She went to the appointment with Perry anyway. Gabriel was big enough to let go of the misunderstanding without putting Perry on the spot. She held Perry’s hand in the waiting room, she had made the right decision. She wouldn’t have felt the comfort she needed if she had gone with Gabriel that day.
Perry couldn’t stop his feet from shaking, it shook the bench they were sitting on. He jolted up when the nurse called out Jamie’s name. They went into the doctor’s examination room like little children who were about to get vaccine shots. It got even more awkward when they had to explain the nature of their relationship.
“Oh … he’s not the father, I mean, he is … we’ll be raising the baby together but he’s not the … biological father … we’re friends … best friends.”
The doctor had a meaningful smile when she looked at Perry, she was touched by their friendship.
“I’m gay,” Perry blurted out as if to clarify they were platonic.
The doctor raised her eyebrows, Perry didn’t have to explain, but …
Perry cleared his throat. Doctor Collins was specifically chosen by Gabriel because she was the best in her field, and she was a woman. Gabriel said he never trusts a male OBGYN for a lot of reasons.
Doctor Collins had a warm approach that immediately made her feel safe in her hands, for the first time, Jamie agreed on Gabriel’s choice.
“And where is the biological father … may I ask? Just in case there’s a need for him to be involved in your pregnancy?”
“Oh, he’s around … he’ll be coming on the next appointment.”
Dr. Collins raised her eyebrows again as if things couldn’t be more complicated.
They felt guilty for not being able to see clearly through the USG monitor. The fetus was rather small and unclear, but it was common for first-time parents not to be able to see it, the doctor said. And with that, her first trimester had passed.
She took the printout for Gabriel to see, he spotted it immediately. He asked to keep the picture and he put it in his suite, tucked on the side of his laptop monitor.
The second trimester began with her nausea slowly decreasing and her appetite came back with a vengeance. Her mood swings more volatile for some reason, she developed an irritation towards Gabriel. She just couldn’t stand him, the way he talks, the way he walks and even the way he smelled. Even though, those were the traits that used to make her daydream about the father of her child.
The pregnancy hormones really turned her world upside down. She kept herself busy with her turtles, but sometimes she cried the unstoppable cry when watching them swim in the pool. She got overwhelmed by silly things so easily. When Gabriel tried to comfort her, she pushed him away.
She spent her nights in her room, crying over comedy movies because she got upset over their family bond. Sne never invited Gabriel to come over because she wanted him to know that they were not a couple, they’re not in a relationship, she hated the reality of what they were and cried over that too. And then, there’s the increasing sex drive again, she was hot like a bunny in heat and there was no way she could have a release. She cried.
The second trimester came like a loose train, it hits on everything in its path and she never felt so unlike herself. The food she liked was different, the movies, the books, people she liked were different. The way she reacted to situations were different. She didn’t recognize the person who was doing all these things with her body and mind.
Gabriel’s birthday was coming, he was going to hold a party at The Peninsula for his 45th birthday. He told Jamie she could invite anyone she wanted, but she only wanted to invite Perry. She couldn’t think of anyone else to invite because no one in her life knew about the baby bump, let alone the father of the baby. She didn’t want to spend the whole night explaining or rather lying about who the father was.
The hotel was going to be closed for the public, there will be a special entrance and exit way for the guests who were staying at the hotel. Security was going to be heavy because of the VIP guests he invited.
Jamie took her weekend off to buy an outfit for the event. Without Perry, she spent longer hours to find one that she liked.
A day before the event, she was back in her room and found a box on her bed with a note on it. The fancy white box was wrapped with a gold bow, the note said, “Will you be my date tomorrow?” – G.
It was a Dior dress, sheer beige brocaded dress, long-sleeved, fell perfectly on her body even with a growing stomach, all the way to the floor. Elegantly parted on the right thigh to show her leg. It matched her skin tone perfectly, almost as if it was transparent, glittered with small stones that looked like diamonds. She found out later, they were real diamonds.
There was another box, matching shoes. Gabriel had the outfit tailor-made for her without her even knowing and it fit her as if they had taken her measurement before they made it. He must’ve picked the color and the design with her in mind, she was in awe with how elegant the dress was.
It was such a sweet gesture, and a sweet note. He had put a lot of effort in support of her pregnancy, it was his birthday and he was the father of the baby. She smiled and wrote “OK” on the back of the note and sent it to Gabriel’s room through a hotel staff. She didn’t hear anything back from him.