Page 36 of Love Me Forever

"It could be wrong, you know," she said.

But as I sat down on the couch, I knew in my bones that it wasn't. I put a hand on my stomach, and I could simply feel it.

"Are you going to tell Travis?" she asked softly.

"If it ends up being true, yes," I said. "But I want to have the confirmation from the doctor first."

***

On Monday, I felt likeI was about to throw up when I stepped inside the office of Dr. Johanna Steele. I was happy she could fit me in right away, since she was the only ob-gyn in the area.

"Good morning," she said. She seemed in her late thirties.

"Hi."

"What brings you here today? An emergency?" she asked.

I'd called at eight o’clock this morning when her opening hours started. I cleared my throat, sitting in the chair opposite her. She looked at me with kind eyes. Her blonde hair was pulled up in a tight ponytail.

"It's possible that I'm pregnant. I did a test, and I would like a confirmation."

She nodded. "Do you happen to know when the possible point of conception was?"

"Between four and five weeks."

She made notes, scrunching her nose. "Did you have any blood work done?"

"No. I did the test on Friday, and today I called you."

"All right. At four or five weeks, sometimes I can't tell anything on the ultrasound. The blood work will tell you if you're pregnant or not. But since you're here, let's take a look.” She pointed to the examination table.

"Okay. Should I just raise my T-shirt?"

"Oh, no. This is going to be a transvaginal ultrasound. It's too early to see anything on your belly."

"Okay." I took off my pants, feeling completely jittery before lying down on the table. I never liked visits at the gynecologist, but at least I was used to Dr. Taylor back in Chicago. I couldn't imagine doing this with a perfect stranger, but here I was.

She applied lube on the wand before gently sliding it inside.

"All right. I'm in. Are you uncomfortable?"

"I'm not comfortable," I replied, "but nothing hurts."

"Sorry, I know this isn't pleasant. Let’s see what we’ve got here."

That was when I realized she was staring at the screen next to her. My eyes were glued to it, my throat dry. I couldn't see anything.

"Oh, there it is," she said, pointing to a small blob that looked a bit like a tear. "That's the amniotic sac. I can confirm that you’re pregnant."

My vision faded. I blinked rapidly but only saw black in front of my eyes as she pulled out the instrument.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"I think I might pass out."

I felt her hand on my ankle. "Take a deep breath."

I took a deep breath as she instructed, and my sight slowly came back. Her expression was sympathetic.

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