Page 126 of Body Shot

The machines whirrs and comes to life.

A weird white section appears on the otherwise black screen.

“There.” Dr. Fontana points. “There’s your baby and… that’s the heartbeat.”

We’re both frozen in place staring at the screen.

“That little blob…is our baby?” For some reason, I’m choked up.

“Claudia’s only about seven or eight weeks pregnant. It’s very early on. But right now, everything looks good and myunderstanding is that the bleeding has stopped?” She looks to Claudia, who nods.

“None since before midnight last night.”

“Great. I’m optimistic. I think everything is going to be fine. I’d like you to stay in the hospital one more day so we can continue to hydrate you and help manage the nausea so you can eat, but?—”

“I got tacos!” Hana comes into the room with a huge smile and an even bigger bag, and then stops short. “Oh, I’m so sorry!”

Dr. Fontana laughs. “Thanksgiving tacos sound wonderful. I hope you enjoy them. I’ll see you again in the morning to discharge you, Claudia. Try to rest, okay? And congratulations.”

“Do we have a due date?” I ask quickly.

Dr. Fontana pulls something out of her pocket and messes with it. “Looks like your little bundle of joy should arrive around July ninth.”

“In the off-season,” I say. “That’s perfect.”

“Congratulations.” She puts a hand on Claudia’s leg. “You take it easy. Promise me you’ll eat? If you continue to be nauseated, please reach out, either to me or to your regular OB/GYN. We have meds to help. You have to eat, or you’ll just wind up in the hospital again.”

“I will. Thank you.”

“You’re here.” Hana comes over to hug me.

“Hey, Hana.”

“Damn good thing you came. I was going to tell my brother to call you.” She sticks her tongue out at Claudia.

“What happened to being my bestie and having my back?” Claudia asks dryly.

“Having your back means doing the hard things when you can’t or won’t,” she says firmly. “As soon as you were admitted to the hospital, I knew I’d give you some time to find out what was going on, but someone was going to call Anders.”

“I’m glad someone hadmyback,” I say, chuckling.

“I, uh, have to use the restroom. I’ll be back.” Hana disappears out the door, even though there’s a bathroom in my room, and I smile down at Claudia.

“She’s giving us a moment.”

“Yes.” She stares up at me. “Say it again.”

I know exactly what she means.

“I love you,” I say quietly, leaning down so our faces are close together. “Since that first day on the beach, I knew I was going to love you, and the first time I kissed you, I was a goner.”

“From one kiss?” She puts a hand on the side of my face.

“From one kiss.”

“I started to fall the moment you asked me to go swimming,” she admits. “No one ever looked at me like that, like you genuinely wanted to talk to me, spend time with me…”

“Always.” I press my lips to hers and they linger for a moment.

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