Her Bundles Of Joy

Chapter 7

“W-what?” Nicole stammered. She started shaking her head repeatedly. “T-t-that’s not possible, you’re wrong. I demand you redo these exams. They’re wrong!”

“Ms. Carter, calm down, please,” the doctor said softly. “The results aren’t wrong, miss. You’re pregnant, two months pregnant, to be precise.”

Nicole stood up and started pacing back and forth across the doctor’s office, heart pounding and hands trembling. This had to be a nightmare! There was no way she could be pregnant, was there? Sure, she was late, but that was nothing new, Nicole had always had an irregular menstruation, it didn’t mean she was suddenly expecting a child! Her bre*sts were slightly achy, and her nausea wasn’t exactly the same as when she’d gotten sick after eating something that didn’t sit well with her stomach, but none of that had to mean an unexpected pregnancy. How the hell would she support a child? How would she keep her job and be a mother when she was all alone in this world? Nicole knew her father would literally kill her if she showed up at his doorstep with a kid but no husband. She could even guess his words for her: sl*t, wh*re, prostitute, promiscuous bi*ch.

Nicole felt room getting smaller, and her breathing was becoming more difficult each time she tried to suck in some oxygen. The world suddenly started spinning and Nicole could barely see the doctor hurriedly approaching her, she could tell that the woman was speaking, but she couldn’t understand a thing. All she could hear was a deafening buzz, as if there had been a loud explosion right inside her ear. Her lungs were burning, struggling to function properly as the dancer’s throat felt constricted. Nicole felt the doctor’s hands on her forearms, and the woman gently pushed her to sit on a couch she had in her office. It was getting harder to breath with each second that went by. The doctor, an Asian woman who didn’t look a day over 30, placed Nicole’s hand against her chest, and tried to get the dancer to match her breathing pattern. It wasn’t an easy task, but she finally managed to calm Nicole down.

“Ms. Carter, are you feeling better?” Nicole nodded silently. “Do these panic attacks happen often? Ms. Carter, you cannot lose control like this, it’s not healthy for the baby.”

Finally trusting her own voice, Nicole spoke through falling tears. “H-how is it possible? I can’t be pregnant…”

“The man who brought you here, is he the father? Maybe we should invite him in.”

The dancer felt her heart racing once again. She hadn’t thought of who could be the father. Deep down, Nicole knew there was only one answer to this question. It was February now, if she was two months along, it meant that she’d gotten pregnant in December. The only person she’d slept with that month, and ever since that night, as a matter of fact, was Evan. Even before the blond man, Nicole hadn’t had s*x in months. She simply wasn’t too fond of the whole no-strings-attached, one-time-only thing. Knowing that Evan was the only one who could possibly be the father of this child somehow only increased Nicole’s fear. How was she going to tell him that she was pregnant with his baby? Realizing that she had yet to respond the doctor, Nicole shook her head frantically.

“No! God, no. He’s not the father. But he can’t know! That guy’s my boss, he’s going to fire me if he knows I’m pregnant.”

The doctor frowned. “Miss, you do realize that we live in the 21st century, right? He can’t fire you for being pregnant!”

“You don’t know him, doctor. He’ll make my life hell until I quit.” Nicole placed a firm hand against her own thigh, trying to keep her leg from bouncing up and down anxiously. “I can’t afford to lose my job, especially not now.”

“But, Ms. Carter, your exams showed that your health is not 100% right now, you need to take better care of yourself. Have you been sleeping well? Eating well?”

“I don’t have much time for that. I work all day long, and sometimes I work overnight as well. I’m a dancer, you see? I can’t skip on any gigs, as they rarely knock on my door as it is.” Nicole shrugged.

“I understand you have to work hard, Ms. Carter, but please keep in mind that your health and the baby’s health should be your top priority from now on, okay? I’ll prescribe you some vitamins you must take during the pregnancy, and I’ll also write down a diet plan that you must strictly follow, alright? I have to let you know that I’m an obstetrician, and if you wish, I’m available to assist you through your pregnancy. Is that something you’d like?”

Nicole considered the proposition. This doctor, whose name she had unfortunately forgotten, had treated her very nicely, not to mention that the woman helped her through a panic attack just a few minutes ago! If this pregnancy thing was actually happening, then she’d love to have this woman be her obstetrician.

“Can I ask you something, though?”

“Sure, anything.”

“What’s your name, doctor?”

The Asian woman chuckled. “I’m Dr. Alina Park, but everyone around here knows me as Dr. Ali.”

“Okay, Dr. Ali, I’d love it if you could be my doctor.” Nicole smiled. She looked around the office while the doctor wrote down all the vitamins and diet she’d mentioned previously. It was a cozy, organized office with plastic flowers glued to the walls, giving the place a girly look. There were also some action figures scattered around the room, which meant that Doctor Ali was most likely a big nerd. Nicole smiled at that. She’d never really been a fan of anything in particular, so she thought it was endearing to see that there were people who enjoyed things so much they would proudly take said things with them anywhere. Go, Dr. Ali, Nicole thought.

Focusing on her surroundings helped the young woman distract herself from the things happening to her life at the moment. It helped her ignore the fact that there was a human being growing inside her uterus, it helped her ignore the fact that this doctor was probably prescribing hundreds and hundreds of dollars in vitamins she had no idea how she’d be able to afford. Of course, Nicole wasn’t about to let Dr. Ali know that. She’d find a way like she always did, like she’d been doing since she’d fled her parents’ house.

“Okay, Ms. Carter. Here,” the doctor said as she handed Nicole a sheet of paper, “those are the vitamins you’re supposed to take. And these,” Dr. Ali handed over another paper, “are the diet plan and the instructions on what you have to do to take care of your health in this initial stage of your pregnancy. I expect to see you here again next month, okay? You can stop by the receptionist’s desk and set an appointment. Buy the vitamins and start taking them tomorrow. Take good care of yourself and the baby, Ms. Carter.”