I was a bit nervous about going with Anya to her doctors appointment. This was my first time going to one of these appointments and I didn't really know what to expect. I was kind of hoping that it would be over soon so we could just get it done and out of the way but I knew that if Anya ever heard me say that, I would be sleeping on the couch that night. There is nothing worse then having to sleep on a couch that is as hard as a rock and in the coldest room.
"You ready?" asked Anya.
"Yeah. Let's go" I said, grabbing the keys off of the counter.
"You know, I'm really happy you're coming with me" said Anya as we got in the car.
"Why's that?"
"I dunno, I just am" she said.
I smiled and focused on driving. It took us a while to get to the doctors. We ran into a lot of traffic on the way. When we did get there, there was an enormous amount of kids in the waiting room (half of which were screaming). I filled out the paper work while Anya took a seat in the corner. There were a lot of sick kids around and she didn't to be sick. When I was done with the paper work, I took a seat next to Anya. As we were waiting for our name to be called, I noticed there was a boy sitting across the room with a baby girl in his hands. He looked to be about 14 or so with long dark, hair. He looked a little like me when I was that age. The kid had this scared look on his face, like he had just seen a ghost or something.
The poor kid was trying everything to get the baby to stop crying but nothing was working. I wanted to help him, so I got up and took a seat next to him. He gave me a weird look but went back to his kid. The room continued to thin out but the kid ended up staying a little while.
"She's been crying all morning" said the kid. I'm guessing he was talking to me because I was the only one within hearing range.
"I don't know what to do" he continued.
"Try rocking her" I suggested, "maybe she'll fall asleep."
"I've tried that. It didn't work" he said.
"Maybe you should sing to her. Babies like that" I said.
"You seem to know a lot about babies" said the kid.
"Well, when you have a baby you learn a thing or two" I said.
"I've seen you before" said the kid, "you work at the movie theatre."
"Yeah. What's your name?" I asked.
"Billy. What's yours?"
"Ponyboy" I said. I hated telling people my name for the first time. I would always get some remark like "what were your parents thinking when they named you?" or something along those lines. At first, it really annoyed me but it doesn't bother me so much now. I'm kind of used to it.
"Cool name" he said.
"Thanks" I said.
Before he could say anymore, he let out a big yawn.
"Tired?" I asked.
"I haven't slept in weeks" he said.
"I've just started sleeping again" I said.
"How old is your kid?"
"She's two" I said.
"What's her name?"
"Davanee" I said.
"That's a pretty name" said Billy.
"I didn't name her. Her mother named her" I said, "what about yours? What's her name?"
"This is Christine. She's two month" he said.
"Anya" called the nurse.
"Gotta go" I said, "nice talking to you."
"Bye" said Billy.
Anya and I followed the nurse down the narrow hallway. You could hear kids crying in just about every room. I never really liked going to the doctors. There was something about that place that sent chills up my spine. The room that the nurse put us in was very small, empty, and pink. The whole room looked like it had been sprayed with pink paint.
"The doctor will be with you in a minute" said the nurse. Anya climbed up on the exam table.
"You nervous?" I asked.
"A little bit" she said, "more excited than anything." 'Good' I thought, 'because I'm nervous enough for the two of us. I sat next to Anya on the exam table.
"Thanks for coming" said Anya.
"You're welcome."
"You know, at first I thought you weren't going to come" said Anya.
"Why wouldn't I come?"
"You hate the doctors office. You hate anything that has to do with the doctors office" said Anya.
"Well, yeah, but this is different. This isn't like some check up. For you it might be but for me it isn't" I said.
"Hello" said the doctor walking into the room. It was Dr. Irene. I think Anya was happy to have a girl doctor. I think having a guy doctor might have made her a little uncomfortable. Dr. Irene came in pushing a big machine.
"What's that?" I asked.
"This is an ultrasound. It lets us see the baby. It's a relatively new machine. Unfortunately it's not a very clear image" said Dr. Irene as she hooked up the ultrasound. She had Anya lay down on the table so I had to get off. Dr. Irene put this clear, cold gel all over Anya's stomach. An image popped up on the screen once everything was set up. Dr. Irene was right when she said the image was bad. It was so grainy it was hard to see anything.
"Can you tell what it is?" asked Anya.
"Not yet" said Dr. Irene, "the image is too fuzzy to tell." We spent a couple more minutes looking at the ultrasound. It was kind of cool to see the baby. Well, part of the baby that is.
"Everything looks good" said Dr. Irene, "both of the babies are doing fine."
"See, sweetie, both of the babies are doing fine" I said. But then I realized what I had just said.
"Wait a minute" I said, "did you just say both?"
"Yes. Your having twins."