When the doctor finished his thorough exam, he said, “Everything appears good. But considering the severity of your fall, I’d like to do a transvaginal ultrasound.” He went on to explain the procedure to her.
“I’ll be able to see the baby?” she asked. Hope and excitement swelled within her chest.
The doctor nodded. “And we should be able to hear its heartbeat.” The doctor typed some notes into the computer that was mounted on a cart. “Was that the father who was just in here?”
“Yes.” There was no hesitation in her answer because Enzo was the only man in her life, if you could stretch the meaning of being in someone’s life.
“Would you like to have him in here for the ultrasound?” When she nodded, the doctor said, “As soon as you’re all set up, someone will go get him. The technician should be in shortly.”
And then the doctor left her alone. It was quite loud in her head as one thought preceded another. Quite often they were in contradiction of each other. But in the end, they all boiled down to: What was she going to do now?
CHAPTER TWELVE
IT WAS A black screen.
And then some gray lines washed over the monitor.
Enzo squinted, trying to make out the image of a baby—of his son or daughter. That thought momentarily caused the breath to become trapped in his lungs. How was it that he was going to become a father when he hadn’t even gotten his own life straig
htened out?
The technician wearing pink scrubs, with her dark hair pulled up in a messy bun, made some adjustments, clearing up the picture. She pointed to the screen. “There’s your baby.”
Sylvie gasped. And then she sniffled and swiped at her cheeks. “Can you tell if it’s a boy or girl?”
“It’s too early. That will happen in your second trimester.”
Sylvie turned to Enzo with a teary smile. “It’s so small. I... I hope I didn’t hurt him or her in the fall.”
Enzo wanted to reassure her that everything would be all right, but he couldn’t make her that promise. Instead, he reached out and took her cold hand in his. He rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand.
“Would you like to hear the heartbeat?” the technician asked.
“Oh, yes. Please.” The excitement rang out in Sylvie’s voice.
A new sense of guilt settled over Enzo. After the way his own family had crashed and burned, he was scared to be responsible for a baby. What if he messed up?
Sylvie squeezed his hand, drawing him back to the present. A rapid swoosh-swoosh filled the air.
“That’s your baby’s heartbeat,” the technician said. “A baby’s heart beats more rapidly than an adult’s.”
For the moment Enzo halted his rambling thoughts and focused on his son or daughter’s heartbeat. The swoosh-swoosh drove home the reality of this situation.
He and Sylvie were having a baby.
This shouldn’t be happening. The timing was all wrong. The situation was wrong. And his being a father was all sorts of wrong.
* * *
Pregnant. Baby.
The words echoed in Enzo’s mind during the ride home. It had been a particularly quiet ride as he tried to come to terms with the events of the day. He wasn’t the only quiet one. Sylvie had barely said a word since they got in the car. Was she as stunned as he was? Or had she known all along? Was that why she’d been so excited to hear the baby’s heartbeat?
He hadn’t needed to ask Sylvie if the baby was his. The fact she’d been a virgin until their night in Paris was enough to answer his question. Things had gotten out of control that night. Obviously, mistakes had been made. Big mistakes.
And now he had no idea what to do.
He opened the door of the guesthouse. She walked past him because she refused to let him carry her—even though he’d tried to do just that. She insisted when the doctor said she was to rest for a couple of days that it didn’t mean she couldn’t walk. She was so stubborn.