Chapter 16
I’m not sure what I expected Dr. Miller’s daughter to look like, but I’m certain I never would have envisioned the woman sitting on the exam table before me.
Reyna is a short, curvy, brunette vision with deep, soulful eyes that haunt you if you stare into them for too long.
As if her face wasn’t striking enough, her artfully inked arms peek out from beneath the sleeves of her pale blue hospital gown.
I’ve never seen body art so…suiting. Without knowing anything about her, I can tell that this ink is the story of her life, from the pocket watch to the sunflower bouquet and everything in between.
Her husband sitting beside her is a much more traditional sort of bloke.
Liam is handsome but has a cleaner, more prep school sort of appearance with no alternative edge to him whatsoever.
But the way his eyes stay trained on Reyna, even as I introduce myself, makes me weak in the knees.
It’s a look of complete and utter devotion.
“So you’re eleven weeks, two days?” I ask, pulling out the transducer and covering it with a condom. Reyna nods, swallowing nervously as she watches my actions. I reach out and touch her arm. “Take some deep breaths and try to relax.”
“Easier said than done,” she mumbles, and Liam leans down and whispers something in her ear. Whatever it was seems to comfort her. He kisses her temple and she looks at me with a wobbly smile. “I’ll try.”
I return the smile as I squirt some gel on the tip of the probe. “Your last ultrasound was vaginal, correct?”
She nods and lies back, propping her feet in the stirrups and shimmying down to the end of the table. “I know exactly where you’ll be shoving that long thing.”
This makes Liam and me both chuckle.
“All right then,” I reply. “This gets us the best pictures this early in the pregnancy.” I position the probe between her legs. “All set?”
Reyna gives me a tight nod and I insert slowly.
The screen is a mess of blotches until I twist and focus in on the three tiny figures.
Reyna and Liam press their foreheads together, their eyes shut tightly, almost as if they are bracing themselves for bad news.
I let them have their moment as I confirm what I hoped to see right away.
“Have you guys heard their heartbeats yet?” I bite my lip as Reyna looks at me with a shake of her head, tears slipping down her cheeks.
“They said it was too early before,” Liam adds. His eyes are wide and grave as they flick between me and the screen.
I quickly move my free hand from the keyboard to the audio monitor and twist the knob until a sound erupts in the room.
A sound similar to that of a galloping horse.
“Those are your babies.” I beam and then add, “Well, one of them right now, but I can see all their hearts drumming away.” I turn the screen so they can see it better and point to the tiny spots contracting and expanding at high speed.
“Right there, there, and there. Three babies, three heartbeats.”
“All three are still there?” Reyna’s voice croaks.
My heart falls at the desperation in her tone, but I inhale deeply and give her all the confidence I can muster. “Yes, all three are there. I still have to take measurements, but at a glance, they all look to be about the same size, which is a good sign.”
Liam looks at me with concern. “Are the heartbeats supposed to be that fast?”
I nod. “Foetal heart rates usually peak around ten weeks and then slow as you go into the second trimester.”
“They’re all still there.” Reyna’s voice is breathy as her chin begins to wobble. She looks up at Liam and tears fall down her face one after another. Her belly shakes with a small cry. “I know we still have so far to go, but they’re all still there. I can hardly believe it.”
Liam kisses her hard on the lips, cupping her face reverently and stroking his thumbs down the lines of her tears. He sniffs through his own tears and murmurs, “I believe it.”
I feel inappropriate as I watch them, but I can’t look away. She smiles in a way that only a woman accepting the role of a mother could. It’s inspiring. My eyes begin to sting and I’m a bit mortified when Reyna turns to look at me.
“Would you mind doing me a favour?” Reyna’s voice sounds urgent. “Can you page my mother to come in here?”
I smile around my emotions. “I’d love to.”
As I leave the hospital, I’m on a high I haven’t been on in months.
The images I captured for Dr. Miller’s daughter and son-in-law were some of the best 4D images I’ve ever seen, let alone produced myself.
