Wes paced the doctor’s waiting room. The office was in an old cottage and felt more like a home than an office. Thankfully, it smelled of flowers and perfume instead of disinfectant and alcohol.
Fancy drapes hung around the windows with tassels dancing each time the old air conditioner rattled, sputtered, and cut on, shooting cooling air onto his heated skin.
He should be back there holding Kat’s hand, not stuck out here, helpless.
The receptionist cleared her throat and pointed to a chair next to the large fish tank. Why did doctors’ offices always have fish tanks?
The gurgling irritated him. The light shining in between the wood slat blinds across the room irritated him. The woman clearing her throat at the end of the row of uncomfortable chairs irritated him.
How had they gotten here? They’d both worked too hard to earn their financial freedom to face the shackles of children. Perhaps if he’d been around children or he had fatherly instinct, he’d be happy about this, but he lacked any parental skills. He was never meant to be a parent.
He wasn’t sure if he worried more about if there was a baby or if there was something more seriously wrong with Kat. At the moment, he wished he had his own Friendsters to lean on. A group of men by his side, telling him everything would be okay, that Kat would be okay.
A nurse in bright pink scrubs opened a door and stepped into the waiting room. “Mr. Stein, you may come back now.”
Irritation poked at him again, but he rose without correcting the woman about his last name. Dots exploded in his vision, but he managed to blink through the gray and make out the path to the innards of the doctor’s office.
Stress took a toll on everyone. He’d always managed well throughout his career by going for a good run, but he hadn’t wanted to leave Kat for even five minutes. Not when she was sick over and over again. Poor thing. He wanted to make this better for her. He wanted to make this right.
At the end of the hall, they hung a right and the nurse pointed into a large office, but Kat wasn’t there. His heart skipped and skidded to a stop. “Where’s Kat?”
“Stay calm, Mr. Stein. She’ll be here in a few moments. She’s just getting dressed.”
No. He’d fix this, especially if Kat was caring his child. She’d have his last name by the end of the day. If Kat didn’t agree to let him put a ring on her soon, he’d go insane. She was his responsibility, and he needed to take care of her.
A mist spurted out orange and lavender scents from a contraption in the corner. Why would they put something like that in an office with pregnant women? According to Kat, every smell made her sick.
Stay calm. Take a breath. He repeated this mantra over and over and over again to himself. He couldn’t fall apart when Kat needed him.
She entered the room, her face pale, hands shaking, and wearing a forced smile. “Hey, there.”
He reached her side but was scared to touch her, as if he’d break her with one finger. “How you doing?”
“We’ll know in a few minutes. As you wished, I waited to know anything until you were by my side.”
He touched his forehead to hers and held both her hands gently. God, please don’t let her be pregnant. Don’t take her from me. “We’ll get through this together.”
“Thank you for being here with me,” she whispered.
“Did you ever doubt me?”
“I doubted myself. I’d be gone if I were you.” She chuckled, but he knew she had the strength of a hundred men and would never have run off.
A woman with a white coat entered the office from a door at the back. She placed a tablet on the desktop, then offered her hand to Wes. “Nice to meet you. I’m Doctor Ryland.”
He reluctantly released Kat’s hand. “Nice to meet you.”
She had a firm, business-like handshake he respected.
“Please, sit.” Dr. Ryland pulled a chair around near them instead of remaining on the other side of the desk. This couldn’t be good.
Wes pulled out a chair for Kat and held her elbow until she was safely in the seat, out of fear she’d collapse at any moment. He wouldn’t let her fall, ever.
Dr. Ryland smiled at them both, a warm yet alarming I’ve-got-bad-news kind of soft-eyed look. Wes’s stomach bubbled faster than that darn fish tank had gurgled.
The room spun with ensuing panic. Don’t let her be pregnant. Kat. That’s all he cared about. “Is she okay?”
“Please, take a breath, both of you. I know you’ve been stressed, and that hasn’t helped Kat at all. After reviewing Kat’s medical records, speaking with her, and completing her examination and urinalysis, I can tell you that you’re indeed pregnant.”
Wes fought to remain seated. Energy flooded through him, and he thought he could run an ultra-marathon and beat the twenty-year-olds.
“Run. Run now. I would,” Kat said in a joking tone, but he knew it was a real offer.
“Told you, I’m not going anywhere.” He managed the words, even if they were shaky. He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles.
“How did this happen?” Tears pooled in her eyes. “I’m on the pill. Not to mention my age. How does a fifty-year-old woman get pregnant?”
