Claiming Serenity(75)

The appointment itself was a waiting game. Waiting for her name to be called. Waiting for the nurse to hand her a cup to pee in so her urine could be checked. Waiting for the nurse to weigh her and take her vitals. Waiting as Donovan blew up three rubber gloves in sheer boredom and then popped them all when Doctor Samuels walked into the examination room. Layla smiled, nodded at the doctor, rolled her eyes as Donovan tried to hide the flaccid gloves and silently waited wearing a paper gown covering her rounding body, praying that Donovan wasn’t getting attached.

They had already broken each other’s hearts so much, too often and with very little effort. She couldn’t stand it if Donovan actually looked forward to the baby’s arrival, if he forgot that this baby would never belong to them.

So Donovan sat in the chair next to the examination table and didn’t speak. He moved his leg, bouncing his foot against the floor, looking up at the ceiling when the doctor examined her, though Layla found it ridiculous that he seemed shy at her being so exposed. But he stood next to her when that glob of gel was spurted out onto her stomach and Dr. Samuels, a chubby, middle-aged redhead with deep brown eyes and freckles that rivaled Autumn’s said, “Let’s see what’s going on in there.”

Donovan stood by her head, leaning down on his arms as the fuzzy black and white image glowed from the screen and the fast drumming heartbeat swooshed and beat from the speakers.

“Is… is it okay?” he asked the doctor, his eyes a little too wide, too expectant as he watched the screen.

Layla saw that awed expression on his face, the way his eyes moved left and right, up and down as the doctor rubbed the wand over her stomach.

“Yes, it’s excellent. Nothing that causes concern at all.” The doctor’s fingernails clicked against the keyboard and she adjusted the settings, moving her wrist to push the wand in deeper and then Layla felt a sharp kick against her belly. “Ah. Did you feel that, Layla?”

“What? What was it?” Donovan asked, leaning closer, watching her face, the doctor’s.

“Yeah. I did.”

“Excellent and…” she stopped, looking between Layla and Donovan, “do you want to know what you’re having?”

“Um… I… I guess,” she told the doctor but immediately regretted saying anything when the woman smiled , when Donovan stood up straight with his arms crossed tight over his chest as though he was waiting for someone to attack. “Hey,” she said to him, pulling on his sleeve. “You okay with that?”

He didn’t answer, but nodded once, keeping his eyes on that screen and Layla could have sworn he’d stopped breathing.

“Wonderful.” A few more clicks and Dr. Samuels printed out a few images from the machine. “Congratulations, guys, it’s a girl.”

“A girl?” Donovan asked her, tilting his head.

“Yes,” she said, ripping the print out from the machine before she offered it to Donovan. “You’re going to have a daughter.”

Layla dismissed the doctor’s parting instructions and the way she quickly wiped her stomach dry. She could only look at Donovan, trying to catch his thoughts in the way he stared down at that print out. Reading him was impossible. Was he shocked? Was he happy? Was he scared to death? She didn’t know and the longer he held that paper in his hands, the more worried Layla became that he had already fallen in love with a little girl he’d never really know.

“Donovan…” and just that low whisper of his name brought him back to her, but it was the surprise on his face, the way he seemed shocked that he wasn’t alone in that room that had Layla biting her lip. “Are you okay? I know this is probably freaking you out. It freaked me out the first time, but it’ll be fine, right? This will all be over with soon.”

She didn’t like his frown or how he lowered his arms, still hanging on to that print out as he stared at her. Donovan blinked twice and a deep line settled between his eyebrows. “I’m…” he inhaled, rubbed his free hand over his face. “You need help getting dressed?”

“No. I can manage. Just give me a second.”

And Donovan nodded, sat back in that chair as Layla dressed but he did not speak, he didn’t look back at the print out but Layla noticed he also didn’t look at her and he kept that paper between his fingers.





It was cold for April. The pitch still carried the bite of winter and the grass had not completely grown in though spring hinted with every whip of frigid wind that wasn’t as piercing as it had been weeks before. Below Donovan from the stands, the maintenance crew worked around the field, preparing the stadium and the turf for that weekend’s coming match against Arkansas Technical. The work was monotonous, slow, but Donovan didn’t want to leave, not just yet.