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Dr. Roth comes back shortly and rubs some cold jelly onto my belly for the ultrasound. Right away I can see the baby on the screen. It's small and its arms move slightly. I wonder if it's happy being in my belly. Tears of happiness fall from my eyes without me even knowing, until Melissa dabs the sides of my face with a tissue.
“Aww,” Doctor Roth says. “You’ve got a healthy bundle of joy in there. It looks like it’s still a little too soon to tell sex, but he or she should reveal that at your next checkup.”
I absolutely adore Doctor Roth. She's such a sweet woman and has made me very comfortable thus far. Once she’s done with my checkup, she schedules my next appointment and sends me on my way with photos of a tiny little peanut shaped baby in my belly. It's hard to see where it is exactly, but after staring at it for what feels like hours, I can see it perfectly. Wow. I'm going to be a mother.
“We should stop for some food,” I say once we exit the building. “I don’t feel like cooking, and I don’t really feel like being at home right now. Let's say we go to Applebee's for old times' sake.”
“Applebee's.” Melissa’s eyes widened. “Let’s do it. I could use some of those bomb ass boneless wings.”
“Should I tag along, or is this going to be a girls outing?” Marc asks.
“Uh, I think it’ll just be us today,” I say. “I will call you later once we’re home.”
I give him a kiss before Melissa and I take off. It isn’t long before she pulls my car into the parking lot, and we haul inside for some of our favorites. I miss days like this; going to get food with my best friend. Talking about any and everything under the sun. It's different because I'm carrying a baby now, but in a good way.
“I can’t believe you’re going to have a baby.” Melissa squeals and waves her hands in the air. “Seriously, I can’t wait to meet him or her. I hope it’s a girl! We'll go on cute dates and shopping sprees. We can decorate her room in pink and purple princess colors. OMG! I can’t wait.”
“Me either,” I laugh. “I’m fine with either a girl or a boy. I'm sure Marc wants a boy.”
“I don’t know,” Melissa says. “A lot of guys like being girl dads. I think Marc might want a girl this time around.”
Maybe he does. He's probably traumatized by Kyle and his nonsense. I plan to give him a call once we’re home so we can talk about the visit and possibly discuss names. Hopefully he has something good in mind.
“Have you tried talking to your dad again?” Melissa asks, trying to be as sensitive about the matter as she can be. “I think you should send him a picture of your ultrasound. He's about to be a grandpa and as much as he loves you, I'm sure that will soften his heart about this. He wouldn’t want to miss the birth for anything in the world.”
“I haven’t tried calling him again. After the first month I kind of gave up and said I'd let him reach out when he was ready. I'm sure he will. It's just taking him some time. Which is understandable.”
We get back to my place later in the evening. After three cocktails and twenty boneless wings, Melissa’s passed out for the night, leaving me awake with nothing but my thoughts to ponder. I am thinking about calling Marc, but I think it's a better idea to try and give my dad a call again and what do you know, he finally answered.
“Felicia, hi. I'm glad you called.”
His voice is calm and attentive. Worrisome even. He sounds apologetic and I instantly start to weep. I'm the one who should be apologizing to him.
“Are you there?” he asks.
“Yeah. Yeah, I’m here, I'm just.” I don’t know what I am right now. “How are you, Dad?”
“Better, now that you’ve called,” he says. “How are you?”
I miss him. I'm nervous. Happy. Sad. Hungry. I'm all over the place. I'd be better if I were with him, but right now, I have to stand tall on my reality.
“I had an appointment today,” I say. “Doctor Roth says the baby is healthy and growing perfectly. She even gave me some ultrasound pictures to add to the collection of pictures I'm sure I'll start to collect once the baby’s born.”
He's quiet. I'm sure he’s having a hard time digesting my update and honestly, so am I. This is tough to talk about with him since we haven’t even had a proper conversation about my relationship with Marc.
“Dad, I know this is all hard for you. Trust me, it’s hard for me too. I never thought I would end up in this kind of situation and I certainly didn’t mean for it to hurt you or your friendship with Marc. I know you two have been best friends for a very long time, and I'm sorry I intruded on that. I never expected for this to happen.”
He lets out a heavy sigh before saying, “I’m in no way happy at all about this, but what can I do? I'm more disappointed in Marc than I am with you and as much as I'd like to kick his ass all over again, I don’t want to mess up the relationship I should have with my grandchild. You two having a baby only ties us in for life even more. I'll have to get over it one way or the other.”
The relief I feel right now is unmatched. Although I know we still have a long road to travel, it makes me feel overjoyed to know that my dad is willing to work things out with me. I'm not so sure where he and Marc will stand in all of this, but as long as he is willing to be there for me and the baby, it’s all I can ask of him.
“How’s Marc been treating you?” he asks.
“He’s been fine,” I say. “Very helpful and attentive. He's probably more eager than I am to have the baby. I sensed some hesitation in him early on, but he’s never once talked about walking away from this.”
“Good. That's good. Very righteous of him. So long as he’s owning up to his reasonability and making sure you and that baby are alright, I guess I can give him credit and have a sit down with him at some point. We got into a nasty fight the other night and I think I owe him an apology.”
My dad and I talked for about an hour before we ended our call on a very positive note. One that I call and share with Marc. We're both in high hopes that things will smooth over for the two of them but for now, I take in the opportunity to be back in my dad’s good graces.
