Part Four
Chapter 18
Katana
After several days had passed, I began to feel more settled. Nix and I had chosen an obstetrician and had an appointment set up for the late afternoon. Nerves were getting the best of me, and I ended up puking three times before he arrived at three to pick me up.
Holding my hand on the console between the seats, his thumb ran back and forth over the top of my hand. “You look pretty in that pink dress.” He pulled my hand up and kissed it. “Can I assume that means you’re hoping for a girl?”
I shook my head. “I’m hoping for a healthy baby—the sex doesn’t matter to me.” I looked out the window. “I don’t know how to take care of either, anyway.”
Nix told me he wanted to wait to be sure I stayed pregnant before he told his family about our situation, but once we were past the critical three-month mark, he’d tell them about everything.
“You know I told you my mother would help you with all that. I don’t want you to worry even a little bit about that—you’ll be a great mother. I know you will.” He kissed my hand again, and I couldn’t help but smile.
I don’t know how he made me feel so much better just by being with me, but he did. “I know you’ll be a great father.”
“I’m going to try.” He chuckled. “I had to lie to my mother a while ago.”
“Why?” I asked, surprised he’d have to lie about anything.
“She wanted me to come for Christmas, and I told her I’d made plans with my business partners for that day so I couldn’t come this year.” He shook his head. “I don’t lie often. It felt pretty unnatural doing it, but I don’t want to jump the gun with our news.”
Thinking about losing the baby made my stomach roll, and I swallowed as saliva suddenly began to produce rapidly. I saw a stoplight ahead and prayed he’d make it to that before I had to open the door and hurl. I couldn’t even say a word as I felt sure I’d projectile vomit all over his expensive car.
When Nix stopped at the light, I opened the door and let it all out. “Baby?” he called out.
It took no time to expel the little that was left in my stomach, and I closed the door and leaned my head back on the headrest when I was done. “God, I hate that.”
He handed me a tissue as he shook his head. “Damn, I hate that for you.”
By the time we got to the doctor’s office, the butterflies in my tummy had turned into pterodactyls, and I had to cling to Nix for support. I’d never really leaned on anyone in my life. It felt odd—and even a little dangerous—but I couldn’t help it.
The waiting room was full of expecting mothers in various stages of pregnancy. A few small kids were playing with some toys in one corner, and I noticed only a handful of fathers there with the women. I squeezed Nix’s arm, which I had wrapped mine around. “Thank you, Nix.”
“For?” he asked as he grinned at me.
“Being here with me. For me.” I kissed his cheek. “You’re my rock.”
He kissed mine right back. “I am that. And I wouldn’t miss this for anything.”
When my name was called, we got up. He wrapped his arm around me, supporting me, and I knew he could feel my body shaking. “I’m so scared.”
“No reason to be. Nothing bad will happen to you. Come on, be brave. For our baby, be brave.” He kissed my cheek once more and in we went.
The doctor was a man in his late fifties. He passed us in the hallway and stopped to introduce himself. “You’re new.” He extended his hand, and we took turns shaking it. “I’m Doctor Sheffield.”
Nix took the lead. “I’m Nixon Slaughter, and this is Katana Reeves.”
“Nice to meet you both. Do the deal with the nurses, and I’ll come see you soon.” He walked away, leaving us to follow the nurse once more.
“He seemed nice,” I said, and felt a tiny bit better about this whole thing.
“I’m sure he’s very nice. And he had many high recommendations. I think we picked the right man for the job, baby.” He gave me a confident smile, and I had to smile back.
After an hour of being weighed and measured, and giving urine and blood samples, I was handed a paper robe and Nix and I were sent to a room to wait for the doctor.
I undressed behind a little curtain while Nix looked at the posters on the walls, which depicted the stages of a developing fetus. “Let’s see here,” he said as I changed. “It’s now the twelfth of December, and that means we’re six weeks. That means we should be able to hear the baby’s heartbeat, according to this chart.”
I came out wearing the unflattering paper robe and looked at the table I had to climb up on. Then I felt hands on my waist, turning me around. Nix lifted me up, putting me on the table. “Thank you.” I couldn’t help the smile that took over my face. The man was just too damn good.
“You look adorable. Can I take a picture of you? I swear I won’t post it on anything; I just want to chronicle everything.” He pulled his cell out of his jacket pocket and cocked his head as he waited for my approval.
“Swear to make me look good in this silly thing?” I asked.
He nodded. “You’ll look like a pinup girl, I swear.”
With a nod, I gave him approval and found him snapping a ton of pictures and taking selfies with me in the pictures too. He had me laughing and feeling a lot less nervous in no time at all.
When Doctor Sheffield came in, he wore a wide grin on his face. He pushed one hand through his salt and pepper hair as he came to us. “Glad to see you two having a good time. It’s nice to see people celebrating bringing a new life into the world.” He opened up the folder with all my information and looked it over. “Says here you two are certain about the date of conception and that some people must’ve had a fun time on Halloween.” He grinned knowingly at us.
“That we did,” Nixon confirmed. “So when are we going to be seeing our little baby’s face, doc?”
“If everything goes right, you’ll see your baby on the twenty-fourth of July. How does that sound?” The doctor walked over to the counter to put on a pair of gloves.
My heart began to pound then. I knew what the gloves meant and wasn’t real keen on Nix being there while the doctor poked and prodded me. But I guessed that would be something I’d have to get used to. Nix did seem set on being a part of every little bit of the pregnancy—as much as he could be, at least.
I must’ve had a wild-eyed look on my face as the doctor came and pushed me gently back. Nix took the place on my right, holding my hand and smiling at me reassuringly. “You’ll be just fine, baby.”
I nodded but didn’t feel just fine as the doctor placed my feet in the stirrups. Then he pushed something cold inside of me as he said, “We’ll just get this Pap smear out of the way, then I’ll do a transvaginal ultrasound and see if we can hear a heartbeat.”
My entire body tensed as he cranked the mechanism, opening me up so he could do the test. “Ow,” I whined when it pinched me.
“Almost done, Katana,” the doctor assured me.
When I looked at Nix, I saw he wasn’t even breathing as he stared at the top of the doctor’s head. He was nervous too. He never said one word about it, but I could read his body language. All the while, his only mission seemed to be trying his best to keep me calm.
I had lucked into getting the best baby-daddy in the whole world. I had no idea what I’d done to deserve all of this. But I was thankful for it all. I squeezed his hand, and he looked at me. “Thanks again for being here for me.”
He nodded. “Thanks again for including me.” He leaned over and kissed my forehead.
The doctor finished with the uncomfortable procedure then pushed something else inside me before flipping a switch on a small screen on his left. We could see the screen too, but I had no idea what we were looking at.
He moved the device inside of me as he searched for our baby. “Here we go.” He smiled at us as he pointed to a small orb on the screen. The orb pulsed as the doctor turned up the sound, and there was the tiny heartbeat.
A tear fell, and I gasped. Nix squeezed my hand and looked at me. “So there it is. Our baby, Katana.”
My heart filled with love. Love for the little orb, and love for Nixon Slaughter.
God help me, how can anyone fall in love this quickly?