“What, what does that mean?” She asked, unable to mask her panic. Maybe it was wrong of her to not tell Alex. She suddenly wanted him there to catch her when she fell apart. Again.
“I’d say this fetus is at least ten weeks. Sometimes a miscarriage can throw off your cycles,” Dr. Gabriel replied.
Bianca’s head snapped up, the tears that began to fall on their own, dried almost instantly. “What did you say?”
“I said, you’re ten weeks pregnant. Congratulations, Bianca.”
Bianca released the breath she was holding, a smile spreading across her face. She was finally pregnant and this time her baby was okay. A sudden idea came to her about how to tell Alex. It was going to be a Merry Christmas after all.
Chapter 10
Alex pulled into the driveway at Bianca’s house. He was so angry that she lied, his face felt like it was on fire and his blood pressure was probably through the roof. Taking a deep breath he rang the bell. That wasn’t what he usually did since he had a key, but seeing as how Bianca was lying to him about where she was, he didn’t think he’d be keeping it for much longer. There was a light on in the living room that he could see through the window. He knew that was on a timer however and he didn’t see any other lights on in the house. He knocked, hard. After ten minutes and still no answer Alex deduced that Bianca wasn’t at home. It was after five and he texted with her hours ago. Where the hell was she? The possibility that she was seeing someone else behind his back popped into his head; something he pushed far out of his brain until that moment. Where else would she be so late?
Deciding to let himself in anyway, Alex produced the key from his coat pocket and unlocked the door. Monster rushed to greet him, another sign that Bianca wasn’t home. Alex leaned down to scratch behind his ears before moving through the house to see if Bianca was in fact out. As he wandered around he noticed that it seemed Bianca wasn’t home most of the day. There were few dishes in the sink; the ones they used for breakfast and the house looked as it did when he left that morning. Worry suddenly began to overtake his anger and he sprinted back towards the door, determined to find out what the hell was going on.
*****
Bianca watched as the gift she picked out to announce her pregnancy was engraved with the words ‘Merry Christmas Daddy.’ Her heart swelled with joy and her hand flew to her lower abdomen, where there was still no visible bump, as she smiled widely at the clerk. It had been a long day and despite the exhaustion that was eating at her, Bianca knew she had to get the present tonight. Alex would be glued to her for the next few days as they prepared for their first Christmas together and she needed the alone time to pick out the perfect gift. Luckily it came to her as she was pulling into a parking spot at the mall. Practically bouncing from foot to foot, Bianca waited impatiently for the clerk to finish. When she was done she gathered her gift and set out for home.
Just as she was climbing into her car her phone buzzed.
Andrea: Alex is looking for you. He called me.
Panic seized Bianca. He couldn’t find out this way, she wanted it to be perfect, especially after what they went through, it had to be. Snagging her phone from the passenger seat she dialed Andrea as she clicked on her Bluetooth.
“What’s going on?” Bianca asked, her hands gripping the steering wheel so tightly it hurt.
“I’m not sure. He called me about two hours ago looking for you. I was getting baby Jay down for a nap otherwise I’d have texted you sooner. Jason just got home from work so I had a free moment.” Andrea said quickly.
“He didn’t respond when I texted him back but I didn’t have time to think about it because the doctor came in. I hope he isn’t mad,” Bianca replied picking up speed. She had to get home before Alex got there.
“He sounded mad,” Andrea said, “How did the appointment go?” She added warily.
“Great! I forgot to tell you. She did an ultrasound and I’m ten weeks pregnant. Andrea I’m so happy. She told me at this point and with my symptoms there was little chance of miscarrying. I feel so relieved.” Bianca gushed, telling Andrea all about her appointment.
She hung up the phone just as she pulled into the driveway. Alex’s car wasn’t there and she breathed a sigh of relief. She had to hide the gift before he got there. Walking in, she realized that it was awfully late and Alex probably should have been there. Sighing with worry, she pulled out her phone. With all of the excitement earlier she didn’t even think about the fact that he hadn’t called or texted her back. A frown creased Bianca’s brow as she dialed Alex’s number. After two rings it went to voicemail. She tried again and the same thing. Finally she texted him that she was home and he could come over whenever he was ready, not that he needed an invitation. Once she fed Monster, she headed upstairs and changed into her pajamas. Her bedtime routine was completed and still no word from Alex. Getting nervous, Bianca tried calling him again.
“Where are you!?!” He yelled at her as soon as he answered.
“Uh, hi to you too,” she said a bit put off by his tone.
“Well? Are you going to answer me?” He snapped.
Bianca pulled the phone away from her ear, reeling at the way Alex was speaking to her. He had never spoken to her that way before and she knew something was off.
“Alex, calm down. I’m at home.” She said calmly, trying not to escalate the situation. Clearly something was wrong.
“Don’t tell me to calm down. Where have you been all day? I was just at your house and you weren’t there. Now all of a sudden you’re home. How do I know if you’re even telling the truth?” He continued to shout at her angrily.
“What?!” Bianca exclaimed, clearly trying to keep calm was out the window.
“I’ve been trying to find you since two o’clock when you texted me that you were out shopping an hour away with Andrea. Which was clearly a lie since Andrea didn’t even know where you were. So where were you, Bianca and who were you with?”
Bianca gasped; did he think she was cheating on him? What was going on? She went out for a few hours and Alex thought she was lying to him. How would this relationship work without trust? Maybe her miscarriage broke them and they would never be able to fully heal?
“Alex, please slow down. I wasn’t with anyone. Just come over so we can talk…”
“I don’t want to talk right now. You’ve been shutting me out for weeks since you lost the baby and now I can’t even get a hold of you during the day and I find out you’re lying to me about where you’ve been. This miscarriage devastated me just as much as it did you and I’ve done nothing but wait around for you to heal so we could move on. But it doesn’t seem like you want to move on, Bianca. Two steps forward and one step back. I gave up a promising career in the Air Force for you and this charade of a relationship,” He sighed, his voice getting lower and lower with each word he spoke.