59

LAURA
Today was my first OB-GYN appointment and I was excited for it. Alex, too. We were eager to see how the baby was doing.
We’d just finished showering together-only because we cared about the earth and wanted to conserve water and not at all because we couldn’t keep our hands off each other, of course-and I’d scoured my underwear drawer for the most boring set I owned and found this full coverage cotton panties I couldn’t remember ever wearing before.
I WAS WEARING FULL COVERAGE PANTIES.
Why did I feel the need to wear boring underwear, one might ask. Well, because I was going to the doctor’s and I felt like it was warranted. I wasn’t sure why. I just felt like it.
I was dragging plain black leggings up my legs when Alex walked out of the closet, eyes lingering on my bare stomach. He’d been doing that ever since last week when I’d woken up one morning and found out that my stomach had grown harder. I’d gone online and seen that it was perfectly normal, then both Alex and I had stared down at it, touching it lightly in wonder.
Done ogling my stomach, his eyes drifted up as if just now realizing I was wearing nothing but a bra, and I watched them fill with heat.
He took one step towards me and I took one backwards to match.
“Nope. None of that.” I shook my head, placing one hand up to ward him off. “We’ll be late.”
He groaned, took one last forlorn look at my tits before striding past, doing the buttons on his shirt as he did.
During the ride there, I reflected on the past few weeks I’d been living with Alex.
I’d never known that living with someone could be so much fun. When we weren’t watching some of my trashy reality TV shows, we were cooking together, learning each other as we did so. For instance, I’d figured out that Alex barely ate cereal. The cabinets were always stocked full with them but he never ate them so I’d asked him and found out that he bought them when we went grocery shopping for me.
He also liked to take care of people. Maybe it was just me, maybe it wasn’t. I hadn’t seen him around enough people to tell, but it was almost like he needed to do it.
Sometimes, he’d prepare a bath for me, complete with salts and scented candles. He’d spend so much time washing my hair that by the time he moved to my body, I was already half asleep. Magical hands, I tell you.
Two days ago when I’d been on the phone with my mother, so fucking exasperated, he’d walked up behind me and silently started massaging my shoulders. I’d leaned back on him, allowing him take some of the weight off my shoulders. Literally.
He didn’t ask what the call had been about, probably coming to the conclusion that if I wanted to tell him about it, I would.
And while he was mostly quiet and intense, he also joked sometimes. I liked to see him laugh. A lot. And I didn’t mind saying dumb shit just to get him to laugh.
By the time we arrived at the doctor’s office, fear had begun creeping into my mind.
What if the baby wasn’t doing okay?
I squashed the thought every single time it popped into my head, trying to remain positive, but even by the time Alex had his hand on the small of my back leading me inside, that irrational fear still had its claws sunk inside me, so I’d come to the conclusion that only knowing for sure that the baby was fine would put my mind at ease.
My OB-GYN, Doctor Peterson, ushered us into a small room with wooden cabinets and an examination table. There were some charts hung around, but I didn’t pay attention to them.
“Would you like your partner to join us for the vaginal ultrasound?” He asked.
Alex’s eyes jumped to mine. “I’d love to.”
But Doctor Peterson waited for confirmation, so I nodded. “Yes.”
“Very well. I’ll give you some privacy.” He handed me a hospital gown. “Please ensure you’re in your robe and undressed from the waist down on the examination table, Ms. Rose.” Then he left quietly.
I was rolling my leggings down my legs when Alex spoke up. “Your last name is Rose?”
“Yeah. Why?” I asked absently.
He shook his head. “Nothing. I find it peculiar.”
And it was in that small room, with me wearing that ugly hospital gown that I made a shocking realization.
I didn’t know what Alex’s last name was. And he’d just found out mine.
Jesus Christ.
The overwhelming shock must have been obvious on my face because Alex frowned, asking, “What’s wrong?”
But before I could answer him, Doctor Peterson knocked, walking back inside the room and the procedure begun.
We’d have to talk about that later.
The ultrasound went well. When the image of the little bean inside me popped up on the screen, our eyes became glued to it, but our fingers found each other’s and we held on.
A tear slipped out of my left eye and I didn’t bother to wipe it. I didn’t even blink, not wanting to look away from the screen.
Alex’s hand tightened around mine, silently letting me know that he was right there with me and that the magnitude of this moment wasn’t lost on him.
Doctor Peterson let us know that the baby was doing well, then he told me to ensure I was getting enough rest. This last part, he said more to Alex than to me.
When he was done, he asked us to meet him in his office, where he gave me a prescription for my morning sickness-yes, I now had morning sickness and I absolutely hated it-which I was so glad for.
As we walked back to Alex’s car, he couldn’t stop staring at me like I’d hung the bloody moon. I understood how he felt. This was surreal. Add that to the fact that my mind was now at ease that the baby was okay, I was bursting with happiness.
“I-” I was just about to make a joke when he cupped my face and kissed me sweetly.
“Thank you,” he breathed.
I blinked at him lazily, unable to formulate an answer. Seeming to understand, he led me into the car.
We made a quick stop at a drug store where Alex got my prescription. Next, we stopped at a drive thru to get food. From there, we drove to his place.
“Head on in,” Alex told me, opening the back door of the car. “I’ll bring the food…” he trailed off.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, wondering why he hadn’t finished his sentence.
When I looked at him, he looked like he’d seen a ghost.
Following his eyes to the front of the house which he was staring at, I realized that there was someone standing there. A woman.
While I stood there in confusion, she’d already caught sight of us and began walking in our direction, strutting in heels so high, I had to applaud her.
“I’ve been waiting for you for such a long time, Alex. I expect be compensated well for that.” She clipped.
Well, obviously she knew Alex. Did she work for him or something?
She stopped in front of me, lifting one immaculate brow. “Who are you?”
Bitch, please.
I lifted a brow right back at her. “I should be asking you that.”
In what felt a lot like super slow motion, she flashed her teeth in a smile that was nothing short of hostile then uttered three words that had me stumbling back in shock.
“I’m his fiancee.”