Piece by Piece

66. Harsh decisions

Maxi's pregnancy was going too well. It was a constant source of stress as well as joy. Joy because her baby boy was healthy. Stress because it was becoming very hard to make up reasons for Freider not to join her during the ultrasounds. She was sure that if he did, he would figure out that she was much further along than she claimed and then her life was over. The only solution was to schedule them on days she knew Freider would be busy.

"Everything looks great." Doctor Reynolds pushed away the echo machine and rolled his chair closer to her to wipe the gel off her belly.

"When am I due?"

Doctor Reynolds quirked an eyebrow "Still sometime at the end of August. Just like last time."

Maxi hated to hear that. It would only be five months after her wedding, and even considering that she might have become pregnant the first time she slept with Freider, the math still didn't add up. She needed at least another month given when she'd decided to tell him about it. Two would be great.

"Before you ask, there's nothing I can do to keep your baby in there longer," the doctor said, raising his eyebrows. "You shouldn't even care. All that matters is that you deliver a healthy baby."

She knew that he was right, but since the baby was doing great, she couldn't focus on that. The end of August was two months away. It was too soon.

"You should tell your husband the truth."

"He knows the truth," she snapped.

The doctor shrugged. "Then why are you so worried?"

She couldn't explain it. Doctor Reynolds was right. It only frustrated her that it didn't fit with her plan. Things had been going downhill lately, so she once again needed the stars to align. As her pregnancy evolved and her belly continued to grow, Freider turned a bit colder, watching her with suspicion, asking her if she didn't think she was getting a little too big too fast.

She'd laughed it off, said that maybe they were having twins. She pretended that she wasn't getting ultrasounds, just regular checkups. Freider didn't even know the sex of the baby. It was easier to lie like this, claim that she had a lot of fluid and that was why she was so big. Claim that sex made her uncomfortable as an excuse to skip it all together, even if her hormones were raging.

It wasn't going well. Her husband was definitely not an idiot when she so obviously needed him to be one. And the doctor wasn't helping.

She had no idea what to tell Freider that evening when he came home from work and asked how the checkup had gone.

"You were right. I'm a bit big," she said carefully. "And exhausted, really."

Freider looked concerned at her words. "Is the baby alright?"

"It appears so, but..." She had no idea what to do and what to say. Her pulse drummed in her ears. "I may be in danger of a premature birth."

His face fell and it killed her that she couldn't tell if he was worried or skeptical. "You don't say."

"Yeah..."Please buy it.

"I've been thinking about this, you know." He walked to her and placed a bottle of pills in her hand. "Ever since you mentioned how tired you were and that there might be a bit too much fluid, I've spoken to a doctor and they recommended these vitamins. They said they're the best for babies."

"Oh, really?" Maxi turned the bottle in her hands. She'd never heard of the brand but it did say they were prenatal vitamins. Her heart warmed that Freider had been worried enough for her to do something like this. "Thank you. That's really thoughtful of you."