Category : Stories

Sub Category : Drama

Eight-Parker
It was Tuesday. Day of Jay's ultrasound appointment. Jay was feeling anxious as he sat in the hospital's waiting area. He drummed his fingers on the armrest of the pleather chair. The sound of the beats was like a charging horse on caffine. Evan was sitting calmly with Jay in the next seat, reading an old geographical magazine about the Artic polar bears. Izzy and Ava went down one of the halls to a snack machine. Evan turns his attention to his friend's consistent finger drumming and leans towards him.
"You seem nervous." Evan says, looking at Jay's fingers.
Jay stopped tapping. "Yeah. I mean, are you? What if my baby turns out to have an extra arm or something?"
Evan laughs. "Jay, that's silly. You're just overreacting. Everything is going to be fine, don't worry. I guess I'm a little on edge too. I am concerned for the well being of my baby."
"Then, how do you stay so calm?"
"From experience, its better to be calm than jumping to the worst case scenario."
Jay rests his hands on his belly and gently stroked it. He glances over at Evan's belly. It seemed nearly twice as big compared to his. "How are you bigger than me?"
Evan grins and lifts an eyebrow. "Jealous?"
"What? Nooo..." Jay chuckles.
Evan laughs. "Yeah, right."
Izzy and Ava come back with chocolate bars and chips. Each sat next to their husbands.
Ava hands Jay a smallbag of Cheetos. "These are for you, babe."
"Thanks." He says as he opens it. 
"You two behaving yourselves?" Izzy asks playfully.
Evan answers with a witty remark. "We're pregnant, Izzy. What trouble could we possibly get into?" Then he turns to Jay and asks: "Hey, do you wanna bet which one of us uses the bathroom the most while we're here?"
"You're on." Jay and Evan fist bump.
Izzy laughs while she ties her blonde hair into a ponytail. "Honestly, the two of you are behaving like kids." 
The nurse at the front desk approached the group holding a clipboard. She asks: "Jayden Isaac Evers?"
"That's me." Jay and Ava rise from their seats.
"Dr. Gerard will see you now." She says with pleasantness.
"Looks like we'll have to postpone that bet, Evan." Jay says to his friend.
"Let's go, honey." Ava says. They follow the nurse.
The nurse shows them the way to the doctor's office. She opens the office door, and there was Dr. Gerard working at her desk. The doctor gets up from her seat and greets them with a smile. The nurse leaves the room to attend other matters.
"Hello! Please, come in." The doctor says.
"Hi, Dr. Gerard. This is my wife, Ava." Jay says.
"Hello, Ava. I'm Emily Gerard, nice to meet you. Have a seat on the bed there, Jay, and we'll get started. Ava, you can sit next to Jay in the chair next to the bed." She offers.
Jay shuffles onto the bed next to the ultasound machine and Ava sits down.
"Go ahead and lift your shirt then lie down." Dr. Gerard says to Jay.
Jay does so and gets comfortable. The doctor stands over him and feels around his belly.
"Wow, look at you! You have grown a lot since I saw you last." Dr. Gerard excitedly said to Jay. "How has your diet and exercise been?"
"Good."
"Nausea?"
"Not as much anymore."
"How is your baby's activity?"
"Very active."
"Good, good." Dr. Gerard nods agreeably. "Everything looks good. The baby is in a good position." She sets up the ultrasound machine then squirts clear gel onto Jay's belly. It was a little cold, sending tiny shivers up Jay's back. Jay holds Ava's hand tightly as the doctor searches his abdomen. "The image of the baby will be displayed in 3D. Now, you'll be able to see your baby's face in just a minute." She says.
Ava had a very excited smile on her face, whereas Jay, was very nervous. Dr. Gerard finally stopped in the perfect position to where the baby's face was clearly visible. She dimmed the office lights and the ultrasound machine displayed the image of the baby above the bed. Dr. Gerard turned on the sound to the baby's heartbeat.
"And there is your baby." The doctor announced. "Look! There it is, Jay. It's sucking on its thumb!" Ava says.
The rhythm of the baby's heartbeat was fast. "Thump-thump, thump-thump..."
