Page 85 of Give My Everything
It only takes a second for him to respond this time.
Ben: I can absolutely help. I know a guy.
My head jerks back at his response, and part of me wants to laugh.
He knows a guy?
Whoknows a guywhen it comes to pregnancy doctors? Is that a standard thing I haven’t known about, or is this just Ben-specific?
Me: That’s a…weird answer.
Me: Who is this guy that you know?
He sends back a laughing face and I roll my eyes. Of course he thinks this is funny.
Ben: Just trust me and give me twenty minutes.
And then it’s radio silence.
I pass the time by watching the end of that shitty movie on Netflix I fell asleep to the other night.
When my phone rings, I wince, realizing Ben wants to talk as opposed to text.
Don’t you realize texting is the preferred method of communication!?
I sigh and click accept then hold the phone up to my ear.
“Who is this back-alley friend of yours?” I say before he can utter a word.
Ben laughs, and even though his laughing face over text was irritating, the sound of his real laugh has my heart skipping a beat. He sounds the way my body pillow makes me feel.
“My friend Logan is the head of pediatrics at Roth Memorial,” he says, “and I called him for his recommendation on how to handle it. He’s going to schedule you for a walk-in appointment with an OB under a pseudonym. Typically only walk-ins can request emergency appointments, but he’ll go down and talk to someone later today for us, and we can just pay in cash at reception.”
My mind trips over the word ‘we’ but focuses on the more pressing part.
“But I don’t want to sit in a waiting room and possibly run into someone I know. Literally everyone I know is posting pregnancy or baby pictures on Facebook. It’s bound to happen.”
He chuckles again.
“You won’t have to. Logan said we can wait in his office and that you can request the clinic text you with your room number when it’s time for your appointment.”
I feel stopped up, no words coming to mind as to what I should say in response.
“Does that work for you?” he asks when I don’t say anything.
I nod, then realize he can’t see me.
“Yes. Yeah, that works. That’s…great actually. Thank you for doing that.”
“No problem. He told me to text him when you’re available in the next week since walk-ins are usually quick turnaround appointments as opposed to ones they schedule weeks out.”
“Every day, all day,” I reply. “My social life sucks right now.”
I can hear Ben grinning on the other end of the line. “Ah, come on now. I seem to recall you being out and about quite a few times over the past two weeks. Always eating, though—clearly eating for two.”
I burst into laughter. “Hey, rude. I don’t look like I’m eating for two…yet.” Then I look down at my tummy, where I rested my hand earlier. “But you’ll be able to tell soon, that’s for sure.”
There’s a pause before Ben speaks again.
