BabyNapper

Chapter 4: A Chance of Light

"Babe, you ready?" I announced from the bottom of the stairs.

"I'm coming down." He said, walking down the steps as he was putting on his jacket. "Madeline, it's only 7:00 and your appointment doesn't begin until an hour from now."

"Well, that's all the more reason to get there as early as possible," I said to him.

"At least I took Caroline to school early this morning." He said. "You ready now?"

I wrapped my scarf around my neck and nodded.

"Ready."

He opened the door but before we walked out, we were surprised to see Deborah standing in front of us.

"Hey, guys." She said.

"Deborah, what are you doing out here? Get inside." I took her hand and brought her in. She then took off her gloves and coat and threw them on the couch.

"I'm sorry to bug you guys so early but I remembered that my apartment was getting fumigated during the month." She said with a little surprise in her voice.

"Well, you can stay here until it's finished, Deborah," I told her.

"Are you sure? I just —''

"I mean it. And besides, you can hang out with your cute little niece when she gets home from school today."

She nodded and looked at us.

"Were you guys going somewhere?" She asked.

"We're on our way to Madeline's appointment," Andrew said. "It's time for her ultrasound."

"Hmm, I'd thought it'd be time for you to give birth."

"Well, she's not just fully developed yet so I guess I wouldn't mind waiting," I said.

Andrew took my hand and carefully led me out the door.

We arrived at the maternity care clinic an hour later and sat in the waiting room for my name to be called. I saw that a few other pregnant women were there as well.

Sitting down, I was beside one woman in particular. Her baby bump was protruded slightly so I assumed that she was into her first trimester.

"First time?" I asked the woman, trying to make idle conversation.

"Pardon?" She asked as she turned to face me. Her hair was auburn that complimented her olive-green eyes. The complexion of her skin was light.

"Your baby," I asked again, "Is this your first time having one?"

"Oh, yes. Yes, it is. I and my husband are hoping for a boy." She told me, placing her hands on her stomach.

"Well, I'm sure whatever your baby comes out to be will beautiful," I said. "Take it from me, I had a child and saw her as a new hope in my life. And I know that you'll see yours that way too. Savoring each and every moment in their life. The life that you're growing inside you."

She smiled and looked at me with a sincere grin on her as she blushed.

"Madeline Prior?" A nurse announced from the entry room hall.

Andrew and I stood up and followed her down the main hallway until she showed us into one of the examination rooms. She told us that the doctor would be in shortly and then she left.

Andrew helped me onto the examining chair and laid me back. He sat on a small stool beside me.

"You nervous?" He asked me.

"Yep," I said laughingly. "I mean, this is our second child so why wouldn't I be nervous?"

"Maybe... because this is our second child?"

We both chuckled. 

"Last time I recall, you were nervous when I gave birth to Caroline," I said.

"Yeah right, I'm not nervous." He told me.

"Really? Then why are you sweating?" I joked with him.

He chortled and looked at me with a heartfelt smile.

"Really though," I said, "I'm just really glad you're here with me, Andrew."

He grasped my hand and kissed it on the ring.

"I always will be, you know that." He said as he held my hand to his cheek.

The doctor soon came in afterward.

She was a woman of middle age with short blonde hair. She had apparel of a dark, close-fitting dress underneath a white doctor's jacket. She also wore black shoes with thick heels.

"You must be Madeline, correct?"

"Yes, ma'am," I said. "This is my husband, Andrew, by the way."

He rose his hand as a gesture of greeting her hello. She replied with a smile.

"Nice to meet you both. I'm Dr. Taylor but you can call me Priscilla."

"Hi," I said.

She washed her hands at the sink that was settled in the corner and dried her hands.

"Let's get started, shall we?" She said as she grabbed a pair of gloves and fitted them onto her hands.

She got a stethoscope and asked me to raise my shirt over my stomach. I did as she asked, exposing my enlarged abdomen. She placed the stethoscope on and checked for the heartbeat. She told me it sounded very good.

"Okay, ready for the ultrasound?"

I nodded and she left out of the room to get the machine.

I looked over at Andrew sitting beside me and he smiled at me.

What would I do without him?

Priscilla came back into the room with a nurse who pushed the machine in. She looked very young.

She took out a tube of some kind of gel and applied it onto the probe sensor, rubbing it across my abdomen. It was a bit cold but then felt warming.

The nurse beside her turned on the monitor of the machine, which came up as a screen of dark static.

"Alright, this is the inside of your womb, okay?"

"Mm-hmm," I replied.

The screen continued to scroll around my womb until it came upon an image. An image that startled me with surprise.

"There's your beautiful baby, Madeline."

The monitor revealed a visual image of my baby.

"Here... is the head." She said, pointing to the specific parts of the baby on the monitor. "There's the forehead, and here is the left arm..."

I felt such joy in my heart. Yes. Such joy.

It was the joy that reassured me that Caroline would have a wonderful sibling to grow up with and love no matter what.

It was the joy that told me that my baby would have a complete family that'll love him or her every single day of their life. Especially, in this life.

After the ultrasound, Dr. Priscilla told us to come back in two weeks from now so everything would be ready for when the baby comes.

Before we exited the clinic, I was stopped by the woman that I had spoken to earlier.

"Excuse me, ma'am?"

"Yes?" I asked her.

"I-I just wanted to thank you for what you said back there earlier." She said with a smile, showing a beam of delight.

"Of course," I took her hands in a graceful manner and looked keenly at her. "You're gonna have a wonderful baby."

Later as we were driving back home that morning, I see Andrew giving me brief glances beside me as he drives.

"What is it?" I ask him.

"That woman seemed very happy back there." He said. "What did you say?"

I looked at him and grinned.

"I just... told her what she needed to hear."

Instantly, he leaned to give me a kiss.

"You always know what to say to people, you know that?"

"I sure do."

I put my hands on my belly.

"I sure do indeed."