Chapter Eighteen
After three days of bed rest, Selena was climbing the walls. She’d been horizontal for so long that she could no longer sleep, even though it was just after seven in the morning.
Her appointment with Dr. Martin was in less than two hours, so she might as well shower.
She’d had minor spotting the day after the fall and had worried herself into a fit, but it had stopped soon after, just as her mother had somehow managed to calm her down. Other than that, the only problem was achiness from the fall itself, and she’d been assured that was normal. She had high hopes for a good report on the baby and really hoped she could get back to her more normal but abnormal life.
She was almost done with the firefighter mural and had been working on the design for the next one, at the nature reserve. If she didn’t get back to it soon, she’d risk missing the deadline the city had set for her and the bonus payment that was tied to it.
After a long shower, she slowly got dressed in real clothes for the first time since her wipeout. She sat on her bed to dry her hair, worn out from getting ready.
By the time she had eaten a bagel with peanut butter, it was eighty thirty. Her mother hadn’t come downstairs yet, was most likely still asleep. The appointment wasn’t until nine. Macey was supposed to pick her up in fifteen minutes, so Selena decided to wait outside.
Stepping out the front door, she stopped short. Evan sat in his truck, engine off. His head was reclined and his eyes were closed.
She walked around to his side and tapped on the window. He jolted awake.
“Hey,” he said as he opened the door.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
“Your appointment’s at nine, right?”
“Yes. But Macey’s taking me.”
“I’m taking you. This is important.”
“I figured you were at work.”
“I got off at seven. You know that.”
“You look tired.” A close look at his face revealed shadows under his eyes.
“Long night.”
She pressed her hand over her racing heart. “Bad call?”
“Just lots of little ones. I think we had four after midnight. We’d get ten or fifteen minutes’ sleep and then another alarm would go off.”
“But you’re safe.”
“Of course I’m safe. And flattered you care.”
“You should go home and go to bed.”
“No. Whether the news is good or bad today, it’s big. I’m going with you.”
“What should I do about Macey?”
“Call her and tell her I’ve got it covered, or she can go with us.”
Selena took her phone out of her purse, knowing it was pointless to argue — and maybe secretly a little glad to have Evan with her. “I’ll see if I can catch her.”
oOo
Dr. Martin was running behind, and it was all Evan could do to stay awake in the waiting room.
“Go ahead and sleep,” Selena said, touching his thigh and having more of an effect on him than she could probably ever guess. Maybe lust could wake him up.
The nurse finally called Selena’s name, and they both stood and followed her to the same ultrasound room they’d been in at the first appointment.
The nurse hurried through several questions and said the doctor would be in right away. Her brisk manner unnerved Evan, as if she expected bad news and didn’t want to be cheerful.
“Turn around,” Selena said to him, holding the sheet in front of her.
He stared at her for a moment. Was she kidding?
“Evan.”
“I’ve seen all that before, darlin’.”
“Not here. Please?”
Slowly, he bent over and put his hands over his eyes.
“Thank you.”
She undressed in record time and secured the sheet around her waist. Evan might’ve teased her if he hadn’t been so tense and ready to get this over with.
It seemed as if they sat there, in silence, for an hour, but in reality, only about eight minutes had passed. Dr. Martin knocked softly on the door and got straight to business, which Evan appreciated. There was a time for chitchat, and waiting to find out if your baby was still alive was definitely not it.
“I’m going to see if we can find the heartbeat with the Doppler first,” the doctor said. “It’s less invasive. But keep in mind it may be a little early in the pregnancy to hear it. So if we can’t, no panicking.”
She lifted Selena’s shirt a few inches and lowered the sheet to reveal her lower abdomen. After rubbing gel over the area, she held an instrument on Selena’s skin and moved it around. It sounded like the sea in a seashell through a microphone, but Evan didn’t hear anything resembling a heartbeat.
The doctor probed for a couple minutes and frowned. “Okay. We’ll do another vaginal ultrasound.”
She was all business as she rolled the equipment closer and put gloves on.
Evan leaned his head close to Selena and kissed her cheek. “Doing okay?” he asked.
She nodded, looking slightly green. “You?”
“Not in the least.”
“Almost ready,” Dr. Martin said. She turned the lights out and started the procedure.
Once again, Evan couldn’t make heads or tails or heartbeats out of anything on the screen. Seconds ticked by as the doctor searched and Selena cringed. He closed his eyes, trying to prepare himself for bad news.
“There it is,” the doctor said, her relief evident. “That little heart is still beating away.”
“Yes!” Evan said. He brought Selena’s hand to his mouth and kissed it.
“Everything’s okay?” Selena asked in a small voice.
“That heartbeat is exactly what we wanted to see, hon. I’m going to glance around a little more, but your baby looks good.”
Selena finally exhaled and smiled up at Evan. He kissed her again and thought how bizarre it was that they were so relieved. If someone had told him three months ago he would be here praying for a heartbeat, he would’ve said they were out of their mind.
“The placenta appears to be in good shape,” Dr. Martin said. “That was our main concern. Baby’s growth is perfect.” She wrote something on Selena’s chart. “Due date is still right on target.”
After a few more minutes of viewing the blob on the screen, the doctor finished up and turned it off.
“Everything’s okay, but I want you to take it easy for another day or two. No long walks or vigorous activity. Understand?”
Selena nodded. “I don’t have to stay in bed, right?”
“Right. But naps are your friend.” The doctor fixed Evan with a stare. “You going to see to it she lies low?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“If you have any more spotting, I want you back in here or the ER right away. Same with abdominal cramping or pain. Got it?”
“Got it,” Selena said. “Thank you, Dr. Martin.”
