FINALLY here's a new chapter! Sorry it took so long...the excuse is the same that it'll be for the next eight or so months: School. Blame the US Education system. Thanks so much for patiently waiting for updates...please review, tell me what you think and let me know you're still here:P I'll give it my every effort to try and update in a more timely manner next time...unfortunately, I can't make any promises =(
Enjoy!
-Jen
I woke before Oliver the next morning, and traveled downstairs in my pajamas. Grandma, Memaw and Aunt Dolly were at the table having breakfast.
"Good morning!" I chirped happily, sitting beside Aunt Dolly.
"Good morning, Darlin'. You're happy this morning." Aunt Dolly commented.
I nodded, grabbing a donut "It's a nice day." I shrugged. "And my doctor's appointment is today."
"Would you like me to go with you?" Aunt Dolly asked.
I paused. "Oliver said he'd take me but…"
"He's not a woman?" Aunt Dolly laughed. I nodded.
"Both of you can come!" I said.
She laughed, "Ok, I don't like driving anyways!"
Grandma placed a mug of hot chocolate in front of me, and I smiled in thanks, happily sipping the warm chocolaty goodness.
I saw Memaw, Grandma, and Aunt Dolly studying me from their seats, smiles on their faces. I lowered the cup to the table. "What?"
"You remind me so much of your mama." Grandma said softly, smiling.
"I hate seeing you upset, Miley," Memaw said, "I'm happy you're feeling better today. That doctor must've done something right."
"I remember the day you were born. It seems like it was just yesterday I walked in to the hospital room to see you're momma and daddy sitting there. You were so tiny in your daddy's arms, too! Premature by a month and a few weeks. Now here you are…having a baby." Aunt Dolly said.
I nodded wordlessly.
"Do you want a boy or a girl?" Aunt dolly asked.
I shrugged, and picked at the donut.
"A-are you keeping the baby?" Memaw asked.
"Daddy is set on me giving it up for adoption." I stated.
"What do you want to do, darlin'?" Grandma asked.
"I don't know yet." I whispered. "I'm not sure."
"It's a big decision," Memaw said. "You take your time and think it over well, Miley."
"We'll support you no matter what decision you make, Miley," Grandma said. "It ain't your daddy's decision. It's all you."
I nodded quietly. "Thanks." I said finally.
"Good morning!" Oliver said brightly, walking in to the dining room, and dropping a kiss on to my head, sitting in the chair beside me.
"Well, something musta happened last night, because both you kids are obscenely happy this mornin'," Aunt Dolly commented.
I just shrugged, smiling, and continued to eat my donut.
--
A few hours later, I walked nervously in to the doctor's office waiting room. This too was located in the small city right outside of Crowley Corners. As I walked in, my fingers laced through Oliver's, and Aunt Dolly walking behind us, I knew what it must look like, and I saw as one woman in the corner, who sat there with a man who was holding a small toddler on his lap, gave us a disgusted look.
When I looked down, I realized I'd unknowingly placed my hand over my tummy.
"Name please?" I jumped slightly, and looked up; we'd reached the desk.
"Oh…Miley Stewart." I stated.
"Alright, sweetie, I need you to fill these forms out," She said, handing me a clip board and pen, "and then let me know when you're done, ok?"
I nodded, and sat in between Oliver and Aunt Dolly, and looked down at the paper. First, it asked all the basic information: name, date of birth, address and stuff like that, which I filled in. Then, the estimated date the baby was conceived followed by allergies I had, and other stuff.
When I was finished, I brought it back to her, and not five minutes later, I was called in by a nurse, weighed, and measured and then brought to the exam room.
"Um…" Oliver said form the doorway, face red.
I looked around at all the posters of the women's uterus and birth canal.
"Don't worry, she wont have to get naked. You can come in." Aunt Dolly said, sitting in one of the chairs.
Oliver stepped in nervously looking around, just as the doctor knocked and came in.
"Hello," she said, smiling, "I'm Dr. Howard, you must be Miley."
I nodded, shaking her hand. "That's me."
She placed a clip board on a small table. "Who do you have with you today?"
"Um, my Aunt Dolly and my boyfriend…Oliver." I stated.
"Are you the father?" She asked pleasantly, "Could you get up here please, dear?"
"Oh...umm…" Oliver sputtered, looking at me.
"The biological father isn't in the picture." I stated shortly, getting on to the examination table.
"Oh…I'm sorry," She said, and let it go. I liked her. "Now, it says here that the date the baby was conceived was January 26th…are you positive?"
"Yea…there's no other possible date."
"Ok, so that'll place the due date at about October 26th, 2009 and that'll mean you're about fourteen weeks along, so about three and a half months along." She smiled, "I'll you'll just pull your shirt up, I will do the ultrasound."
I lay back, and pulled my shirt up to just under my bust line, and she had me fold paper towels over the edge of my pants so the gel wouldn't get on to them, before squeezing the blue gel on to my tummy. Aunt Dolly and Oliver were sitting in chairs across the room, and I motioned them to come over. Aunt Dolly got up and practically ran over.
"I love seeing these ultrasounds!" She said, standing near my head.
Oliver came over slowly, moving faster when I held my hand out to him, and he stood beside me, taking my hand in both of his.
Dr. Howard began to move the transducer over my stomach, and soon, pointed to the screen. "There's your baby," She smiled. "That's its head right there, and arms…legs…feet." She smiled.
"Aw, well look at that," Aunt Dolly said softly, smoothing her hand over my hair as I looked at the screen, swallowing the lump in my throat.
