Chapter 21 #2
Hilary held the door open, allowing me to step past her, then released it once I was inside. It swung shut with a whoosh a second later, but she was already moving, waving for me to follow.
“Is something wrong?” I asked as I hurried after her.
“The doctor will fill you in,” she said, not looking back at me.
Despite her non-answer, I could read between the lines and understood that yes, something was very wrong.
As if things were too urgent for her to bother walking any farther, Hilary turned into the first exam room.
The lights flicked on as I followed her in, making me squint, and I looked around like I was hoping the room would provide a clue about what was to come.
It was normal, though. Exam table with stirrups, sink and cabinets, and a portable ultrasound.
Nothing to alarm me, but that didn’t stop me from worrying.
I turned to Hilary. “What’s going on?”
“The doctor is on his way.” She crossed her arms to let me know she had no intention of saying more.
Thankfully, it didn’t matter, because only seconds later, Dr. Hendricks hurried into the room, pulling the door shut behind him.
“Miss Murphy,” he began, waving to the table to indicate I should sit, “we seem to have run into a problem with your pregnancy.”
I did as instructed, cringing when the paper crinkled through the silence. “What is it?”
“A rare complication, I’m afraid.” He turned on his tablet and tapped the screen a few times. “Have you ever heard of a molar pregnancy?”
“No,” I said, my scalp prickling as my unease grew.
He turned the tablet, allowing me to see the image on the screen. It was an ultrasound, but it looked different than any I’d ever seen, although I couldn’t say exactly what I was looking at. Not a fetus, that was for sure.
“You see this area that looks almost like a snowstorm?” he pointed to the screen.
“Yes,” I said, because even though that wasn’t what it looked like to me, I couldn’t miss what he was pointing at.
“That is where the fetus and placenta should be, however, there is none.”
I looked up, meeting his gaze. “What is it instead?”
“What are called trophoblasts, which are abnormal cells or fluid-filled tumors.”
“Tumors?” Immediately, I was on high alert. “Are you saying I have cancer?”
“No, no,” he said as he flicked the tablet off. “No need to be alarmed on that account. The pregnancy, however, is not viable. Even if there had been fetal tissue, which can happen in a partial molar pregnancy, it wouldn’t be.”
“Not viable.” I repeated the words. “No fetus.”
“That’s correct.” The doctor had tucked his tablet under his arm and was now staring at me over the rim of his glasses.
“At this stage, it’s not always easy to determine via ultrasound, but we did note that something appeared abnormal.
When we got your blood tests, we also noticed very high hCG levels, which is another indicator.
Comparing the two, we were able to diagnose the problem and the decision was made that you needed a D&C. Today.”
“Today.”
All I could do was repeat what he was saying, but I couldn’t help it because I was so shocked.
I’d never even heard of a molar pregnancy and the idea that I had tumors growing inside me rather than a fetus freaked me out.
A lot. It also made me question the article Hilary had sent me.
Hadn’t it said that thanks to the Department of Fertility, abnormal pregnancies were were rare? Apparently not that rare.
“Yes.” Dr. Hendricks glanced toward the clock like he couldn’t wait to get away.
“I have a couple patients I need to see, but the nurses will get you prepped while I do that. I should be ready in an hour or so. Assuming the anesthesiologist can get here that quickly. We do share him with the hospital, although the Department of Fertility, of course, takes precedence.” He glanced toward Hilary. “Have you contacted him already?”
“Yes, Doctor. He should be on the way.”
He was moving for the door when he responded, his attention already shifted to something else as he murmured, “Good, good.”
A second later, Hilary and I were alone.
She turned to me. “The nurse will be here in a few minutes to get you to pre-op. In the meantime, you’ll need to arrange to have someone transport you home.”
“Transport me home?” I once again repeated dumbly.
“Yes. You can’t drive yourself home after being under anesthesia.” She paused. “You do have someone, don’t you?”
Her tone was doubtful, as if she thought that just because I didn’t have a partner to parent with, it was impossible for me to form relationships.
Which was both annoying and presumptuous.
It also had me wondering what her personal life was like.
She’d mentioned a son and wore a ring on her left hand, so she was married, but to who?
A man? A woman? Had she adopted from someone like me, or was she fertile?
I didn’t think so based on how she’d reacted to my hesitation about the program, but it was possible. Destiny had proved that.
