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I sure wouldn’t feel bad about watching him burn in that lake of lava I saw when I was down there.
Sophia crinkled her nose. “Ugh. Dr. Malach’s the worst. I’m sorry you had to deal with him. He’s not great, but the clinic keeps him around because there are so many patients that need help.”
I shrugged. “I’m sure he didn’t tell me anything another doctor wouldn’t. I’m too sick to have a baby. I have lupus, and the pregnancy would be too high risk, so I guess I can’t go through with it.”
My voice cracked. I didn’t know why I was opening up to this girl. She was a complete stranger. But maybe that’s why it was so easy, because I was never going to see her again.
“What does he mean you can’t go through with it?” Sophia demanded. She sounded like she was ready to go to war for me, some witch girl she just met. I liked her already. “Women with lupus give birth to babies all the time—Ava-Marie!”
She cut off as she scolded her daughter, who was wiggling so much she nearly fell out of Sophia’s arms. Ava-Marie reached out for me, and instinctually, I picked her up. The little girl crawled onto my lap, and Sophia watched curiously as her daughter leaned her head against my chest. I wrapped my arms around her, and for a brief moment, I felt what it’d be like to hold a child. It was so comforting and full of love, yet the most heartbreaking thing all at once.
Ava-Marie put her hand on my belly, as if she recognized the life growing inside of me. I nearly broke down all over again.
“That’s interesting…” Sophia mused. “Ava-Marie doesn’t usually like strangers.”
“Maybe it’s because I was crying,” I offered. “I’m sure kids understand empathy better than adults do.”
Sophia furrowed her brow, keeping her eyes on her daughter. “She certainly seems… concerned. Doctors don’t always know what they’re talking about. They told us my husband couldn’t have kids, and they were sure he’d pass on his illness, but Ava-Marie is fine. Maybe you should get a second opinion. I know the woman who runs the clinic—in fact, we just came from her office. She doesn’t have another appointment until this afternoon. I can take you to see her if you’d like.”
I nodded. “I’d like that very much. Thank you.”
Sophia slung her diaper bag over her shoulder. Ava-Marie wouldn’t let go of me, so I stood with the child in my arms and followed Sophia inside. She led me down a long hall and stopped outside an open door. I peered inside and was shocked to find Luana sitting at a desk. Her luna moth Familiar fluttered its wings from her shoulder.
She was the chieftain’s daughter who we’d met earlier this year when we came here for information on the Oaken Wands. I recalled that she said she worked at the clinic. She seemed so young to be running it, but maybe she was older than I originally thought.
Luana stepped out of her office and into the hall to greet us. Sophia signed something to her, and whatever it was must’ve alarmed Luana, because she got a look of concern on her face. She signed back quickly.
Sophia turned to me. “Luana has asked me to interpret. You may address each other directly, and I will interpret everything that is said. This conversation will remain confidential, and I may interrupt for clarification. Are you okay with that?”
“Yes,” I told them both.
Luana signed, and Sophia interpreted. “What exactly did Dr. Malach tell you?”
I repeated what he’d said word-for-word, pausing to give Sophia time to communicate. It wasn’t like I could ever forget the conversation we had.
Luana’s nostrils flared, and her face turned red. She turned on her heel and rushed down the hall, and we quickly followed. Luana stopped in front of a closed door and pounded her fist on it.
The office door popped open, and Dr. Malach stood there. He narrowed his eyes on her. “Yes, Dr. Cauac?”
It didn’t sound like they got along.
Luana’s signs grew bigger and more aggressive than before. She was pissed, but Dr. Malach more or less looked amused.
“I don’t know what this means,” he said, waving his hands in a mocking manner.
What a fucking asshole.
Sophia turned to Dr. Malach, interpreting for Luana. “Your behavior with your last patient was completely unacceptable.”
Dr. Malach’s gaze landed on me. “You mean the sick pregnant girl? She’s chronically ill. Do you really think she can carry a baby to term? What if she passes her illness down to her child?”
I instinctually placed a hand over my belly and took a step back. Ava-Marie gripped tighter to my side, like she could sense Dr. Malach was nothing but bad news. Even if I did pass down my disease, it wasn’t a reason not to have this child.
“Is that why you told her she had to abort?” Sophia interpreted. “You should know better, you ableist prick.”
Dr. Malach threw his head back and let out a laugh that chilled me to the bone.
“You think that’s funny?” Sophia asked, interpreting.
