on her face. “You already have Denmark, I assumed you went to all the doctor appointments.”

I shook my head. “I only went to one before he was born.”

“How is that possible?”

“I took her to the appointments, but with exception of the one where her pregnancy was confirmed, I was always asked to remain in the waiting room.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know.”

“For some reason, I thought you were there for everything with her pregnancy.”

“No. I wanted to be, but it was hard enough to convince her to go through with it in the beginning. I didn’t want her to back out because I pushed too hard on things.”

“That’s awful, Ollie.” Steph shook her head. “I don’t understand how you could have been waiting around for her to be a better person, or want to be a mom, when that’s what it was like.”

“It’s hard to explain. I grew up with Monica and Tom as my parents. They were both so involved in my life that I’d always pictured having the same dynamic with the person I brought a child into the world with. The minute Julia told me she was pregnant, I had all these hopes and dreams for my son. Even before I knew he was a boy, there were all these daydreams of what life was going to be like for us.

“When she hinted that she didn’t want to have the baby because it would ruin her body, I had my first freak out and did everything in my control to change her mind. She liked the attention I gave her while she was pregnant, but I think part of her plan to keep it on her was to keep me in the dark about whether she would change her mind. She didn’t want me to get too excited, too close, in case something happened. That was always the excuse.”

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