Jay lifts his head and was absolutely blown away with what he saw and heard. He was so amazed that his words came out jumbled. "There...baby..."
"That's one beautiful baby, Jay." Dr. Gerard says. "According to the scan, the baby is a good size. Ten inches long at this stage. Heart rate is where it should be and overall, the baby is healthy. The artificial womb is functioning adequately. Now, have you decided if you want to find out the baby's sex?"
Jay nods his head, still speechless. Ava answered her: "Yes, definitely."
Dr. Gerard tapped a couple of more buttons on the machine. "Jay, are you ready?"
He takes a deep breath and closes his eyes. "Yeah."
"What are you thinking, Jay?" Dr. Gerard curiously asked.
"I think he wants a boy." Ava says softly.
"Jay, open your eyes. Look at me." The doctor tells him. He does. "Jay, guess what?"
Jay notices the doctor's smile, and then he knew. His eyes widened with happiness. "It's a boy?"
Dr. Gerard nods. "Congratulations."
Ava was excited too. She and Jay kissed each other.
"Thank you so much. I've been waiting to hear that for a long time." Jay happily says to Dr. Gerard.
"My pleasure." She answers. Then she wipes the gel off Jay's belly. "Okay, that's it. You can put your shirt back down now."
Jay sits up and adjusts his shirt. The doctor writes down some notes. Dr. Gerard asks him: "How have you been doing physically? Anything you need to let me know about?"
"I've been alright so far. There hasn't been anything abnormal, I don't think..." Jay sprightly hops of the bed. He suddenly felt a wave of dizziness. "Ugh...!"
Ava and the doctor immediately steady him.
"Jay! Are you okay?" Ava asks with concern.
"Ugh...I feel dizzy."
Dr. Gerard has Jay sit in the chair next to the bed. "Sit down, take a breather."
Jay sits down and breathes in slowly.
"Will he be alright?" Ava asks Doctor Gerard.
"He'll be fine. Its common to experience dizziness during pregnancy. This is because of rising hormones that cause his blood vessels to relax and widen. Of course, this helps increase blood flow to the baby, but the blood returns slower when it comes back to Jay's brain. It causes low blood pressure then dizziness. Jay, I'm going to recommend that from now on you should take things easy. Don't spring off chairs or beds so fast. It's the easiest way to get dizzy." Dr. Gerard advised.
"I will. Thanks."
"Do you feel better?" Ava asks him as she rubs his back.
"Yeah, better." Jay stands up carefully.
"Thank you, Dr. Gerard, for everything." Ava shakes the doctor's hand.
"You are welcome. Now, please make sure that you schedule an appointment for him every few weeks, just to check up on things."
"We'll do." Ava agrees.
Soon, Jay and Ava walked out of the doctor's office. Ava rests her head on Jay's shoulder while they held hands, utterly happy. They walk back to the waiting room and sat down. Evan and Izzy weren't there. Most likely their appointment was running a bit longer.
Ava leans near Jay's ear and whispers excitedly: "A boy, Jay."
"Yeah." Jay whispers back.
"So, when do you want to start picking names for the baby?"
Jay feels his belly and smiles. "Parker."
"Parker?"
"I promised Ryan that I'd name the baby after him."
"Oh, right. His middle name was 'Parker'." Ava kisses him on the cheek. "Okay. "Parker" it is.
"When we get home, I'm going to tell my parents the good news." Ava says.
Evan and Izzy returned with the biggest grins on their faces.
"What did your doctor say?" Jay asks.
"Well..." Izzy starts.
"Twins." Evan blurts out. "Girls!"
That's great!" Jay and Ava excitedly say at the same time.
"And you, Jay?" Evan asks.
"A boy." Evan enthusiastically hugs his friend.
They all exchanged hugs and exited the hospital. On the ride home, Jay thought about how things in his life are now compared to what they were months ago. And he realized that Ryan was right. Jay has good friends, a beautiful supporting wife, he's surrounded by a loving family, and by extension-starting his own family. He wasn't alone. Things had turned around for the better. Jay looks down at his belly, fondling it with smooth, even strokes.
"Hi, Parker." He quietly says to the baby.