A Silenced Gift

Chapter 7

© 2017 D.S. Little
All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission from the author, except as permitted by U.S. Copyright law.
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Fatima

Jaren and I drove to Dr. Rubenstein's clinic in complete silence. It had been like that between us for the past few weeks. The moment he uttered the words "other option" I began to look at him differently. This was the man who wanted to be my husband! He was supposed to approach this differently than everyone else, he was supposed to always protect me and the baby at all costs! Him saying those words really hit me hard. And I didn't want him around me anymore even though I knew all he was trying to do when he was, was comfort me.

I felt his hand cover my thigh and I felt nothing. I was numb to everything around me mostly because when I had these lapses of breaks in between the cramps, I was just thankful not to be in pain. The minute we pulled into the parking lot, I was about to get out when Jaren stopped me.

"I'm sorry." He said and those words forced me to finally look at him. There was so much sadness behind his eyes. I knew what he was sorry for so I didn't make him expand.

"Let's go see how big this boy has gotten." I said trying to keep the moment light because my nerves about this appointment were already all over the place.

Jaren's mom told me that he was a large baby and I was nervous that our son would take after those genes. I didn't know how much more my uterus could take. We got out of the car and Jaren walked around and took my hand in his, his thumb rubbed my palm as we neared the front door. It was as if he could sense my nervous energy.

Once getting checked in we were led back to the examination room. I had a legitimate bump now, so if you didn't know I was pregnant before, you could definitely tell now. Dr. Rubenstein's nurse walked us into the room and took my vitals before Dr. Rubenstein finally entered the room.

"How are we doing today Ms. Ward?"

"Not too bad today." I replied.

"That's something I like to here." She said as she washed her hands. Then she made her way over to me. With her stethoscope she began to check my heartbeat going from my chest to my back. Then she had me lie back on the table. I raised the shirt I was wearing and pulled down my leggings to expose my bare belly. She sat down next to me on the chair and began to put lubricant on my stomach so that she could see what was going on inside.

"And there's the baby." She said pressing the wand on the side of my stomach.

"Oh my goodness, look at him." I said getting excited at how much he had grown in just a week. He was more developed and looked more like a baby.

"Look at how long his legs are." Jaren added.

"He's measuring at five and a half inches long which is above the average size for what he should be." Dr. Rubenstein commented while concentrating hard on the screen. She began to move around and do some other things. "I'll be right back." She suddenly stood up to say.

She left the office and the room remained silent until she returned with two nurses. I noticed the look on her face and I didn't like it. She washed her hands again and added more lubricant on my stomach and began to look at our son again.

"What's wrong?" I asked her immediately picking up on her change of demeanor.

She looked at me with regret on her face. "I can't find your son's heartbeat."