Page 125 of Body Shot

“I’m sorry…I just don’t know how to apologize for this, and I know you don’t want?—”

“Sweetheart. Please.” I’m a little exasperated with her reasoning as I put a finger over her lips. I’m not in the habit of shushing people, but she’s rambling, and I need to set a few things straight. “Let me talk now. Okay? Please?”

Bright, tear-filled eyes meet mine, but she nods.

“First of all, it takes two to tango. Second, if it was a condom malfunction, we made the mistaketogether. You mentioned your nails a couple of times, and I brushed it off. Lots of women have long nails. I didn’t think it would be a big deal. Maybe it was.”

“Maybe? How else did this happen?”

I sigh. “There were a few times… early in the morning, in the shower, where we were messing around, and I was right there—remember? We always eventually stopped to get a condom but there was one morning where I think I might have slipped in. It’s hazy, and I remember thinking,oops, but we stopped right away so I honestly didn’t believe anything happened. Even after the breakup, it never crossed my mind that you might be pregnant because of that incident.”

“Ohhh.” Her eyes widen a little. “I do remember…it was so fast. Like, in and out…”

“That’s all it takes.” I bring her hand to my lips and gently kiss her fingers. “Regardless of how it happened, it would never cross my mind that you did it onpurpose. I know you. It hasn’t been long, but we’ve become a part of each other. There’s no universe where you would do what Martika did. You have an amazing new career making six figures and a lot of plans both professionally and financially. I know you want to travel. Frankly, I know you want exactly what I want.” I pause, makingsure she’s looking at me, paying attention. “And now we both want something a little different than we thought we wanted.”

“What…” She hesitates. “Can I talk now?”

“No.” I shake my head. “Every time you talk, you talk nonsense and then you cry. But a minute ago, you said you love me. As far as I’m concerned, that’s all that matters. Yes, I wanted to wait to start a family. I wanted to travel and buy you your dream house and have two weddings—one here in Philadelphia and then another in Sweden. I wanted you to accomplish whatever it is you want professionally—if the company goes public or whatever, I don’t understand how that works but you can explain it to me when you feel better—so you would never feel that my career overshadows yours.

“I want all of that for you. For us. But now…” I look down at her still flat stomach. “I guess we’re going to throw a baby into the mix. But I don’t want you to worry. I can’t help too much with the physical part, but once the baby’s here? There will be a nanny and at least one set of grandparents ready, willing, and able to step in so you and I can still follow our dreams.”

“I… you…” Her voice breaks and I see more tears threatening.

“Do not cry!” I admonish her, kissing her hand.

“I’m sorry. You’re just—I love you so much.”

“And I love you so much. Which is why I hate to see you cry.”

“I don’t like it either.” A voice interrupts us, and I look up to see a middle-aged woman with a bright smile and a white coat joining us. “Hello. I’m Dr. Fontana.”

“Hello.” I immediately stand and extend my hand. “Anders Nyberg.”

“Nyberg…” She squints. “Oh! You play with Milo.”

“Excuse me?” I’m a little confused.

“Milo Holland is my nephew. My sister’s son. Tell him Auntie Hildie says hello.” She smiles.

“Oh… yes, of course. I will.”

Small fucking world.

“Anyway, let’s see what’s going on, Claudia. If it’s okay, I’m going to do a vaginal ultrasound because you’re not very far along, so it’ll be easier to see the baby and hopefully pick up the heartbeat.”

“You think…I’m still… pregnant?” Claudia looks so sad, I immediately grab her hand again.

“The labs this morning say you are, and the numbers aren’t falling. Like I told you yesterday—sometimes the body does miraculous things. Usually a miscarriage happens because the fetus wasn’t viable anyway. It’s the body’s way of expelling something potentially dangerous. However, that should have already happened, based on the bleeding you had yesterday. It could also have been a ruptured blood vessel. I’m really not sure, but this ultrasound will tell us what we need to know and how to proceed.”

“Okay.” She looks to me. “Will you stay with me?”

“Of course. I’m not going anywhere.”

The doctor brings in an ultrasound machine and closes the door. It only takes her a few minutes to set up and she covers Claudia’s bottom half with a sheet.

“This won’t hurt,” Dr. Fontana says. “So relax.”

It’s hard to relax, knowing we’re about to find out if our baby is okay.

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