Once Upon A Half-Time 2(59)
Early pregnancy raised a woman’s heart rate.
Whoops.
Rick tucked his stethoscope around his neck. He checked the wound, careful to keep the bloody rag far from his pristine coat.
“Bet people don’t normally bleed on your rounds,” I said.
“We generally try to prevent hearts from bleeding in the cath lab. This does look pretty nasty. We should do a couple stitches. Let me clean you up and get you sewed together. I’ll have someone write you a script for antibiotics.”
He wheeled a chair over and had a nurse help set out the supplies. Lindsey sighed and grabbed her phone. Rick pounded on the computer to enter my information.
“Birthday?” he asked.
My mouth dropped open. “You jerk.”
“Kidding.” He winked. “August…?”
“Don’t make me wipe blood on you.”
“Thirteenth. On any meds?”
“Nope.” I flinched. “Well, a vitamin.”
“One-a-day?”
Sure. That was close enough. The pre-natal vitamins were taken once a day. I nodded.
“I’ll whoop your butt if you’re taking drugs. Alcohol?”
“I wish.”
He chuckled. “Pregnant or thinking of becoming pregnant?”
He meant it as a joke, but I stiffened. The world faded in that instant, and I stared at my best friend. He probably deserved to hear the truth regardless of his medical degree or willingness to stitch me up.
But Lindsey was right behind me. The lights got too bright, and the blood and panic and truth twisted in my stomach.
I couldn’t lie.
Not this time.
Lindsey couldn’t see my lips moving from where she sat. I shook my head no.
But I mouthed the words I hadn’t admitted to anyone yet.
“Yes.”
Rick didn’t scream, throw a fit, or Hulk-smash and rip off his scrubs to murder Nate. His eyebrow twitched, but he nodded to Lindsey.
“Hey, Linds. Go get my idiot brother. Tell him to buy me a sandwich from the cafeteria. I haven’t eaten all day.”
Lindsey was already texting Bryce. She didn’t watch where she was going and nearly bashed into me. She waved a hand.
“I’m making him take me to the craft store for more tissue paper. We’ll bring you a sandwich when we pick up the walking wounded over here.”
I didn’t answer, and I don’t think Lindsey was listening. Rick closed the door behind her.
God, I hated that ominous click almost as much as I loathed the buzzing florescent lights. It was the first time I was with a doctor and a friend for this discussion, but it didn’t make it any easier.
Rick sat. He pulled off his pager and set it on the counter.
“You’re pregnant?” His voice weakened, defeated and shocked.
Just how Nate would probably sound.
I nodded. “Yeah.”
“Who…” He answered that question easily. His jaw clenched. “Son of a…how far along are you?”
“About…eleven weeks.”
“Eleven weeks?”
The entire ER heard. I shushed him.
“How could you…you’ve known for two months and didn’t tell anyone? Does Nate know?”
It sounded crazier when he said it aloud.
“No.”
“Why?”
I pointed at the door. “Lindsey’s wedding? My parents’ divorce? It wasn’t the time to tell them.”
“I know they’re fucking self-absorbed, but Jesus, even they’ll notice you popping out a baby.”
At least the blood pressure cuff came off. I’d have popped the glass on that sucker.
I took a breath to calm myself, but that didn’t seem possible. Having a male best friend wasn’t always easy. He never tried to listen or understand. Rick always wanted to fix things.
Well, this was one thing he couldn’t fix.
“My family doesn’t need any more drama,” I said. “I was going to tell them after the wedding…once I hit the second trimester and the pregnancy wasn’t as risky. Then Lindsey would be normal again, Mom wouldn’t be worried about the party, and they wouldn’t stroke out when they heard the news.”
Rick crossed his arms. “And Nate?”
“…He doesn’t know yet.”
“When are you going to tell him?”
“I already tried. A couple weeks ago. But then he told me about this brewery he wanted to open in California. He was already scheduling visits to the property. I panicked. I didn’t want to take that dream away from him. So I waited, and I hoped I’d find a better moment to tell him.”
“You haven’t.”
“The timing’s always off.”
“How can it be off? The timing is always right for something this big.”
“After the wedding. When we can actually sit down and talk and figure things out without worrying about dress fittings and dances and caterers.”