An Unexpected Baby (6 page)

“Yes. Like when it could destroy someone’s hopes and dreams. Someone you love.”

Gina sighed. “Okay. So you have no choice but to really try to get pregnant. You say he insists on using condoms now that you’re…ahem…pregnant. Have you considered poking holes in the condoms with a sterile pin?”

“Gina!”

“What?”

“That is sooooo dishonest!”

“Uh…and pretending you're freaking pregnant isn’t?”

“Okay. Okay. Listen, let’s not get in over our heads here.”

Gina sipped her coffee and gave a thoughtful look as she leaned against the kitchen counter. “Okay, kiddo! So now you have everyone anticipating and marking their calendars for the first of June and you haven’t even been seen by an obstetrician yet. So how did you work out June the first?”

Emma placed her cup of hot chocolate on the table and drew in a deep breath. “Well, you know that most pregnancy tests can detect a pregnancy at three weeks gestation. Some as early as seven days.”
“Oh?”
“I read that the hCG hormone…”

“What’s an hCG hormone, hon?” Gina took another gulp of her coffee.

“Some human chorionic gonadotropin or something. I’ve been doing my homework, don’t worry. Anyway, it is produced very early in the pregnancy and serves several functions to support the developing baby including stimulating
progesterone
and estrogen production.”

“Hence the mood swings and hormones out of whack!”

“Right. Among other things.” Emma sipped some more of her hot chocolate before continuing. “Around seven to nine days after fertilization, a baby will implant deep into the uterine wall. A woman’s body will not begin producing hCG until then. Once her body has begun producing hCG that should be able to determine pregnancy through a home pregnancy test.”

“So in other words, the earliest you should test is seven days past ovulation.”

“Yep. Many home pregnancy tests claim to be accurate as early as the first day of a missed period — or even before.”

“But honey, your periods are about as regular as a bus schedule. You never know when you’re going to have one.”

“I know,” Emma’s voice trailed off. “Some medical research study said that at least thirty percent of women during childbearing years have irregular periods. Either two periods in a  month or periods in odd months of the year or something. Some menstruate twice a year.”

Gina looked sympathetically for her friend. “That’s like one in three women! Honey, that’s awful. I didn’t even know it was such a huge problem.”

“You mean, you thought I was the only freak?” Emma gave a nervous chuckle. “I just had to be one of the thirty percent statistics.”

Gina sighed heavily.

“Anyway, going back to what I was saying…shortly after a fertilized egg attaches to the uterine lining, the body begins to produce a hormone called hCG. During early pregnancy, the level of hCG in the blood increases rapidly —doubling every two days! Home pregnancy tests can reliably detect this hormone in your urine one week after a missed period.”

“However, home pregnancy tests may not be as precise. If you really wanna confirm pregnancy you should do a blood test to detect hCG. The blood test is more sensitive than is the urine test, hon. That’s what my cousin said to me when she found out she was really pregnant.”

“I know. But if I take the blood test it would prove beyond a doubt that I’m not pregnant!”

“Let me see that!” Gina stretched over to grab the printouts in Emma’s hand that she pulled out of her handbag.

“Various types of home pregnancy tests are available. With most tests, you place the end of a dipstick in your urine stream or immerse the dipstick in a container of collected urine for five to ten seconds. Yada, yada! A few minutes later, the dipstick reveals the test result — often as a plus or minus sign, a line, a color change, or the words 'pregnant' or 'not pregnant' on a strip or window."

"Keep in mind that instructions may vary from kit to kit. Read the instructions carefully before you take the test,” Gina finished reading.

“Too late for that!” Emma said with a wry smile.

“Many home pregnancy tests claim to be ninety-nine percent accurate on the day you miss your period. Although research suggests that most home pregnancy tests don't consistently spot pregnancy this early, home pregnancy tests are considered reliable when used according to package instructions one week after a missed period.”

“So what are you saying? That I should just take another test?”

“Uh…yeah!”

“Too chicken!”

“Too chicken?”

“Yeah. I’m not going to bother. I’m just going to get that book on instant conception and let my husband make love to me like he’d never done before.”

“Until when? Your first visit should be about eight weeks after your last period, Emma!”

