Page 40 of The Princess & the Prospect
Chapter 14
Evan picked me up from work the day after our lunch at the Crab House in order to take me to my make-up doctor appointment. We were both sitting in the lobby together, waiting to be called back when I noticed a little boy who couldn’t have been more than two years old. He seemed infatuated with Evan and his mom was a bit preoccupied with an infant in a car carrier. I wondered how she managed with two little ones so close in age. That had to be exhausting.
“Dada?” The little boy questioned as he moved closer with a bit of apprehension. At first Evan didn’t seem to notice, but then the little boy tugged on his jeans near his knee. “Dada?” He questioned again.
“Sorry, buddy, I’m not your guy,” Evan managed to get out while trying to hide his amusement from the boy.
“Dada!” The boy demanded a bit more forcefully, not accepting Evan’s answer. This caused the child’s mother to finally look up. Her reddened cheeks were proof that she was embarrassed.
“Sorry,” she stated quickly as she moved the couple steps away from the baby carrier that had been sitting on the floor in front of her chair in order to grab hold of her toddling son. “His dad is on deployment right now and every man he sees is suddenly Dada.”
“It’s okay, I’ve seen that happen a lot in the service,” Evan answered her politely, trying to put the woman at ease with the situation.
“Well, thank God you took it okay. I’ve had men that heard him do that and weren’t so nice. Granted, sometimes it was because the women with them were none too happy about it,” she offered with a chuckle. “I swear, I’ll be lucky if my son doesn’t accidentally get me shot by someone’s jealous woman.”
My name was called as she said this, having us both stand while chuckling at her fear. “Good luck with that one,” I told her as Evan grinned and waved goodbye to the little boy. “Later, little man.”
“That was kind of sad,” I finally managed to say after we had been moved to the back where the nurse was taking my vitals.
“That’s military life for you. I really meant what I said. It’s something we see all too often coming back from deployment. Young children are confused about who their returning parent is. Lots of families end up in counseling as a result, because it’s tough on the kids suddenly having another parent that’s been away long enough for them to forget. It’s also hell on the parent who had to be away to come home only to have been forgotten. Then there’s the one who has been doing it all on their own and they have to adjust to another person suddenly butting in and judging how they do things. I’m thankful my time is completely up. I never wanted to start a family while I could still be called up to duty. I don’t want my kid calling every strange man he meets daddy.
Someone rapped on the door a couple times before it opened and a man poked his head around the corner. “Are you guys ready for me?” He asked, as he just continued on into the room anyway, shutting the door behind himself and his assistant. I wasn’t sure if she was a nurse, an ultrasound tech, or what at that point.
“We’re ready,” I told him without missing a beat. “I don’t want to know the sex”
“Are you sure?” The doctor asked.
“Positive. I want to be surprised.”
“What about you?” The doctor asked Evan.
“I don’t mind knowing, but will go along with whatever Anna decides,” Evan told the man.
“Ah, smart man. Happy wife, happy life,” he commented as he winked at me. I giggled before glancing over at Evan and seeing this look in his eyes that I couldn’t quite understand. It wasn’t nearly the molten look he had whenever he was horny. It was something warmer and deeper. It was also the first time I think he had heard someone call me his wife when we were both together, or maybe at all. The fact that it obviously affected him made me flush with warmth. The look, the feel of him in that moment, had been what was holding me back. More to the point the lack of it backing the words he was telling me had been holding me back. I simply hadn’t believed he felt for me what he claimed to. I turned my attention back to what was going on around me. There was plenty of time to focus on our roller coaster ride of a relationship later.
I had been through an ultrasound before, although it wasn’t going to be like the last one where my baby had been a tiny little blip on the screen that didn’t really resemble more than a shrimp or something non-human. This time, I was going to see my baby looking like a baby and the excitement had me wanting to me my pants. No, seriously. In the most literal way. “I think I might have to go to the bathroom before,” I started to say, causing the doctor to chuckle.
“It might be a little uncomfortable, but honestly, it will probably help with the visuals if you can hang in there until we’re done.”
“Okay, well, at least I warned you, just in case,” I told him. Both men were chuckling after that as the doctor squirted the pre-warmed gel onto my belly. Once he put the wand over my belly he flicked something on the machine and the baby’s heartbeat came through loud and clear. I glanced over at Evan knowing he didn’t understand what he was hearing. “That’s the baby’s heartbeat,” I explained.
“Why is it so fast?”
“Not to worry, that’s a healthy rate at this stage in the game,” my doctor informed him. We watched as he took some measurements, and then he pointed out the beating heart to Evan as well as the fact that our little one was sucking it’s thumb. I didn’t know where to focus my attention. The screen with my baby was beyond fascinating, but Evan’s face was almost as priceless. I could see the sheen of moisture in his eyes as he watched everything with hawk-like attentiveness. Then I saw the moment realization dawned in his eyes and he grinned. The doctor had a similar expression as if they’d just shared a silent secret, and when I glanced over toward the monitor the doctor quickly jerked his hand across my belly looking for a different angle. They weren’t fooling anyone. He’d just seen the sex of the baby. I couldn’t even be mad at him because he didn’t say a word about it. He just kept smiling through the rest of the appointment.
“As you know, the results of the amnio came back before with everything looking good. There didn’t seem to be anything in the results we need to worry about. Your sugar test last time also came back within acceptable parameters. Keep eating healthy and getting plenty of exercise. You’re doing well, and the baby is measuring right on track with your due date.” I figured he was reiterating things for Evan since he hadn’t been with me at the last appointment. My doctor wasn’t stupid. He knew we had a DNA test done then. So, it made sense in most cases that this would be the appointment where the person proven to be the dad might show up.
“Do either of you have any questions for me?”
Neither of us spoke. Evan’s eyes were still glued to the screen before the doctor removed the wand and started wiping the gel off it and then off of my belly. “You can grab one of our cards on the way out and if you think of something later, feel free to call. Any of the nurses should be able to answer most of what you might have to ask.” He then printed off a few things and pulled a flash drive from the machine before handing it over to Evan.
“What’s this?”
“I thought you might want pictures to remember today by.”
Evan glanced down at the printed black and white pictures as well. “Thank you,” Evan stated clearly, but I could hear the gravely layer to his voice that made it impossible for him to hide the emotion he was feeling.
It didn’t take long to get cleaned up, schedule my next appointment, and then get out to where the truck was parked. Once Evan made sure I was inside and buckled in, he climbed in the driver’s side and took another look at the images he’d been handed. That was when he fell apart.