“Okay. No more romantic walks on a wet boardwalk, you two.”
Selena met Evan’s eyes as they both recalled how unromantic that walk had been.
“Anything else?” Evan asked.
“I’ll see you at your regular appointment. Take care.”
oOo
“So,” Selena said when they were back in the truck. “Sounds like we’re going to have a baby after all.”
“Sounds like it. You still okay with that?”
“Strangely … yes. I think I’d be at least a little upset if something bad happened. Sick and twisted much?”
“Pretty damn twisted.” He leaned his head back and drummed the steering wheel with his index fingers. “Me too.”
Selena looked at him sharply. Studied his profile and felt the punch to her gut yet again at how good-looking he was. What surprised her even more was his heart. His looks and charm had suckered her in that first night they’d met, and she’d never suspected he would turn out to be such a decent, good-hearted guy deep down. She wished like crazy he wasn’t so good, didn’t thrive on helping people day in and day out. Maybe if he wasn’t, she could handle loving him.
Not that she did. Love him. She couldn’t. Would not.
“I know you’re practically sleepwalking, but would you mind if we made one stop on the way home?”
“The good news woke me up. I’m fine. Just tell me where.”
Selena directed him to a strip mall on the island’s main street. He pulled up in front of Abuela’s Consignments and stopped the engine. He looked at her suspiciously.
“Not a shopper?” she said, trying to stifle a grin.
“You’re supposed to be taking it easy.”
“This will take ten minutes at the most.”
He checked his watch. “You’ve got ten. Let’s go.”
Selena didn’t waste any time. They walked inside and she looked around for the section she needed.
“Hola,” an elderly woman said from a few feet away. “Can I help you?”
Selena saw what she wanted, smiled, and said, “Not yet.”
She took Evan’s hand and dragged him to the back of the store, where there were several racks and shelves of baby clothes.
“Selena,” he said when he realized her intention. “Are you sure about this?”
“I’m not sure about anything, but … I want to do this. We’re going to celebrate by buying the baby’s first outfit.”
Evan gradually smiled as he stared at her, then nodded.
Selena browsed through the rack closest, which happened to be full of pink and lavender, ruffles, dresses, bows, kitties, and bunnies.
“He’ll be scarred for life,” Evan said.
“He?”
“You think it’s a girl?”
“No idea. I haven’t thought that far.” She moved on to the next rack, which had sleepers in all colors. She pulled one of the mini-hangers off the rack and held up a tiny long-sleeved, footed pajama in light green.
Evan tilted his head. “Too hot for June?”
“Maybe,” Selena said. “It’s so little.” She checked for a size. “Three to six months. They start smaller than this?”
“And grow big fast. At least Henry has.”
“That was big?” She stuck the green sleeper back on the rack. “I don’t know about this. Maybe it’s a bad idea.”
Evan wandered to the next rack, and Selena searched for a lighter sleeper, trying to ignore her fear.
“Three minutes left,” Evan said, but she noticed he was still searching through baby clothes himself.
“I’ve got it.” Selena pulled out a fuzzy yellow sleeper with an all-over panda-bear print.
“Got mine,” Evan said.
Intrigued, and touched that he was picking something out too, she took her choice to the rack where he stood.
“You’re kidding, right?”
“What? No way! This is it. Works for either gender.”
Selena eyed the onesie, shaking her head. It was pure white with a fire truck embroidered across the chest. Around the graphic, it said, “My daddy’s truck is bigger than your daddy’s truck.”
“It’s perfect. Let’s go.” Evan led her by the hand and to the checkout counter near the door before she could voice her misgivings.
“What did you select?” the shopkeeper asked as they laid their choices on the counter. “Ooh, so cute.” She moved them toward the cash register to ring them up. “Cash or credit?”
“Plastic,” Evan said.
“Cash,” Selena said at the same time.
“I’ve got it.” Evan took his wallet out of his back pocket.
“This was my idea. I’ll get them.”
“Oh,” Evan said, suddenly looking annoyed. “How could I forget? You’re rich enough to buy the entire strip mall.”
“They’re five dollars apiece, Evan. Don’t be like that.”
“Like what?” He took a card out of his wallet. “We’ll pay for them separately,” he told the woman, who watched them with undisguised interest.
They purchased each outfit — separately — in silence and returned to the truck.
“Clearly, we have something we need to discuss,” Selena said after they were in.
Evan leaned his elbow on his door. “Were you ever planning to tell me you’re a high-society princess? What do they call them? Debutantes?”
“Why are you so angry? You never asked about my family’s finances.”
“It didn’t cross my mind that you might be richer than God.”
“I, personally, have been flat broke.”
“So you said.”
“You heard my mom. She cut me off to get me back to Boston. I left home with two thousand dollars cash, never dreaming I wouldn’t be able to get more.”
“Are you listening to yourself? Two grand? In cash?”
Selena narrowed her eyes. “What’s this about, Evan? Get to the point.”
“The point is that I’ve been concerned about taking care of this child financially. I gave up plans to buy the boat of my dreams because I was worried about paying for a crib and a rocking chair and the million other expenses a child brings.”
“This is about a boat?”
“No, it’s not about a goddamn boat, Selena. It’s about me not knowing a thing about you.”
“Well, there you go. Best reason yet to stop trying to get me to marry you. Go buy your boat.”
Evan started the truck and drove to the beach house without another word.
“Coming in to say hello to the high-society queen?” Selena asked when he stopped in her driveway.
“I don’t think so.”
Selena stared at him, her head spinning from the crazy roller coaster of a morning. “See you.” She climbed out and went into the house. It took more than a little effort for her to avoid looking back at him.