“Yeah, I know and that’s because they need to do a dating ultrasound.”

“So you giving them a date of June the first means that you are telling them that you’ve already had your dating ultrasound and you know the date.”

“Yeah.”

“So in other words, you’re supposed to be two months pregnant.”

“Yeah. Which is about right since it’s late October now.”

“But, honey you’d better get cracking on acting like a woman two months pregnant.”

“Oh, boy!”

“Exactly! Oh, and another thing. You’ve got to register with babycenter.com. All smart mothers and new moms or wannabe’s go there. They have all the info you need in one place from preconception to after the baby is born and get this—my cousin also got weekly e-mails showing her what the baby should like inside you and what you should be experiencing.”

Emma’s eyes widened up. “That is so…”

“Awesome, isn’t it? Honey, that is the answer to your questions. All of them. That way you can try to get pregnant while you understand what symptoms you should be experiencing.”

Emma knew she’d dug herself into a deeper hole but right now there was no going back. The condom hole poking thing seemed almost appealing now. After all, she wasn’t trapping a man. She was just…making sure that her husband got the child he really wanted to have.

Emma rubbed her forehead with the moist palm of her hand. She just knew she was going to hell soon.

***

Later that afternoon, as Emma drove up the beautiful interlocking paving stone driveway to her house she was stunned to see Dale’s car parked, the VP of Fletcher Adverting. She didn’t mind so much because it was a three-door garage but what was Dale doing there at that time of the day? Shouldn’t he be in Dallas?

When Emma turned the key to French doors of the home, she noticed the sound of men laughing and glasses clinking coming up from the second floor. She closed the doors and slowly placed her keys in her handbag and took off her brown fall jacket then proceeded upstairs.

“Oh, there you are,” June called out to Emma as she walked from the kitchen down to the foyer with a tray of fruits and juice. “Evan wanted to make sure that you got a nice afternoon healthy snack before your nap.”

“My nap?”

“Yes, we’ve noticed you’ve been looking very drained lately. Evan said you probably needed your rest. Since your body is going through so many changes.” June looked at Emma with admiration and love. “You know, you’ve made Evan a very happy man. I haven’t seen him this…alive since, I don’t know when. You really have done wonders to him. You and the baby.”

Emma swallowed hard but somehow the lump of guilt in her throat wouldn’t go down. She almost choked on her own saliva again.

“Are you okay, Emma? Here is your drink. It’s organic. Just like Evan said.”

“Oh, um…thank you, June.”

“No worries, mommy-to-be.”

Emma almost choked and sprayed out the juice in her mouth. The word mommy just got her so…nervous these days.

“So…um…June, what’s Dale doing here? I thought he was in Dallas.”

“Oh, yes he was. But he got back a bit earlier and well, since he’s the godfather of your child, he’s helping Evan out with the nursery.”

“The what?”

“The nursery, dear? Emma, you don’t look so well, dear. You look as if you’re about to faint.”

“Oh, um…No. I’m good. I’m good, thanks!”
I’m so dead! This has gone way too far now. Evan is spending real money building a real nursery for a real baby that doesn’t exist….yet!

Emma slowly walked up the winding stairway not sure of what she would say to Evan now. By the time she got to the top, she saw eco-friendly cartons in the hallway leading up to the spare room.

“Hey, baby,” Evan beamed as he walked up to Emma and gave her a lovable hug and kiss on the forehead and lips. “You okay? I’ve missed you and the baby today.”

“But we’ve only been apart for a few hours,” Emma gave a nervous chuckle.

“Oh, he’s just in love with being a daddy and a husband, of course,” Dale chimed in. “You’re looking as lovely as ever, Emma.”

“Thank you, Dale.”

“So what’s all these boxes for, hon? June said you were building a nursery. It’s so…soon.”

“Oh, nothing’s too soon for us, hon! I just wanna make sure that I’m doing my part.”

“Yeah, you have him going crazy calling up all over town to get the best for his unborn child,” Dale added looking on.

“Eco friendly, hon. Our baby is going to have the best of the best and starting off with what’s best for the environment, too!”

“Oh, sounds…fantastic,” Emma chuckled sheepishly. “But aren’t you spending an awful lot here?”