“It happens. We may not ever know for sure, but I have a theory about why your oral contraception failed.”
“How?” Kat asked.
“You’ve been taking dietary supplements. One of them has St. John’s wort in it, which could interfere with the oral contraceptive. That being said, we will never know for sure.”
“God’s will,” Kat murmured.
Wes snarled at the textured ceiling. “God’s will for people our age to get pregnant? He does know this isn’t the ancient times where people lived to be hundreds of years old, right?”
Kat squeezed his hand as if to be the one calming him.
“I understand your shock. You both need to discuss what you want to do moving forward, but first I want to make sure you have all the facts and know what to expect with this pregnancy. To understand the risks—”
“Risks?” Wes asked, his blood pumping like a fuel injector.
Kat nodded. “My age.”
“Yes, that’s one factor. The increase of things like Down Syndrome or other chromosomal abnormalities or birth defects is a risk, but there are children born every day to women your age with no issues at all. It’s a statistical increase but not a guarantee. We’ll need to run some tests at different stages of your pregnancy. You could have a healthy baby. But there are other concerns at the moment. You have hyperemesis gravidarum, which simply means severe morning sickness.”
“Can that harm the baby?” A tear slipped down Kat’s cheek.
He swiped it away the way he wanted to swipe all her worries away. “Or Kat?”
“We’ll need to treat both mother and baby with IV fluids and then start you on bland foods. I’ll give you all the information you’ll need on proper diet. As for the IV fluids, there’s a mobile service you can call so that a nurse will come administer the treatment at your home instead of at the hospital. I believe this will decrease stress, which is the most important thing right now for mother and baby.”
“Thank you, doctor.” Kat lifted her chin as if taking all of this head-on would be easy.
“The reason stress is so important to avoid is due to your elevated blood pressure. However, this isn’t a surprise, considering all your body is going through. I’d like you to rest as much as possible and stay off your feet the next few weeks.”
Kat put her free hand to her belly. “You think I’ll lose the baby, don’t you?”
“You asked me to be honest, so I will be throughout this process. Yes, there is an increased risk of you losing the baby due to this being early in the pregnancy and your age.”
Losing the baby? What about Kat? “Is it safer for her to lose the baby now as opposed to later?” His words slipped out, and based on the doctor’s and patient’s expressions, he’d been too direct. “What I mean to say is do I need to be concerned about the risks being greater now or later?” He knew he still hadn’t expressed his thoughts well but shut his mouth.
“Katherine is healthier than most of the twenty- and thirty-something women I see. I encourage you both not to make any major decisions at this moment. Go home, rest, spend some time together. I’ll refer you to a specialist, though. You’ll be considered a high-risk pregnancy. You’ll have to travel to Orlando since there are no specialists in Summer Island. I’m going to remain your physician as long as you’re on the island, though. I want you to have someone close by.”
He couldn’t let it go. He had to know the truth. “Doctor, I still want to know more about the risks, specifically for Kat. Could this baby cause her health problems? Could I lose…” He couldn’t say the words. He choked on the rising bile of terror.
“We won’t let that happen. We’ll keep a close eye on her blood pressure, and she’ll receive the best of care. Now, I want you both to go home and rest. I’d like to encourage you to lean on those you trust, but get used to the news and give it some time before you share with too many friends and neighbors.”
“Because I’m at high risk of losing the baby.” Tears spilled down Kat’s cheeks, and he thought he’d crumble right in front of the doctor. Never had he ever seen Kat cry like this.
Hormones. He’d heard all about them from friends and co-workers whose wives had babies. This was going to be a challenging time. He needed to be the strong one. To care for her and his unborn child.
His. Unborn. Child.
The words stuck in his mind and played on repeat.
“As I said, avoid stress and enjoy each other.” She covered both their hands with hers, shocking Wes. “I’ll be with you through all of the pregnancy. You’re not alone. Once you get home, write out a list of questions as they come to you. You can email them to me here or call the nurse line. I check email every hour, and I’ll get back to you within a short time. I’m also on call for you night or day.”
“Thank you, doctor.” Kat’s tears slowed to a trickle.
Dr. Ryland caught his gaze and held it. “Dad, your goal is to get her to eat, even though she won’t want to. The medicine should help, but her goal is to keep food down for fifteen minutes. Serve her in bed and have her try not to move after she eats. It will help her keep it down longer.”
“Dad,” he whispered, as if saying it too loudly would make it real.