Page 51 of Slap Shot Surprise
I would?
I couldn’t imagine why I’d want to record an ultrasound—wasn’t it just a sort of livestream of Mabel’s uterus?—but I decided to go to the appointment, if I could make it work with my schedule. If Gianni had done it, I could do it.
I wasn’t about to be bested by my brother.
Butscared shitlesswas spot-on. As I opened the door to the room where Mabel was waiting, I was sweating buckets. My stomach was churning. My mind knew I was doing the right thing, but my gut was telling me to run in the other direction.
Mabel took one look at me over her shoulder and hiccuped.
I couldn’t help smiling. “Uh-oh. I didn’t bring a lemon with me.”
She laughed nervously. “Hey. This is a surprise.”
I entered the room, closing the door behind me. “Sorry. I wasn’t sure I could make it, so I didn’t want to say anything ahead of time.”
“That’s okay. I’m glad you’re here.”
I stood awkwardly by the door, uncertain if I was supposed to sit in the little chair by the counter or remain on my feet. I felt vaguely in trouble, like I’d been sent to the principal’s office to hear about the consequences of my reckless behavior. My eyes wandered to the screen on the other side of the examination table Mabel was on. “Should I?—”
Two quick raps on the door interrupted our conversation. “Ready?” called a female voice from the hall.
“Yes!” Mabel called out.
I jumped out of the way as the door opened.
“Hi Mabel,” said the woman who entered. She remindedme a little of my mom, and I felt guilty that this stranger knew about my kid before my mother did. “I’m Catherine. I’ll be doing your ultrasound today.” After dimming the lights, she turned to me and smiled. “Is this Dad?”
Christ. I wasDad.
“Yes,” I said, my voice barely audible.
Mabel hiccuped.
“Perfect. You can stand right there by her side,” Catherine said, moving to the foot of the table. “Okay, Mabel, I’ll have you lie back and put your feet in here...”
While Catherine arranged Mabel’s lower body and fiddled around beneath the paper sheet, I took a step closer to her. “Is this okay?”
“Of course.” She smiled, but I detected the worry behind it and moved even closer.
I wasn’t sure where to put my hands, so I folded them in front of my crotch.
“Okay, this gel will be a little cold, sorry,” Catherine said, her hand disappearing under the sheet with some kind of wand that looked like a microphone.
Mabel’s hands were clenching and unclenching at her sides. Instinctively, I took one and held it in both of mine. It was cold. “Are you nervous?”
She nodded, her blue eyes wide. The smile and the hiccups had disappeared.
“Okay, are you ready to see your baby?” Catherine asked.
Neither of us answered, but we both looked at the monitor.
Fuzzy, ghostly shapes that reminded me of jellyfish blobbed around on the screen.
“There we are...” Catherine moved her arm and clickeda few buttons on her console. “Okay, this pregnancy looks just beautiful. There’s the yolk sac,” she said, indicating what looked like a small glow ring. “And there’s the embryo.”
“That’s the baby?” I asked. My puck in the net looked like a small frog to me.
“Yes. This is the baby’s head, and that’s his little butt.” A dotted line appeared on the screen, and she clicked some more buttons. “You can see arm and leg buds have formed, and everything looks just perfect.”
