Helena
"I think it's safe," I said to Dominick, pulling out of the parking lot after another glance in the mirror. "I don't see anyone behind us."
"That was close," Dominick said with a sigh of relief, taking off the large hat he'd been using to cover his face. "Good. Once we put a good couple of blocks behind us, you can stop at a gas station or something."
"What? Why?" I asked.
"So that I can drive, of course," Dominick said, seeming surprised that I'd asked.
"But why does that matter?"
"Well, the doctor did say to avoid straining yourself. And I feel like a jerk for just sitting here and letting you drive me around."
"It's not like we had a lot of choice, you know. Better than getting hassled by a reporter, and I think you probably would've attracted some attention if you'd tried to drive out while wearing a hat over your face."
"Yeah," Dominick agreed. "Maybe you're right."
"From reporters, the police, whoever owned the cars you'd slam into…"
"I get your point," Dominick said, chuckling softly. "But we escaped, so I can take over now."
"But you live so close, it seems silly to stop now," I argued. "And besides, the doctor said I should avoid straining myself. Lord help us all if a short drive is enough to count as a strain."
"Still…" Dominick said, and I could see that the conversation was going nowhere fast. As relieved as I was that he was still talking to me after finding out I'd lied to him, I didn't want him to start treating me like I was completely helpless.
"You know," I said, getting an idea as I waited for a stoplight to turn green. "The nurse gave me something before we left, and I think you'd like to see it."
"You're not going to get out of this that easily," Dominick said as I rummaged through my bag and found what I was looking for. "I just want to make sure both of you are safe and—"
Found it.
Pulling a single picture out of the envelope, I handed it to Dominick as he was speaking.
He never finished his sentence.
"Is that…," he began.
"A picture of the baby, yes," I said with a smile.
"They—they can do that?" Dominick asked, then shook his head. "Well obviously. I mean, they did that? When?"
"We were in the hospital for hours," I said. "They took an emergency ultrasound as one of the tests."
Dominick was silent for a moment as he stared at the grainy picture, clearly awestruck by what he was seeing.
It was almost enough to make me wish he was driving after all, so I could get a look—but of course that ship had already sailed.
"What do you think?" I asked.
"He—he has your nose, I think," Dominick said excitedly. "I can definitely see that. Pretty and gracious, just like yours. But did you see his shoulders?"
"No," I shook my head. "I haven't had time to look at any of these. Tell me about it?" I asked, careful to resist the temptation to take my eyes off the road.
The last thing I wanted was to send us both back to the hospital.
"Well," Dominick said in a serious tone. "I think the shoulders are mine. Big and bulky and all, that's gotta be my influence."
I tried to hide my amusement. I couldn't believe I thought this about him, but seeing Dominick so adorably naive made me fall even harder for the man.
"I can't believe it! I can actually see his little fingers, and his toes, and his, um…huh," Dominick said, suddenly sounding somewhere between embarrassed and proud. "I guess that's gotta be my influence, too."
A bit ahead of the car, another stoplight turned yellow and I slowed down enough to make sure we didn't make it. Once the vehicle had stopped, I glanced at the picture Dominick was talking about.
"Sweetie, I think that's the umbilical cord," I said, barely suppressing a laugh.
"Oh. I guess that makes sense."
"But it really is amazing to look at him, isn't it?"
"Yeah," Dominick answered.
Opening the envelope once again, I pulled out another picture at random and gave it to Dominick. The awe on his face was no less intense this time than it had been before, and he eagerly went over all the little details of the picture.
Dominick's unexpected enthusiasm was infectious, but also served to heighten my guilt even further. I'd clearly made a horrible mistake by not telling him about the pregnancy sooner, and I still worried that part of him wouldn't be able to forgive me for my deception.
Because he was clearly interested in the baby.
I just wasn't sure he was still interested in me.
Could I handle going back to those earlier days, when he'd only been visiting to spend time with Ali? Resisting my desire to be with him had been difficult even then, and that was back when it was still largely a physical thing. If I had to do that now….
I tried to focus on the road.
The road and my breathing. Part of me wanted to hyperventilate out of fear, and part of me wanted to stop breathing in despair. I'd really screwed up, and the thought of a breakup now was just awful.
How would I see him every day, or talk to him? How are you even supposed to act around the father of your unborn child, if he breaks up with you and ends your relationship that never actually quite existed in the first place? What did you say to him? Part of me wanted to just beg him to take me back, even though technically speaking we hadn't broken up.
But then, technically speaking, we were never together in the first place.
Not officially, anyway.
My heart throbbed, and it was only the thought of the baby's own tiny heart inside of me that kept me calm enough for the rest of the drive.
"It's a shame the pictures can't make out the color of his eyes," Dominick said as we both climbed out of our seats.
"Why? Hoping he has the same heterochromia as you and Ali?" I asked.
"No, the opposite, actually," Dominick said softly. "I want him to have your eyes, so they can remind me of you."
I took a deep breath and clutched the top of the car tightly, careful to stay steady on my feet.
After all, swooning would've probably just gotten me sent back to the hospital, and I didn't want to ruin the moment.