Page 50 of Unexpected Forever
A few minutes later we’re checking in at doctor’s office, which is blissfully empty.
“How have you been, hon?” Wilma, the longtime front desk manager asks me.
“Good. How about you? Did your grandson get into the art program up here?”
She grins and pops her gum. “He sure did, and he’s going to stay with me for the first year.”
“Well, congrats to him. I know you’re happy to have him around.”
“I can’t wait for it, sugar.” She leans forward as I scribble my name and new insurance info down on the form. “Who is the handsome man you brought with you?” she asks, her voice low, her eyes narrowed. “He looks awfully familiar.”
Well, shit. I hadn’t thought this through.“Um, it’s—”
The phone rings, relieving me of having to answer. I quickly take a seat next to Nate so Wilma can’t grill me on any more details.
“Did you know the baby is the size of a strawberry right now?” Nate asks, scrolling on his phone.
I turn my head to him, my lips parted. “How do you know that?”
He shrugs a shoulder. “I looked it up. And yes, it’s a reputable medical website.”
My heart turns over in my chest. “You looked up pregnancy facts?”
“Yeah, sure.” His gaze slides to mine. “Why not?”
“I-It’s not something I’d thought you would do is all.”
The look in his eyes is stormy. There’s tenderness, hurt, and frustration. My eyes start to burn, and I draw in a deep breath to keep the waterworks at bay.
He leans closer, our knees touching, and lowers his voice. “Charley, I’m all in on this. I want to know how our…”
“Little Nugget?”
“Yeah, how our little Nugget is doing.” He lifts a hand and pushes a strand of wayward hair behind my ear. “I’ll take care of you and our baby. In whatever way you need.”
For someone who doesn’t know me very well, the man seems to get me. It’s disconcerting.Heis disconcerting.
Wilma opens the door to the waiting room. “Charley, you can come on back.”
We follow Wilma down the hallway to an exam room. Nate sits in a chair and Wilma hands me a specimen cup. “We need a urine sample, hon. Val will be in shortly.”
When I come back a few minutes later, my uncle Doc and my cousin Val—also a doctor—are in the room, chatting with Nate.
“I’ve never seen a ball travel so far before. It should’ve had its own flight crew!”
How did I forget my uncle is a huge baseball fan?
Dad had been as well, a fact that pinches my heart, even though I’d only been seven when he died. After Dad passed, my uncle still came over to watch games with me and my brothers.
Nate’s deep chuckle fills the room and it’s like a warm blanket wraps around me. When Val sees me, her eyes widen slightly, a million questions on her face.
Yeah, this is going to be fun.
I smile and kiss my uncle’s cool cheek. He smells like peppermint and Old Spice, and a wave of nostalgia washes over me. “Hey, Doc.”
“Hey, sweetie. Well, I’m going to get on out of here and let Val do her thing.” He shakes Nate’s hand. “Good to meet you, Nate.”
Once he leaves, Val smiles at me, shifting into doctor mode. “Okay, Charley, climb up on the table and let’s get your vitals.”
