Taking Chances(73)

“Because we love you Harper. Just because he wasn't dealing with it well, doesn't mean Robert and I were going to stop loving you. Even if he did move away, that wouldn't have been your fault. Just his choice.”

“Holy crap.” I huffed and sunk into my seat.

“Ditto.” Bree chimed in.

“Harper sweetie,” Mom began, “You have got to tell him. If he finds out your pregnant from someone and doesn't know it's his. He'll be gone.”

I love him, I don't want him to leave. But his possible leaving has been stopping me all along. Claire was wrong, Chase would know it was his, but he'd still be gone. “He isn't going to want a baby, I can't take him walking away from me. I love him, this baby just proves that, but I'm terrified he will leave me one day. He's always doing that Mom, one day he's in love with me, the next few weeks he refuses to speak to me.”

“He stays away because it kills him to watch you with Brandon. When you would go to his house, he always came to ours so he wouldn't have to see you guys together. I never knew you two had even spoken to each other about this. All he does is talk about you in a way that suggested you didn't know he loved you. He won't leave you, I don't think you realize he's never even spoken about a girl with us, until you showed up last fall.” My face must have shown I didn't believe that, “Regardless if he's ready for a child or not, he's the father, he has to help you.”

“No!” I said a little too loudly and quieted my voice, “No. I want him to want to be with me, I will not force him to endure this with me. My entire life Sir has resented me, I'm not going to go through the rest of it with Chase doing the same.”

“He wouldn't.” Bree cut in.

“He might.” I looked at each of them and said sternly, “I'll tell him soon, but you have to let him make this choice.”

They both agreed and had huge smiles on their faces. I wish I could feel the same. We finished lunch, paid the bill and headed to my first appointment. The first part we sat in the office and spoke with the Doctor, an extremely nice younger lady named Dr. Lowdry.

“When was the first day of your last menstrual period Harper?”

“December twenty ninth.” I said confidently.

“And do you have an idea of when the baby may have been conceived.”

“I do, it was either January twelfth or thirteenth.”

The Doctor grabbed a plastic wheel and moved it around for a minute, “Okay well then your due date should be October fourth, so what do you say we have your first ultrasound? You're practically eight weeks, we'll be able to hear the heartbeat.”

Mom smiled and clapped her hands and Bree looked like she was doing math in her head. We followed her to another room and after changing and positioning myself on the table, the lights were turned off and the ultrasound started. At first all I saw was a gray screen with a dark circle in the middle, then she zoomed in and I saw what looked like a gummy bear on the screen. Mom's breath caught and my eyes widened.

“That's your baby!” Dr. Lowdry said smiling and pressing different buttons. “Let's get some measurements here...yep! I'd say you are seven weeks and six days.”

Oh my word this is real. It's real isn't it? Yep it's real. There's a freaking gummy bear growing in me! I think the Doctor was pointing out the head and arms, but I couldn't listen too much, I was beyond mesmerized by the screen.

“Harper!”

“Huh?”

The three of them laughed, I wonder how long they'd been trying to get my attention.

“Are you ready to hear the heartbeat?”

I looked over at Dr. Lowdry's warm smile and nodded my head. She clicked a button and my entire world changed. We all held our breath as a whooshing noise filled the room. It wasn't what I was expecting, it was really fast and didn't sound like what I thought a heartbeat should sound like, but there was no mistaking that's what it was. Bree grabbed my hand and Claire reached for some tissue to wipe her eyes. I couldn't see the screen anymore and I realized I was crying, so I closed my eyes and listened to the most amazing sound in the world.

“I'm going to be a grandma!” Mom cried happily.

“Oh my God, I'm going to be a mom.”

Dr. Lowdry flipped on the lights and handed me the pictures of the ultrasound, “Now will dad be joining us for these? It's usually best if the fathers are here for everything.”

I didn't know what to say without sounding awkward, thankfully Claire spoke up, “Oh, my son will definitely be here next time.”

Man I hope she's right.

Once the rest of the appointment was done and we picked up my prenatal vitamins, the three of us headed for a pedicure before going home and waiting for Robert to come back from work. Mom couldn't wait until tonight, she had called him on the way to the appointment to let him know Chase was the dad, and apparently he was just as relieved. Crazy. When we sat down for dinner that night, he got misty eyed when we showed him the photos and joked with me about making him a grandpa so young. Everyone was smiling, including me, I just wish Chase could have been there too.