Page 48 of Brood
I don’t know if my silly advice does him any real good or not, but he’s relaxed again now.
And he’s still holding me when he finally goes to sleep.
ChapterSeven
Two weeks after that night, I’m waiting for Dr. Cameron to let me into the examination room.
My period is five days late.
Will and I have grown more and more excited as each day passes, but I’ve worked hard not to be too expectant. I don’t want another crash of disappointment.
But maybe…
Maybe.
I perk up when the main clinic doors open. Will was supposed to be here five minutes ago, and I’m getting antsy waiting for him. He remembered what he said after my last appointment with Dr. Cameron and promised to go into the room with me today.
My heart and shoulders sink when it’s Glenda, one of the nurses.
She’s a friendly, curvy woman in her late twenties, and she smiles sympathetically. “I’m sorry you’re having to wait. His last appointment went long. I’m sure you’re bouncing to get some news.”
I would be bouncing if Will weren’t late. Dr. Cameron will summon me any minute, and he won’t let me delay until my spouse arrives.
Spouses aren’t even supposed to be present during exams, but Will was sure he could make it happen.
He needs to be here to make it happen, and there’s no sign of him yet.
When Dr. Cameron appears at the exam room door three minutes later, Will still hasn’t shown up. I stand, glancing a few times toward the main hallway. “Will said he was going to come today.”
“He probably got busy, peaches,” Dr. Cameron replies in his weirdly melodic murmur. “Chief Will has a big job. And we don’t need him here, do we?”
It feels like I do need him, but that’s not something I’m allowed to admit. I follow the doctor into the room and slump into the chair.
It smells like antiseptic. The entire room is filled with it. There’s not enough airflow, and I’m hit with a wave of nauseating heat. “He’ll be here. He’s running late.”
“I’m sure that’s all it is. But we’re not going to wait for him, are we? Go ahead and take off your bottoms so we can get started.”
“Oh.” My fingers hover on my waistband. “I thought maybe it could be only a blood test today.”
“We’ll do the blood test, but we won’t have the results right away. I also need to perform a physical exam to make sure all is well down there.”
All isn’t well.
My stomach churns.
I cast one more lingering glance toward the door, but there’s no sight or sound of Will.
He said he’d be here. He said the only thing he had on his schedule today was a council meeting this morning, but they never go past midday. It would have been over more than an hour ago.
“What’s the matter, peaches?” Dr. Cameron glances up from the shiny tools he’s laying out. “We’re not a little girl anymore, are we? We can handle a simple examination on our own.”
My cheeks burn, and I pull down my pants and underwear before picking them up and laying them neatly on a chair. I make sure my trousers are draped on top so my panties won’t be seen. A ridiculous irrationality but one I perform every time.
Then I sit down in the chair. Settle my feet inside the stirrups.
He secures my wrists with the clamps and levers the chair into position with my feet higher than my head.
I’m way too hot. Closed in. The room spins around me as I try to breathe slowly.