“You kidding? Nothing’s too good for my child. Our child,” he corrected.

“Oh. My. God. Is that what I think it is?” Emma walked over with her jaw wide open towards an acrylic clear crib in the corner of the large room as the sun peeked through the tall ceiling to floor windows.

“Yep. It sure is. If it’s good enough for Beyonce and Jay-Z’s baby girl, why can’t we have one?”

“Oh. My. God. A Vetro Crib!!! Honey, that’s the new 'in' thing now. The crib must have cost like…”

“Three thousand, five hundred,” Dale added.

“No shit!” Emma cried out. She could not believe this. She really needed to get knocked up fast. Like yesterday.

“Uh, honey,” Evan gave Dale a funny look then turned to his wife. “There’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you.”

“Yes, hon?”

“I really would prefer if we could not have any form of swearing or offensive language when you’re carrying our child. I mean, I want our baby to have the best start in life and studies have shown that babies can hear from inside the womb.”

“But, honey, our baby doesn’t even have ears yet! Not until the second trimester!”

“Actually as early as eight weeks the ears begin to form, hon.”

“Honey?”

“Listen, let’s not argue in front of…while you’re in your condition. Agreed?”

Emma sighed. “Agreed.”

11.

“The woman's hips should also be positioned in such a way that the sperm released is kept inside, giving it enough time to swim up to the female cervix,” Emma later read from the pages of
Instant Conception
to her friend Gina over the phone
.
Evan and Dale had finally left the home to gather more stuff for the baby’s room. He was so excited, Dale told her while Evan went to get some stuff from the den, that he wanted to make sure that he was doing what he could to contribute to his child coming into the world. Though Emma joked that he’d already done enough.

If only that were true.

“Okay, so your hips should be positioned  so that the sperm can be kept inside? How?”

“Well, according to this book there are five true and tested ways in the first chapter alone. Common positions that most  people do anyway.”

“Like?”

“Like the missionary position.”

“The missionary position?”

“Yeah. You know the man on top. That’s said to be the best position according to this book because it allows for the deepest possible penetration. The sperm needs to be deposited closest to the…um…cervix. You can also do that with the spoon-position, which is side by side lying.”

“Okaaaaay.”

“Anyway,” Emma continued reading as she curled herself up on the bed in her bedroom chewing on celery sticks and dip. “Oh and another one is to raise the hips.”

“Raise the hips?” her friend almost sounded dubious.

“According to the book, elevating the hips by placing a pillow behind my back exposes my…um…cervix to as much semen as my husband can release."

“Okay, I think I’m hearing TMI.”

“TMI?”

“Yeah, girlfriend! Too much information.”

“Very funny, Gina. You promised you’d help me.”

“Yeah, but I don’t have to hear all the details, do I?”

“Well, I’m hoping you’ll help me choose the best position to start off with.”

“Well, uh…shouldn’t Evan be the one you decide that with? I mean it’s not like I’m going to be there, God forbid!”

“Yeah and what do I say? ‘Honey could we try this position so that I really get pregnant this time?’”

“Okay…what other positions do they suggest?” Gina sighed heavily.

“Doggy-style!”

“Okay, I’m outta here. Talk to you later.”

“Gina!”

“Did I hear you say, doggy-style, hon?” Evan stood in the doorway smiling, his hands shoved in the pocket of his dress pants. How long had he been listening?

“Oh, um, I was just talking to Gina.”

“About doggy-style? What’s that you’re reading?” Evan tried to read the wording on the book cover.

Emma slapped the book shut quickly and tossed it in her handbag at the side of her bed. “Oh, nothing. Just a bit of…um…erotica.”

“Okay, you’re talking about erotica and sexual positions with your best friend.”

Oops!

“No, hon!” Think fast, Emma! Think fast! “I’m just telling her which positions are best to um…you know, get pregnant.”

“Why?”

“Because maybe, she’s so happy for me that she wants to get pregnant, too!”
Okay that sounded soooo lame!

Evan drew in a deep breath and raised one of his sexy dark eyebrows. Then there was a twinkle in his eyes. “You know speaking of positions,” he said, in his deep, sexy low voice. His eyes slid down Emma’s body admiring her lovingly.