Wendy lowered the drape back over Zoe’s lower half and rolled back on her stool. She snapped off her gloves and rubbed sanitizer all over her hands, then wheeled back to flick on the lights. Feet out of the dreaded stirrups, Zoe adjusted on the exam table, cringing at the gooey lube on the absorbent pad under her.
Wendy waited with her hands in her lap.
In a sleeveless tee not nearly heavy enough to combat the air conditioning, Zoe folded her arms over her chest and took a long inhale. “So,” she said, then bit her lips together. Too many diagrams in the sterile room. The sky-blue walls and beige trim did nothing to make this place appealing.
Wendy crossed one leg over the other and braced her hands on her knee, glancing at her foot and back to Zoe. “So,” she repeated before continuing their conversation, her professional poker face radiating empathy. “You’re measuring eight weeks, three days. That’s within two days of your last period.”
“Yep. Sounds about right. We were together right about six weeks ago.”
Wendy bit the edge of her cheek and nodded thoughtfully. “Let me know anything I can do to support you. I know this isn’t easy. You know all your options?”
“Yes. Thanks.” Zoe nodded. She’d agonized over every option to make sure she wasn’t going to regret her decision, but had known what was right for her. “I’m keeping the little bugger.”
“I want you to start taking a prenatal vitamin.”
“Will do.”
“Great, great. How are you feeling?”
“Nauseous. Tired. But… I’m okay.”
“Have you told him yet?” Wendy’s manner was professional, her tone and posture were as sincere as a friend. May as well be, after Zoe’s breast cancer paranoia and geneticist referrals after her mom’s diagnosis, her last pap, the STD testing after she and Raphe broke up, another round after the night with Ryder, and that damn vaginal infection last summer that took three rounds of antibiotics to shake. At this point, they may as well start exchanging Christmas cards.
Shaking her head, Zoe answered, “I wanted to confirm it first. He lives in Phoenix.” Zoe snorted a mirthless laugh, and was pretty sure it would be a genuine laugh in about twenty years. “Do you see this a lot, failed condoms?”
“It’s not common, but it can happen.” She bit her lips together and gently cringed.
“I’m starting to regret quitting my birth control pills after Raphe and I broke up. Dammit, I figured my period was weird because I was still getting used to being off the pill, and, well, it’s never been normal without pills. Ugh. I guess I don’t have to worry about contraception for a while now.” She held the picture in her hands and studied the shapeless blob now.
By the time she got out to her car, she was… done. Wiped out. A few appointments were now scheduled for an intake and her next visit with Wendy. She called Finn to fill him in about the appointment, and hopefully Evan would be home when she got there. Neither judged, nor made threats against Ryder. Their father? Not so promising. “Don’t tell Pops yet, okay?”
Finn’s cringe echoed through her car speakers as Bluetooth connected, “Don’t make me keep something this big from Pops.”
“Then just avoid him until I’ve gotten a chance to tell Ryder. You know he’ll flip and want to know my entire plan or he’ll plan it all out for me, and then he’ll apologize and then he’ll give himself a stress fracture from pacing while he tries not to tell me what to do.”
“Give the guy a break, he’s been there.”
“Yes, but he and Mom were in love.”
“They were a couple of stupid kids who didn’t even think about getting married until after I was born.”
“And I’m over a decade older than they were. Not a stupid kid.”
“Don’t go down the self-blame track, it won’t lead anywhere helpful. Haley and I had planned to wait until after the wedding, but, well, I’m not going to pretend we were using protection, but we were hoping for it to take a few months to get the ball rolling after she quit her birth control. Grady and Claire have been trying for months, but no luck. These little buggers don’t care about timing.”
Letting out a deep breath, she added, “I’ll see if there’s a flight to Phoenix today or tomorrow. Just tell Pops I’m home with a stomach thing.”
Finn groaned under his breath. “You’re just going to show up at his house? What if he’s not even home? Zoe, this is a terrible idea. At least let Evan or me come with you. What if he’s pissed? Or doesn’t believe you?”
A text buzzed on her phone. Raphe, asking if she was still on for tonight. Ugh. The last few times they’d been out had actually been fun. True to his promise, he had been trying to appreciate her interests. Would he understand? Even a little?
“Fair point. He said he travels a lot for work. I have a better idea.”
Evan wasn’t going to love the plan, but he’d go along with it.
6
Grape
