Page 37 of The Homecoming

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A knock came at the exam room door and in stepped a young woman wearing gray pants and a white silk shirt covered in a white medical coat. She was complete with a stethoscope hanging around her neck as she studied information in a manila folder. “Ms. McMillan,” she said. “I’m Doctor Anna Logan.” She stuck out her hand and Autumn reciprocated. “Are you the father?” She turned to Brandon.

They both rejected the notion in unison. “He’s my friend,” Autumn said. She shifted on the table. “Doc, you can’t tell anyone about this, right?”

Dr. Logan looked up from the chart and nodded. “It falls under doctor-patient confidentiality.”

“Good,” Autumn replied. “The father is deployed with the military. No one else knows but Brandon here.”

Dr. Logan leveled her gaze at Autumn. “According to your last menstrual cycle, you’re approximately four months pregnant. You’re not going to be able to keep this a secret forever, you realize.”

Autumn rubbed her forehead to keep it from exploding and nodded.

“And,” Dr. Logan continued, “you told the nurse that you hadn’t had any prenatal checkups yet, correct?”

Again, Autumn could only nod.

“I’ve been making her take prenatal vitamins,” Brandon offered.

The doctor glanced at him. “Well, that’s something,” she said. “Now let’s take a look with an ultrasound. Lay back, and we’re going to adjust some things so only your belly is showing.” With that, Brandon turned around.

With her stomach covered in goo, the doctor began pressing the ultrasound probe to her abdomen with her eyes on the computer screen. She moved the probe around, scanning the screen in silence. Autumn started to worry, wondering why was she quiet.Was everything alright?She reached up, and Brandon grabbed her hand and held it between his. In the longest moment in history, Autumn held her breath and squeezed his hand. Finally, the doctor turned the screen toward them and pointed.

“Here is your baby,” she said. On the screen in front of them was a fuzzy, distorted image of a baby. It had a head larger than the rest of it, a small body, two arms, and two legs. It was flailing wildly, and Autumn’s breath caught in her chest.

“Holy shit, that’s a baby,” Brandon said. “That’s inside you. Right now. It’s moving so much. Do you feel it?”

Autumn shook her head. “Nothing,” she said. That wiggling little baby was currently inside her body.

Dr. Logan smiled. “Your baby is only six inches long right now, and it weighs about seven ounces. You should begin to feel fetal movements within the next month. It takes first-time-moms a little longer to feel them.”

She glanced over at Brandon, who stared open-mouthed at the screen with the baby on it. The doctor removed the probe from her belly, and the screen went black. He appeared disappointed.

“Everything looks good, Ms. McMillan.” Dr. Logan said, wiping some of the goop off her belly before handing Autumn the towel to finish. “Heartbeat and development are on track. I’m putting your due date down as May Twentieth.”

***

The trees stood bare as winter had moved in and the sun was currently hidden by gray clouds that threatened early snow for the valley. The road between the hospital and Huntington Farms mirrored the ache that sat in Autumn’s gut as Brandon quietly shifted the gears in his truck and steered them back toward work. She watched the drab town pass by outside the window. Soon the buildings would be covered in Christmas lights and decorations, but even that anticipation did not lift her mood. She shifted the bag of pamphlets and free samples that the obstetrics office had given her containing a considerable amount of information about the process of having a baby that she would now be required to read.

“You know you have to tell them all,” he said gently.

“Who, the group?”

“Yeah, them too, eventually,” he said. “But I was referring to your parents and you know… Dan, the father.”

“He hasn’t called since he left,” she said. “I have no way of getting in touch with him.”

“At the very least, your parents, then. The doctor was right; it’s not going to stay a secret forever.”

“Maybe after Christmas.”

“Autumn, honey,” he said sternly, “you’re the only woman I’ve loved besides my mom and my granny. I’m saying this out of respect, but it’s time to pull your head outta your ass. This is real. There’s a baby in there, and we saw it today. It’s going to grow and you’re going to be a mom.”

“But—”

“No buts, girl. I get it, it’s not ideal. You’re not married, you’re pregnant, and Dan is… god only knows where. Ignoring it doesn’t change anything. You can do this. You kinda have to.”

She sighed. “I know. It’s just going to cause issues with my mom. And then there’s Jason.”

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