Page 46 of Claiming What Is Mine

Chapter Twenty-One

Gabe

The last fewdays have been crazy. Christy and the baby are doing okay, but they haven’t been released from the hospital yet—something about monitoring the baby for…shit, I don’t remember what Mom said it was. Understandably, Chet hasn’t left Christy’s side, and I don't expect to see him around the ranch any time soon. To my surprise, Hank has stepped up and been a real help keeping the chores around here under control. Is he trying to prove something, or does he genuinely want to be helpful? With him, who knows, but whatever his motivation, it’s a godsend. I should probably tell him as much. You know—someday.

With Chet gone, I’ve been so busy I haven't been able to give Mer the attention she deserves. By the time I get in the door at night, I barely have enough energy to fix myself a meal before I fall asleep on the couch, which has left us settling for texts and phone calls. Until this afternoon, anyhow. I’m meeting her for the baby’s first doctor’s appointment. My goal—aside from making sure everything is good with Mer and the nugget in her belly—is to get the low down on sex during pregnancy. Meredith keeps assuring me it’s fine, but I’ve been worrying about it since she told me she was pregnant.

I have really been looking forward to time with her, even if it is a doctor visit. Besides, I want her to know, from the get-go, she has a support system. I’ll be by her side every step of the way.

With the caveat that, if there’s blood or needles (God I hate needles), I may be passed out on the floor by her side, but I’ll be there.

I pull the radio off my belt and bring it to my mouth. “Hank, you out there?”

“So I’ve been told.”

It takes me a minute to process what he meant, and I have to give him that one. It was clever. But if I was keeping score on things like that, well, at least the clever column isn't blank any more.

“It’s getting to be that time, need anything before I take off?”

The radio squawks. “Cold beer would be nice.”

The morning sun is still low on the horizon, so I check my watch. “Hank, it’s nine thirty in the morning.”

He calls back, almost immediately. “Yeah. Figured it was too early for the good stuff.”

Staring at the radio, I shake my head. “Do me a favor and don’t die while I’m gone, okay?”

I hear him chuckling through the speaker when he responds. “No promises.”

I check on Christy's goats and make sure Marry has food and water while I’m away. Poor dog, she’s laying in front of the door with her head on her paws, waiting for Mom and Dad to come home. “I’m sorry girl. I’d let you hang with me again today, but I’ve got errands and I doubt you’d be welcome.” I scratch the top of her head before I go.

Meredith’s appointment is in the same building as the maternity ward where Christy’s admitted. If I know anything about my brother, I know to expect a list of questions about the ranch when we visit.

* * *

Meredithand I wait patiently in the small closet they consider a consultation room. She sits on the examination table in her paper gown, dangling her legs over the side. I pace back and forth. Two steps to the left, turn, then two steps to the right.

“Calm down, cowboy. We haven’t even seen the doctor yet. ” Meredith points her toe at a chair in the corner. “Maybe you’d feel better if you sat?”

“Sorry, Doll. I don’t think I could sit if my life depended on it.” Posters with too much detail about the miracle of life plaster the walls. An illustrated diagram of a pregnant woman’s vagina hangs behind Meredith. Another of a baby, apparently stuck in the birth canal, hangs beside it. Maybe it’s just me, but I feel like someone should be helping that baby.Andthey barely scratch the surface of the images my eyes can’t get away from. “I don’t know what’s got me anxious all of a sudden.” That isn’t exactly true, but it isn’t exactly a lie, either.

The door opens, and a plump Asian man enters. “Good afternoon, I’m doctor Lee.” He glances up from the file in his hands. “Which one of you is Meredith?” The doctor eagerly looks back and forth between us, waiting for a reaction, but continues on with his spiel when neither of us laugh. “Classic doctor joke, ” he says, shaking our hands. “Nice to meet you both. Now, Meredith if you’ll lie back and put your feet in the stirrups, we can get started.” He pauses, frantically flipping through the pages in his file. “Hmm, I always forget what to do next,” Dr. Lee jokes again. “I’ve got a million of ‘em. You’ll see.”

This is going to be a long appointment.

All things considered, once you get past the awful sense of humor, he is patient and comforting and willing to answer every one of my random, nonsensical questions. By the time Meredith and I leave, we both agree he's a good fit for us.

As we step off the elevator on Christy’s floor, Meredith hands me the bouquet she insisted we pick up from the gift shop. “These should come from you. Do they know we’re stopping by?”

“Sort of. I told Chet to expect us, but I didn’t know what time we’d be done, so I left it at this afternoon.”

“What if she’s breastfeeding? Or, using the bathroom?”

“I don’t know, guess I hadn’t given it much thought. If it’s a bad time, we’ll go. Only one way to know for sure. Right?”

Meredith shakes her head. “You have so much to learn.”

“Why? Is this going to be on the test? ” We stop outside of the partially opened door to Christy’s room and I lean through the doorway. “Knock, knock.”

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