“Thank you.” I walk down the hall where behind one closed door there’s a baby crying. I can hear Nick and one of his nurses trying to soothe the child.
I find my stepmom at her desk, reading some manual. Knowing her, it’s about some disease in Africa, and she’s trying to find a way to help.
“Knock knock,” I say as I lightly rap my knuckles on her door. Aubrey looks up in surprise and grins.
“Noah! What a pleasant surprise. What brings you by?”
“I need some advice.”
She motions for me to sit down in the chair across from her desk, which is filled with pictures of all of us, including Betty Paige. A few years back, she and Nick had family photos taken and asked that Paige and I be included. I was an automatic yes and surprisingly my parents agreed to let Paige do it as well.
“So what’s up?”
“As you know, Dessie’s pregnant.”
Aubrey nods.
“Would she be allowed to go into a hot tub?”
Her eyes widen. “Absolutely not. The temperature of the tub is more than the uterus can shield from the baby. In laymen’s terms, the baby would essentially boil.”
I rest my head in my hands. I’m sick to my stomach thinking Dessie would harm our child like this. “What about doctor’s appointments? We’ve been here almost a month and she hasn’t mentioned needing to go back to visit a doctor or anything.”
Aubrey seems to think on this one a bit. “It really depends on when her last one was, but normal appointments are twenty-eight to thirty days apart so there’s an accurate record of the baby’s growth and how well nutritionally the other is doing. Why all the questions?”
I shrug. “My mom doesn’t think Dessie is pregnant.”
Aubre
y sits back in her chair and sighs. “Women’s intuition. We’re not always right, but sometimes you can sense things. It’s also a mother’s sense. We suspect, always. It’s why we’re constantly asking you questions, it’s because we have a suspicion something isn’t right. And sometimes we’re wrong.”
“Dessie says she’s heard the heartbeat--”
“When was this?”
“At her first appointment. I had a road game so I couldn’t go.”
Aubrey pulls some wheel type gizmo out and writes a few numbers down. “It’s possible, but doctors normally don’t check for a heartbeat at the first appointment unless the mother says she’s farther along. Honestly, Dessie didn’t share much when we saw her at Christmas, no due date or anything like that.”
“Can’t say I know either.”
My stepmom leans forward with her hands clasped on her desk. “Are you having second thoughts?”
I nod. “About everything. I don’t know what to do or who to believe. What questions to ask or what information to demand.” I stand up and start pacing. “It’s like my world is crashing all around me and I can’t stop it. I’m in love with another woman and Dessie knows this, and now she’s pregnant and I just…” My heart rate accelerates, causing my breathing to become sporadic. I bend at my waist, even though I know this isn’t the answer. Aubrey is there to help me back to the chair.
“Noah, you’re facing an uphill battle. Your feelings for Peyton are getting stronger, but your desire to do the right thing is also playing a heavy part in your decision-making. Have you spoken to Dessie about how you feel?”
“She knows I’m in love with Peyton.”
“Is that when she told you she was pregnant?”
I nod. “We broke up. I told Peyton how I felt, and Dessie shows up in Chicago with the news.”
“And just like that your happily ever after is swirling down the toilet.”
I look at Aubrey, who is smiling. “Nice analogy.”
She shrugs. “If I knew more about football, I’d use one of those, but this coach’s wife is not well versed on the terminology. I only know that when Mack has the ball, he has to run fast.”