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“What does that mean?” I ask, and Dr. Morales laughs.
“Sure, it’s fine.” Another glare from Briar on the bed.
She’s the one who demanded I come in here. I was willing to wait with my new bff in the waiting room.
Dr. Morales turns off the lights.
“Mood lighting, I like it,” I say.
Dr. Morales laughs again, enjoying my jokes, but Briar keeps trying to break my fingers with her squeezes.
“Please excuse him, he’s practicing his dad jokes for when this little guy or girl is twelve.”
Dr. Morales goes to the ultrasound machine and takes out what looks like a huge-ass dildo.
“Whoa, you’re making me insecure now,” I say.
“Seriously?” Briar turns to me. “Sorry again,” she says to Dr. Morales.
“This one usually makes the men a little uneasy, but don’t look at it as competition.” She laughs at her own joke and earns a giggle from Briar.
“I’m never jealous. I know how to satisfy—” My words stop when I watch her put what looks like a condom and lube on the wand. “You’re going to…”
She takes it out of the holder. “Would you like to guide it, Briar, or do you want me to?”
I raise my hand. “Can I do it?”
“This isn’t a game at the fair,” Briar says. “You can do it, Dr. Morales.”
The wand disappears under the sheet, and I watch Briar for a reaction to having something so long inside her. Based on her lack of a response, she could definitely handle me. Yeah, that one was lame.
Then the screen is all black and white, and Briar’s head turns to watch as Dr. Morales does whatever she does.
“I’d say you’re about eleven weeks,” Dr. Morales says.
“Really? I swore?—”
“We can never tell the exact date of conception if you’re very sexually active. But everything looks really good.” She touches the screen, and a whooshing sound comes out of the monitor. “Let’s get this little one’s heartbeat, shall we?” I see her hand moving under the sheet, then a fast heartbeat sounds throughout the room. “There we go.”
It all seems so real now that I can hear the baby inside her.
Briar watches intently, tears slipping down her cheeks onto the paper sheet. “It’s so fast.”
“That’s normal. Your little one looks perfect. I’m going to take a few pictures for you to take with you. Congratulations to you both.”
The heartbeat sound stops, but I still stare at the screen, unsure what to say.
Dr. Morales glances at me and laughs. “Dads always get a little edgy at the first ultrasound. They get nervous that it’s all real, and they’re going to have another one to take care of.”
Briar looks at me. “Are you okay?”
I swallow past the golf ball-sized lump in my throat. “Yeah. Of course.”
I mean, the baby isn’t mine. But it’s so fragile and innocent, growing in Briar’s stomach. How do I already feel such an attachment just from hearing the heartbeat? Just from being there for its mother?
“Okay, I’ll let you get dressed,” Dr. Morales says. “Make an appointment in a month from now. I’ll give you a prescription for prenatal vitamins. If anything happens that’s unusual, you call. I saw you’re from Willowbrook. I’m happy to be your doctor, but would you like if I partnered with a physician closer to you in case?—”
“No!” Briar practically shouts. No, she’s not acting suspicious at all. “We’re happy to drive up here. Thank you, though.”
