Page 29 of The Virgin's Baby
“Or she might just stay on. There may be no reason for her to leave the place she’s going to make into her home.” I reached over and put my hand on top of hers. “We can talk about that later.”
Aspen looked a little stunned. “Okay.” She looked back at the doctor. “You see, he and I have similar problems. He’s afraid he’s about to lose the last relative he has on Earth. And I’ve already lost mine. We just want family with us.”
“My advice is to try a physical relationship first, and then come to me if you need to.” Doctor Larson placed her hands on her desk as she looked like she was about to get up to escort us out of her office.
“He’s not into me,” Aspen said. I could see the embarrassment on her face. “Can you please just understand that we have our reasons for not wanting to be intimate? What we’re asking you to do is not a crime. There’s nothing immoral about it. We want a baby. We want to have one together. And we are going to take full responsibility for this child.”
I looked at Aspen, giving her tons of respect for fighting for this. “Thank you.”
She nodded then looked back at the doctor who looked at us with wonder in her eyes. “I don’t get you two. I really don’t.”
“I get that. We’re not real easy to understand.” I guess I could’ve been more open and honest about myself. I could’ve told the doctor that I’d had too many women in my past. I knew what I would do with Aspen if I had sex with her. She would become a conquest, and I always moved on from conquered women.
I needed to keep Aspen around. I needed to be friends with her instead of lovers. I never kept a lover for long. And I wanted to keep Aspen around for a very long time.
Not that I knew her well at all yet. But there was something about her that drew me to her, emotionally and sexually. I thought that time would make my desire for her fade. I sincerely hoped so anyway.
I kept pushing it back, trying my best not to let it show. For all Aspen knew, I didn’t find her attractive. She wasn’t my type.
Aspen was perfect. I didn’t even deserve for her to be the mother of my child, much less deserve her love—mostly because I would break her heart the way I’d done to too many women before her.
I knew my shortcomings. At least I had that. I knew the type of man I was, and I wasn’t going to let that get in the way of having this baby. This child would seal my fate financially and emotionally.
The doctor wasn’t through with us yet. “Let me tell you about this process. I have to inform you of everything before we can move on.”
Aspen seemed eager to find out more. “Please do, Doctor Larson. We want to know what all this entails.”
For such a young woman, Aspen was so well spoken. She made me proud. Though why I should feel pride about her accomplishments was beyond me.
“There will be eight to ten days of HCG injections. These injections will be given four times a day. Nearly every single one of the women I’ve treated has had some side effects,” she let us know.
“And what kinds of side effects are we talking about?” I asked.
I swear that she looked happy to inform us about the negatives of the process.
“The least of these side effects are what can occur at the injection sight. Redness, tenderness, swelling, maybe even bruising.”
“That’s not so bad,” I told Aspen as I patted her hand.
“No, that’s not too bad,” she agreed.
The good doctor went on, “Now for the physical side effects. You could experience nausea, headaches, hot flashes, and possibly blurred vision.”
“Blurred vision?” Aspen asked as she looked concerned.
“Mostly that occurs with the headaches. They can be much like migraines. And if you’re susceptible to migraines, then it’s much more likely that you will have this particular side effect,” the doctor said with a smile.
I took it upon myself to ask Aspen, “So, have you had problems with migraines in the past?”
“No. I haven’t had many headaches at all in my life.” She looked at the doctor. “Is that all of them?”
“No.” She went on. “Other physical effects can be tenderness in the breasts and irritability.” She looked at me. “How are you with cranky females, Mr. Whitaker?”
“My mother was cranky. I dealt with her okay.” I found myself feeling as if the doctor was directly challenging me. And I would stand up to this challenge. She would see.
“Is that all?” Aspen asked.
“No,” came the doctor’s reply. “I’ve saved the best for last. You should know that there is a possibility for multiple births. We will generally implant three embryos. Often one or two don’t take. But sometimes all three do. And other times, only two do. Are you ready for an entire family to be born at once, Miss Dell?”
