Page 12 of Cougar

I laugh and shake my head. This man of mine. “You are not using my water bottle so you can pee right now.” I laugh a bit more, and he looks like he can’t believe my audacity. “We are in the waiting room. You can go to the bathroom, John. I’ll be fine here for a few minutes.”

“Well,” he looks down at his feet, almost as if he is trying to hide his shame, “the coffee is going through me. Might be a few.” He leans over and kisses the side of my head. “You sure you’re going to be okay?”

“Yes. I will even tell them to wait for you cause you are in the bathroom. Okay? Go before you burst.” Before I can finish, John is up and rushing across the waiting room to get to the bathroom.

I grab a magazine to distract myself, but I feel someone sit beside me before I can find an article to read. Looking up, I see an older woman. I would say late forties, maybe early fifties. She has bottle-blonde hair and looks like she stepped out of a Stepford Wife movie. I give her a polite smile and go back to the magazine in my hands.

“Seems like your partner was in a hurry to be anywhere but here.” She comments as if she knows about John or our situation.

“Well, when you gotta go, you gotta go.” I give a slightly awkward chuckle, “He should be back soon.” I give this woman another smile and turn away—done with this conversations and her.

“Hmm. You two are relatively young.” I look toward her, wondering where the fuck she is taking this. “I am sure you don’t want to be trapped with a baby at this point in your life.” She points out, looking at her nails, not me. What the fucking fuck? Who says that to people?

I want to go off on her. I want to tell her to fuck right off with the bullshit she’s saying. It shouldn’t matter if I look relatively young, as she so put it. You don’t say that shit to people. I take a deep breath and allow myself to respond like a normal person and not how my father would.

“Well, we are happy about it and have a great support system in place. We will manage just fine. I appreciate your concern.” My tone is clipped. I can only hope she catches the message. I am my father’s daughter. If I have to respond the way he would, I will. There is something about her that I don’t like, and I can’t put my finger on it.

She finally looks from her shit manicure to me, “So, you’re okay with your baby being raised around a motorcycle club? You’re really not giving your child much of a chance at life, are you?” This woman scoffs at me, and my hackles are up.

Don’t snap, Aletta. Don’t snap. But her raising eyebrow does me in.

“I’m sorry. Do we know each other?” I look at this woman, trying to take in what I can about her. “Because last I checked, common fucking decency is a thing and means you don’t open your mouth and say shit like that to people you don’t know.”

The men are always in their cuts, but John left his at home today. While I know the MC is well known, I wouldn’t think people really know their faces. Regardless. This bitch.

Before she could answer me, I hear my name being called. I turn to see the nurse standing at the doorway. I feel the woman get up from beside me and leave. Good riddance. Getting up, I make my way to the nurse—letting her know that John is in the bathroom. I look back to see if I can get a glimpse of the woman, but she is nowhere to be seen.

The nurse leads me to a room, and after taking my weight, vitals and asking when my last period was, she promised to bring John back before the doctor came in. I am left alone and can’t help but think about the woman. Was that who John was scanning the room for? Did he know about the strange woman who accosts you about your choices? I don’t think I can tell him about her. No harm, no foul. She asked me questions, and that was it. The fact is, she was a judgy bitch. No point in making him, and possibly my father, go nuclear over nothing.

Locked in my thoughts, I remove my pants and underwear, trying to justify not talking about the crazy lady.

“Hey, baby. Has the doc been in yet?” John walks in as I place my pants on the chair, and my ass is out for all to see.

“Jesus, John. Did you forget how to knock?” I spin, covering myself as best I can before trying to sit on the bed.

“Hey, now. I’m your man, and you’re mad I caught a glimpse of your ass?” He takes a few steps toward me. Putting his hands under my armpits, he effortlessly lifts me onto the examination table.

“We haven’t even had sex yet.” I start but am cut off by the doctor knocking and coming into the room.

“Hello, Aletta. I’m Dr. Paige. How are you feeling today?”

“I’m good. Or, I guess, as good as I can be.”

“That’s expected at this point of pregnancy. You’re about to hit the point where it gets easier for a bit, so there’s some good news for you.” She turns her attention to John, “Are you, Dad?”

“I am.” He wasted zero time saying yes, and even though I know this is what we’ve talked about, it’s still amazing to hear.

As the appointment goes on, she asks about my symptoms, and I’m happy to report the morning sickness has finally broken. She asks about cramping and other things that would cause any worry.

“What should she do if there is cramping or spotting?” John pipes up.

“Well, once we determine how far along she is, it will determine what we can do.” The doctor continued explaining the process for something I didn’t even think to ask. This is why my mom wanted to come with me to ensure I got all the information I needed. How did he know to ask these questions?

“Okay, that makes sense,” he tells her, and I realize I missed a good chunk. I’m winning. “So this scan we’re doing today. Is this to check on how far along she is or—” John starts but is cut off.

“A couple of things,” she turns to face me. “I need to check your cervix and make sure it’s closed. Then we will look at your little one and ensure they are growing as they should. I’ll take some measurements, and those will help us determine how far along you are.” The doctor turns and grabs the machine that is in the corner. “Alright, please lay back. I’ll check your cervix first, and then we will get a peek at this little one.”

I lay back, and once the very uncomfortable, very all-up in my vagina check is over, she lets me adjust myself for the sonogram. How fucked is it that I’ve had more action from the doctor than John?

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