“Ara?” Hilary snapped when the silence stretched out too long.
I shook myself then said, “I have someone.”
She waved. “Go ahead and give them a call, then. We need to get moving.”
I pulled my phone from my pocket. “When will I be ready to go home?”
She pursed her lips before saying, “Four o’clock should do it.”
“Okay,” I mumbled as I pulled Trevor’s contact info up and hit call.
Hopefully, he didn’t have anything important going on today since he was one of only a handful of people who knew I was in the program.
What if he had court or something? Who would I call then?
Teresa was an option, but she was at work, and it wouldn’t be easy for her to get away.
I also knew Bruce wouldn’t miss that both of us were out.
I didn’t know why him finding out I was in the program irked me so much, but it did.
I really, really did not want that man knowing anything more about my life than he already did.
My call to Trevor went unanswered, so I sent him a quick text.
I KNOW THIS IS LAST MINUTE AND YOU MIGHT BE BUSY BUT I NEED A RIDE AT FOUR. PLEASE TEXT ME BACK.
Typically, Trevor was fast to respond, so I stared at my phone as the seconds after I hit send ticked by. Waiting. Hoping. Growing worried when still no reply came.
“Anything?” Hilary asked.
“No response yet.”
She sighed like my lack of a ride home directly affected her. Maybe it did. Maybe if I couldn’t find someone to pick me up, she was required to take me home since she was my fertility counselor.
The thought of this woman being in my apartment was what made up my mind to call Teresa. I pulled my contact list up, scrolled down until I found her name, and was about to tap on it when spotted the one just above it. Bette Billings.
Would it be crazy to call her? She was practically a stranger, but she knew what I was going through.
Was going through the same thing. And even though this had been voluntary for her, she’d seemed sympathetic to my plight.
She’d even wanted to get together, had told me to call her anytime with any questions or concerns.
This was a little bigger than she’d probably been expecting, but still, it was worth a shot. Wasn’t it?
I looked at Hilary, who was tapping her foot impatiently, then back to my phone. I stared at Bette’s name for a few seconds, thinking it through. Thinking about the annoying woman next to me taking me home. No way. I did not want Hilary to have any more access to my life than she already did.
I tapped Bette’s name, hit call, then held my breath.
She picked up only a few seconds later.
“Hello?” she said, her southern twang somehow more pronounced over the phone.
“Bette?” I said as I turned my back to Hilary, not wanting her to witness my humiliation if this woman said no.
“Yes.” There was a pause. “Is this Ara?”
She didn’t sound annoyed, more guarded, but she also didn’t sound as open and friendly as she had the other times we’d spoken. Which had my back stiffening.
“Um, yes. From group. Remember?”
“Oh!” she replied in a brighter tone. “Of course, how nice! I was wondering if you’d call. Well, honestly, I didn’t think you would. But I hoped you would.”
My unease turned to shame. This woman had really and truly wanted to be my friend, and I’d totally disregarded her because she had the nerve to actually want to get pregnant. Was I any better than the people who thought I should be happy to be part of the program? Not really.
I blew out a long breath. “Yeah, I’m sorry. I’ve just been busy.” True, but also not true. “Listen, I hate to do this, but I’m in a bit of a bind, and you did say to call for anything.”
“I did and I meant it.”
That was promising.
“Good. I’m glad. Thank you.” I sucked in a long breath. “Can you pick me up at The Health Department building at four? I kind of need a ride home and my go-to person isn’t answering his phone.”
There was a pause, and when Bette replied, her tone wasn’t uncertain, but it was confused. “Is everything okay?”
I’d known I was going to have to tell her why I needed a ride, but at the thought of saying the words, I froze up.
As if sensing my hesitation, Bette quickly said, “You know what, it’s none of my business. Of course, I can come get you. Four, you say?”
My body relaxed. “Yes. Thank you.”
“Of course! I’ll see you then, Ara.”
I mumbled another thanks, ended the call, and turned to discover an unfamiliar nurse had joined Hilary in impatiently waiting for me to arrange a ride.
“Everything taken care of?” the nurse asked.
I shoved my phone in my back pocket. “Yup.”
I wasn’t sure if it was true, wasn’t sure what was going to happen next, but at least I had someone to pick me up. That was something.