The pride that Dr. Miller had in her eyes when she thanked me and the look on Reyna and Liam’s faces… It just gave me life!
I grab my mobile and call Indie.
“Hello, Belle,” she answers on the second ring.
“Indie, darling. I had the absolute best day. We need to celebrate. Tequila Sunrise style.”
“Oh…erm…yeah. I think I could do that! Don’t you have to work tomorrow, though?”
I sense her hesitation has something to do with Camden, but I’m glad she’s willing to put him aside for the night and be my wing-woman.
“I was able to secure a personal day for tomorrow. I miss our girl time.”
She sighs. “Me, too. Great then, I’m looking forward to it.”
“See you at home?” I ask.
“See you at home.”
I stop at the store to pick up the necessary items for our drinks. It’s a recipe the paediatric doctor on call gave us the night the baby came into the hospital DOA.
Tequila Sunrise:
1 part Grenadine
3 parts Tequila
6 parts Orange Juice
Do not mix.
The recipe was a metaphor for life that changed my outlook on everything. The simple words that doctor uttered to Indie and me still ring so true in my soul. “There’s always sunshine above the chaos, ladies. Celebrate it.”
I hope that even in our old age, Indie and I are still celebrating life together because it can be so rewarding sometimes.
Reyna, Liam, and their three little babies are on my mind the entire time I get myself ready for the night. The hope and possibility I saw in their eyes…the transformation from complete and utter fear to total blissed-out acceptance was magic.
“Is this good enough?” Indie asks, her mouth sucking down a gulp of her colourful drink as she materialises in my bathroom doorway.
I’m seated crisscross on the counter as close to the mirror as I can get, wearing nothing but my black bra and knickers.
I pause my mascara application to appraise my best friend.
Her hair is down and in a riot of untamed red curls that only she can pull off.
She’s dressed in a black jumpsuit that plunges deeply to her cleavage.
“That’s fucking hot. Put on my Stuart Weitzman’s and you’re all set.”
“Oh! The strappy ones!” Indie turns to rush over to my closet and I hurry up to finish my makeup.
Once complete, I hop off my counter and grab my simple black jersey dress that I have laid out on a towel warmer. It’s long sleeve and venturing on too short, but when I pair it with my lambskin Chanel, over-the-knee boots, it’s the kind of outfit that gets me noticed by both males and females.
“Yes!” Indie croons as I stride out with my drink in hand, ready and raring to go.
“It’s the boots,” I reply knowingly. Shoes are an indulgence that I can’t seem to kick. “Ready for Club Taint?” I ask.
“So ready.”
It’s eleven before we arrive at Club Taint, and Indie and I are already feeling fucking fantastic as we push our way through the crowd to find the dancefloor. The beat of the music calls to me like a drug. A drug that wants me to lose myself with it for hours.
I pull Indie out with me and we dance and dance and dance, throwing ourselves into movements that feel so good I never want them to stop.
Hours tick by, drinks get drunk, laughs get had, dance partners come and go, all while I allow the synthetic melody breathe energy into me.
All of it helps me forget everything horrid in the world.
All the crap, all the sadness, lives lost, vacant parents, arsehole brothers, babies dying…
all of it, gone. Evaporated with the swirling pink fog of the club.
Indie smiles, locking eyes with me, a look of exhilaration and sublime happiness spreading over her features. She pulls me in for a hug. “I miss you, Belle.”
My eyes sting at her words. “I miss you, too, darling.”
“I miss working with you.”
I pull back and look into her eyes. “I miss working with you!”
“I hate not seeing you in the on call room.”
“I hate not seeing you in the on call room.”
“I know we live together now.”
“We do.” I nod, my vision blurring so I widen my eyes to focus more fully on her.
“But it’s different now.”
“It is so different.” My face falls with sadness.
“I love Cam.”
I smile sadly and nod. “You love Cam.”
“But I still love you.”
“Me, too!”
“Let’s do this more often.”