"Would you like to know the gender of your baby?" She asked.
I was startled. I hadn't been expecting to find this out now. "You can find out so soon?" I asked.
She nodded, "I can, of course I may be wrong as it's a bit early, but I'm pretty sure I know one hundred percent. Would you like me to tell you?"
Numbly, I nodded.
"It looks like you're having a little girl," She smiled.
I slowly smiled. A baby girl. My baby girl.
"Your father mentioned on the phone that the baby was being put up for adoption?" She questioned as she pushed a few buttons.
The smile fell from my face. Not your baby girl, Miley.
"That hasn't been decided yet." I finally said.
She looked at me over the rims of her glasses, nodding slowly. "Ok, dear. Well, if families you may or may not talk to want to speak to me, this is my card you can give them my name and number." She said, handing a card to me. "And I'll have Maureen give you a folder with families that have come to us looking to adopt. Oh look!" She said, pointing to the screen, where you could see the baby's thumb in her mouth. The smile fell on to my face again. "I'll print that out," Dr. Howard said, pushing another button.
"She's adorable." I smiled softly, looking at the screen. Dr. Howard had said she may be wrong, but I just knew. It was a baby girl.
After a moment, a beating sound filled the room, "There's her heartbeat," the doctor said.
"Ollie, where's my phone?" I asked, and he handed me my pink Blackberry, and I eagerly recorded the sound of the baby's heartbeat.
After that, she finished, and walked with us down the hall to the waiting area. "You can make another appointment before you leave…remember, you should gain at least five pounds within the next four weeks. Try to eat even if you feel nauseous, and if you have any questions of concerns, give me a call, alright?"
"Ok…thank you, doctor." I said, shaking her hand, Oliver and Aunt Dolly following suit.
I walked to the desk and she looked up, "Ok Miss Stewart…you'll need another check up in one month…today is may fourth…I have an opening on June 7th at ten in the morning." She said.
"That's great," I said, and she wrote out a reminder card, and slid it in to the pocket of a folder before handing it to me, and smiling.
"We'll see you in a month!" she said brightly, and I smiled, bade goodbye, and exited with Oliver and Aunt Dolly.
I was relatively silent on the way home, and when we got back to memaw's house, I excused myself from everyone to be alone up in my room which is where I finally opened the folder.
I pulled out the sonograms that Dr. Howard had printed for me, and looked at them for a long time. One was of her just how we'd seen her the first time, the other was her moving, and the third was the one of her sucking her thumb. Each print had the date, time, and '14 weeks' printed on it as well.
I realized there was a lump in my throat, my eyes were prickling with tears, and I gently lay the prints on my bed, and looked at the folder. One side had papers about healthy eating, and what to expect broken down by week, and the other had information on adoption. I reluctantly pulled it out, and read.
Adoption is considered a legal proceeding that crests a parent-child relation between persons not related by blood. An adopted child is entitled to all privileges a biological child is by law. A person or couple may look to adopt for a number of reasons, some examples being infertility, medical problems, same sex couples who want a child, or even just to add an addition to one's family and give a parentless child a home.
There are three types of adoption legally recognized in the United States, and they are summarized below.
Open Adoption is when the birth parent(s) specify the type of family they would consider most appropriate as a placement for their child. The clients will meet the chosen family prior to placement and both parties will share identifying information. An open adoption is considered a life-long relationship with on-going contact over the years.
Semi-Open Adoption is when the birth parents can specify particular characteristics with regard to the adoptive family. The birth parents may also meet the adoptive parents either pre-delivery or after placement on a first name basis. After placement, the client may receive pictures and letters from the adoptive family through the agency.
Closed Adoption is one in which the birth parents have little or no control of the adoptive placement of their child. They probably will not have information about their child's health or whereabouts. The child's social history may not be available to the adoptive parents.
The type of adoption you choose must depend on your lifestyle, and the amount of involvement, if any, you want in the child's life. Once choosing the type of adoption you want, you then must work with an agent and a lawyer to find prospective families. You can also find out about families looking to adopt through a doctor, church, or other services, but make sure you have an agent and lawyer perform the necessary procedures to make sure your child is being given to a loving, safe household.
I stopped reading after that page, unable to go further, and shoved the papers back in to the folder, and walked over to the desk, opened the top drawer, and dropped the folder in there, atop the one from my father with families he'd already found, then slammed the door shut.
Then, I went in to the middle drawer of the desk, and got out some push pins, then went to the bed and picked up the three sonograms, and brought them over to the cork board hanging above the desk, right across from my bed.
I pinned each one carefully to the corkboard, and then sat on the edge of the bed, resting my hands on my stomach as I looked up at the pictures of my baby, and sighed, laying back on my bed and screaming in frustration.
A minute later, there was a knock on the door, and Oliver stuck his head in from the bathroom as it connected our rooms. "You ok?"
"No." I stated, "I'm being plagued by dilemmas way beyond my years and maturity level."
He smiled a little, stepping in, and sat on the edge of my bed, lying down when I scooted over, and I turned, laying my head on his chest, and wrapped my arms around his torso.
"You'll be ok," He said, and I felt his fingers combing gently through my hair, "You'll figure out the right answer."
"But that's the thing, Oliver…It's a dilemma. There is no right answer." I said quietly.
"But there is. There's an answer that's right for you." He told me. "And when the time is right, you'll know the answer."
"But I can't do what's right for me here. I have to do what's right for her."
"But that's it, Miley," He said softly, "What's right for her is what'll be right for you."