Only One Mistake (Only One 6)

“Congratulations, Dad,” she says to him, and all he can do is beam with pride.

Chapter 27

Michael

“Congratulations, Dad,” the doctor says to me as she hands me the long black-and-white pictures of my baby. I don’t know why, but the minute she says dad, my chest puffs out, and all I can do is smile.

“Thank you.” I look back down at the pictures. “Our baby,” I say, my finger rubbing the picture. The lights turn back on, and I look over at the doctor who opens Jillian’s file back up.

Jillian sits back up and holds out her hand for the pictures. I hand them to her. “Okay, so,” the doctor says, and my head whips to look at her. “From the measurements, I’m going to say that you are going to probably have a big baby.”

“What?” Julia says in almost a whisper. “But how?”

“I was almost eleven pounds,” I reveal, and the doctor tries to hide the smile on her face when Jillian gasps out.

“What?” She glares at me, and I just shrug, looking back at the doctor.

She takes a look at me and then at Jillian, turning to look back at the file in front of her. “Heartbeat is healthy,” she says. “How are the hormones?”

“Fine, fine,” she says quickly. My eyes fly to Jillian, her eyes are big and she just shakes her head.

“Okay,” the doctor says, closing the file. “If there is nothing else.” She looks at Jillian. “I’ll see you in a month.” She gets up and smiles at us.

“Thank you,” I say as she walks out. I wait for the door to be closed before I look back over at Jillian.

“Are we going to talk about the hormones?” I ask, and she avoids my eyes.

“I have to get dressed,” she deflects. “You can wait for me outside.” She points at the door.

I roll my lips, trying not to laugh. “Okay, we’ll discuss it later,” I say, walking to the door and pulling it open. “If you don’t want to tell me, I can always google what it means.”

“While you’re at it,” she says, getting up, coming to the door, and she looks so fucking cute. “Google what not to do to piss off the woman who is carrying your child.” She slams the door in my face.

I smile at the door, taking the phone out of my pocket and sending my parents the sound of the heartbeat.

Me: The baby’s heart beating.

I press send and then send them a new picture of the sonogram. The door opens, my eyes find Jillian’s, her eyes go from me to the phone. “Did you google?”

“No,” I deny, shaking my head, “I just sent my parents the sound of the heartbeat.” I press play on the audio. “It’s the most beautiful sound in the world,” I say, wanting to bend and kiss her, but not sure if I can or even if she wants me to.

She walks past me to the front desk as she turns to me. “Do you have your schedule for next month?” she asks, and I nod my head and pull it up.

It takes three tries to finally schedule the appointment. “And we said no, right, to the 3D ultrasound?” the receptionist asks Jillian, and I look up from my phone to see her.

“Sadly,” she says. “My insurance doesn’t cover it.” She shrugs. “I’ll see the baby in 3D when he or she comes out.”

“Schedule the appointment,” I say, angry that she had to do all of this before without me. The pit in my stomach is burning. “I can afford it.”

“It’s a lot of money,” she says, looking at me and then at the secretary, and I know she has no idea what I make, nor does she care. “Are you sure?”

“I’m sure.” I smile at the receptionist, who makes sure she does it the same day as the next appointment. When I walk out of the doctor’s office, I turn to talk to her, but my phone rings with a FaceTime from my father. “It’s my dad,” I say, and she smiles.

“Well, answer it,” she urges, and I press the button, his face finally comes on the screen, and I can tell he’s been crying.

“Hi,” I say, getting my own tears in my eyes. “Did you hear?”

“Did I hear,” he confirms, laughing while he wipes the tears from the corner of his eyes.

“He sobbed like a baby,” my sister,, Alex says from somewhere in the room. I put my arm around Jillian and pull her into the screen with me so she can see.

“Jillian.” He says her name, and his voice cracks.

“Oh, good God,” Alex says from behind him. “What else did the doctor say?”

“Where is Mom?” I ask her, and Alex just shakes her head.

“In the bathroom sobbing,” Alex says. “She threw a spoon at Dad and blamed him for coming home early.” She snickers, and my father grabs the phone from her.