“Abso-fucking-lutely! Tequila Sunrise!” I cheers my beer with hers and chug the rest down. I drop the bottle and begin swirling Indie around in a childish spin that sends us both flying in different directions and crashing to the ground. Hot, sweaty hands wrap around me and pull me to my feet.
“Thank you, Good Samaritan,” I slur, turning to face my gallant saviour.
When my eyes glance up and focus, I’m stunned by the bearded vision before me. “You look like a guy I know!”
He clutches his hands firmly around my waist and holds me to him. “You look like a girl I want to know.”
I laugh half-heartedly and try to pull away.
“Are you trying to leave me, lass?” he slurs into my ear.
I frown and my head bobbles. “How could I leave you, Jesus? You’re God’s son…You’re everywhere.” I throw my hands out wide to punctuate my “everywhere” and attempt to stumble away.
He grabs me again, this time his hands dipping lower to my arse. My good mood evaporates instantly. “Hey!” I shout. “Watch your fucking hands!”
I attempt to shove him away, but he feels like one of those doors that you push when you’re supposed to pull. He doesn’t budge. He leans in close and whispers in my ear, “I’d like to put my hands on your tight little—”
Right when I’m about ready to punch the wank stain in his vile mouth, I nearly fall over as a strange momentum spins me away. The man’s hands are no longer groping me. They are now pinned deftly behind his back by no other than—
“Tanner?” I utter with a gasp, my hands covering my mouth at the shock of the scene before me.
“Shove the fuck off, you disgusting prat, before I turn your wrist into a pretzel.” Tanner pushes him into a nearby table, and the man almost topples over but catches himself before scurrying away without a look back.
Blue, angry eyes swerve to me. “Ryan,” Tanner growls, slicing a hand through his hair to get it off of his face. “I’ve texted you like twenty times.”
“I…I…I haven’t looked at my mobile in a while.”
“No fucking shit.” His bearded jaw is taut with anger. “I’m taking you home.”
He reaches out for my arm but I yank it away from him.
“No, you’re not.”
His shoulders rise and fall with a deep breath. “I’m taking you home. You’re completely pissed.”
My eyes narrow. “Of course I am. It’s Tequila Sunrise night.”
“I don’t give a fuck,” he snaps. “Let’s go.”
I shoot him a murderous look when a voice interrupts us. “I’ve got mine. You got yours?” I turn to see Camden holding a sleepy-looking Indie against his body.
Determination slices through Tanner’s voice. “I’ve got her.”
I turn to face him, stumbling a bit as I wag my finger in his face.
“Hey, I am not yours!” Suddenly, Tanner bends over and I’m airborne for a second, landing heavily on top of Tanner’s shoulder.
“Are you fucking kidding me, Harris?” I begin pounding on his back but it’s to no avail.
“I’m in a dress. My arse is hanging out for all of England! ”
“Your arse was hanging out when you spread out on the floor a minute ago. I’m taking you home, Ryan. Even if you’re kicking and screaming.”
“You’re such an arrogant arsehole!” My hands stop their assault on Tanner’s backside in favour of covering my rump. This is mortifying. I hang my head and let my hair cover my face, praying like fuck I don’t see anyone I know. “I can’t believe this is happening.”
“Believe it, woman.” Tanner pauses at the door and turns his body so my head is facing a different direction. “Now, tell this nice man I’m not a rapist.”
A bouncer-looking bloke turns his head upside down to make eye contact with me.
I mumble, “He’s not a rapist. Just a walking dead man.
” I straighten a bit with my crescendoed scream.
The bouncer lets out a hearty laugh that dumps hot coals into the pit of my belly. So not the reaction I was looking for.
He moves to let us pass and then Tanner drops me down in front of a cab. I ball up my fists and wallop him a few times. “I’m not a petulant child, you animal.”
He doesn’t even flinch.
I exhale in concession and fold myself in behind Indie and Camden. When we’re all in the cab and it begins moving, Tanner breaks the silence with a surprisingly jovial tone. “Well, did you all have a fun night?”