Disclaimer- Stephenie Meyer owns, not me.
I helped Charlie out of the taxi. He was still sore from the stint surgery and wasn't like this. I was going to turn around and go with Alice to Seattle for my first consultation with my cardiologist at Seattle-Grace University Hospital. Jasper was going to sit with him and watch old Cowboy movies since sports got Charlie worked up.
Jasper pulled in behind us in his Mercedes. Alice insisted on him having a nice car, too. Alice had asked for a Porsche when she got out of high school, but Carlisle made her take her used car to college because he didn't want it getting stolen or vandalized.
"Hi, Charlie!" Alice called peppily.
"Hiya, Alice," Charlie said. "Hey, Jasper."
"I got John Wayne movies galore. You ready?" Jasper asked.
"Yes, thanks," Charlie said. "Can't beat the Duke. Billy's coming over later with Jake and Will."
"Never too early for good-old fashioned cowboy stuff," I muttered, thinking of Will.
"Come on, Bella," Alice said, indicating the car. I climbed in. "Got everything?"
"Yes," I said, patting the folder full of MRI, MRA DVDs and all sorts of other things.
She turned on the stereo, but it was playing soft music.
As we got on the 101, everything was quiet.
"Bella, I have something to tell you," Alice admitted. "Jasper and I are having a baby."
I felt a little bitter for a moment, but then, this was my lot in life. A baby was a wonderful thing. Maybe one day, I could adopt a child. I shouldn't feel so angry for Alice getting pregnant. She knew that I had had a one-night stand with Edward and that I was bitter about not getting pregnant. I didn't keep secrets from my friends, although sometimes, I guess I should have.
"Bella, please say something," she said.
"That's a blessing, Alice," I said. "I'm so happy for you."
A smile broke across her face. "Thanks," she said. "I'm so glad you're not angry with us!"
"Why would I be?" I asked.
"Because of all the meds you're on. You can't get pregnant," she said.
"I shouldn't get pregnant," I corrected. "I still could."
"Oh," Alice said.
"Don't tell me you're going to give birth at home like Angela did. I don't think I could handle that, again," I said.
She laughed. "No, I'm considered a high-risk pregnancy because I'm so tiny, I shouldn't give birth naturally. My OB is recommending me for cesarean," she said.
"A scar for giving birth?" I asked.
"Well, nobody's going to see it, except Jasper," she said.
"You're right," I said.
"It's only going to be like, four inches across. And it's going to be in my pubic hair line," she said. "Speaking of which, let's go the salon and get our nails done on the way back, OK?"
"Pending the news," I said.
"That's more like it," she said.
Dr. Morton was a cardiologist who was about 55 years old. He looked at my read-outs and my tests before I even got there.
"Bella, I'm looking at you and I think it would be in your best interest if you thought about letting us close up this PFO," he said.
"Is this open-heart surgery?" I asked, thinking of Charlie. He'd never be able to take care of me after open-heart surgery. Never.
"No," he said, shaking his head. "We go into your artery like a stint and close it up laproscopically. You'll only have a small incision on the inside of your thigh."
"That's not so bad," I said. "is it risky?"
"All surgeries have risks," he said. "But, I've done so many of these that I have a high success rate."
"So, we can go through with it?"
"Yes. I've actually had a date open up for surgery in two weeks from today," he said. "If you'll go through pre-surgery admittance, we can get this done quickly. It's a lot to think about if you're not ready."
"I'm ready!" I cried. "Now! I want to go back to my life and not have to worry about having another stroke!"
"You'll still have the seizures," he said. "You'll have to recover from those."
"I know," I said.
"So, you're ready?" he asked.
"Yes," I said. I wouldn't be back to normal, but what was normal? I didn't care any more.
