(Insert really long apology here)... I hope you know that I love you all for sticking with this story. Here is Chapter 28.. It's a short one, but have no fear, more exciting things will come! So ENJOY!
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Pinky Promise
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Chapter 28: Mommy
Bianca was a mess. She never smiled. She hardly spoke. She could hardly eat. And she cried every night since she had arrived at her parents' house a week ago. The Evans weren't sure what to do or how to counsel her. Their main concern was Bianca's health and the health of their unborn grandchild.
Knock knock.
"Sweetie?" Vivian popped her head into Bianca's bedroom, where the latter sat somberly on her bed.
Bianca looked up just as her mother stepped into the room, and the corner of her mouth twitched. Even if she tried, she could no longer smile. "Mom?" Her voice croaked. All the crying left her throat dry.
Vivian moved slowly towards her daughter and sat at the edge of the bed next to her. She glanced down at the box in Bianca's lap and noticed the two pregnancy tests in it. Vivian reached for the box, picked up a stick, and smiled softly. "I hope you don't mind," she started, "but I already set up an appointment for you and the baby to see a doctor." Bianca tilted her head in question. "You know, for an ultrasound. We have to make sure you guys are healthy."
Bianca nodded and attempted again to smile. This time, the corner of her mouth lifted ever so lightly. "Thanks, mom."
Vivian only smiled sadly, reaching across to move a strand of hair from her daughter's face. "Bianca.. Does John know?"
"No," Bianca shook her head.
"Are you going to tell him?" Vivian pressed on lightly.
Bianca didn't really need to think about it. Mainly because she had been thinking about it all week. Should she tell John that she was pregnant?
I never want to see you again…
John's words resonated in her mind. Those were the only words that she could hear, over and over again. Bianca had made up her mind. She looked up at her mom and told her in a stern voice, "no."
"Why not?" Vivian questioned cautiously.
Bianca shrugged sadly. "He doesn't love me anymore. He doesn't want to see me. What makes you think he would want to see this baby?" Her hand automatically went to her tummy. Vivian opened her mouth to argue but stopped herself when Bianca continued. "Look mom," she tried to explain. "I can get over the fact that he hates me right now. But I don't want to give him a chance to reject this baby; I don't think I could get over that, and it wouldn't be fair to the baby."
Vivian could only nod. "Well, you still have some months until you give birth," she hinted slightly. She prayed to God that Bianca would change her mind and tell John. After all, he was the baby's father; he had a right to know.
…..
"This is kinda weird," Bianca said from her place on the patient's chair. She was naked from the bottom down and her feet were propped up on stirrups. The only thing covering her bottom half was an extra sheet that the nurse gave her.
"You'll be fine," Vivian reassured from where she sat. "They're just going to take pictures."
"Of what?" Bianca was almost too afraid to ask. It was bad enough she was half naked in front of her own mother.
"Of the baby, of course," Vivian answered in amusement.
"How?" Bianca asked again.
Vivian smiled at Bianca's childishness. "The doctor has a special camera that she sticks up your—"
"Good morning, ladies." Before Vivian could continue, the doctor walked in. "I'm Dr. Gene."
"Morning," Bianca greeted nervously, watching as the doctor rolled a large machine into the room.
"And how are you doing today?" Dr. Gene asked while she turned the machine on.
"Fine," Bianca answered shortly. She eyed the large machine suspiciously.
"Good," Dr. Gene finally turned to face Bianca and smiled. "Let me just explain to you what I'm going to do today. I'm going to use this machine to take pictures of your baby, and we'll get to determine how many weeks it is and all that fun stuff," the doctor giggled softly before pushing the machine closer to Bianca.
Vivian stood up. "I'll just wait outside," she smiled at Bianca encouragingly before heading towards the door.
"Wait," Bianca called out, and Vivian turned in her tracks, giving her daughter a questioning look. "Mommy, can you stay here?" Bianca wasn't about to go through this alone.
Vivian smiled at what Bianca just called her.. mommy.. She couldn't remember the last time Bianca called her that. "Only if you want me to."
"It's fine with me," Dr. Gene chimed in.
Bianca looked at her mom and smiled, nodding.
Once the machine was running, the doctor inserted the camera into Bianca and started looking for the baby. Bianca stared at the computer screen, but couldn't make anything out of all the fuzziness.
"Aha!" Dr. Gene suddenly cheered. "There it is!"
Bianca squinted at the screen. "Where?"
The doctor pointed. "That right there," she said, her finger tapping on a small blob on the screen. "That's your baby."
"Oh!" Bianca's eyes lit up once she saw it. She turned to Vivian and grinned widely.
"It looks like you're just a couple months in," Dr. Gene said as she printed out a couple of pictures. She handed them to Bianca.
Once the appointment was over and Bianca was fully dressed, Bianca scheduled another appointment for the following month before she and her mother left the doctor's office.
"See, that wasn't so bad, was it?" Vivian teased as she and Bianca climbed into her car.
Bianca shook her head and smiled. "Nope," she said, holding onto the brown envelope that contained her baby's first pictures. "I can't wait to show these to dad," she mentioned about the pictures.
"Oh, your father would love them," Vivian spoke. "Our first grandchild…" Vivian sighed dreamily.
"Are you excited?" Bianca shyly asked.
"Of course, honey!" Vivian assured. "Your father and I have been patiently waiting for this moment for a while now. We are very excited. Aren't you?"
Bianca thought about it. Even if her current situation wasn't so great, it didn't matter; she was having a baby, and her baby would be born surrounded by people who loved it. "Yeah, mom. I'm really excited too."
…..
The Evans were pleasantly surprised to see that Bianca's appetite had come back. It seemed that her first doctor's appointment really had an impact on her. Once dinner was over, Bianca made her way back up to her room. Not long after that, Vivian came knocking.
"Come in!" Bianca called out, and Vivian came in, holding two large books in her arms. Bianca looked at her quizzically, but said nothing. "I wanted to show you something," Vivian simply said, making her way to the bed and sitting down like she had done before.
Vivian set the books down on the bed in front of Bianca. Both books were bulky, 12 by 12 inch hardcover books. One was worn while the other was new.
Bianca reached for the worn book and flipped through the pages. She recognized the contents of the book. "It's a scrapbook…of me."
Vivian nodded. "Your baby years," she specified.
Bianca smiled, marveling at every picture, every ultrasound that her mother had saved of her. "This is great, mom." Bianca reached for the other book and flipped through it, only to find each page empty. "What's this one for?"
Vivian smiled. "It's for you," she explained. "From one mother to another. You're going to be a mommy now too, so I figured you'd want to get a head start on saving memories."
Bianca's eyes watered as she leaned forward to hug her mom. "Thank you, mom," she said with the utmost sincerity. "This is great," she said again. When Bianca pulled away, she could see happy tears also falling from her mother's eyes.
Vivian quickly wiped the tears away, laughing softly. She slid off the bed and looked at her daughter. "I'll let you get started," she said, nearing the door.
Bianca nodded her thanks. Once the door closed, she reached for the brown envelope and pulled out the ultrasound photo of her baby (the other photo was on the fridge, thanks to Larry). Sticking the photo onto the first page of the scrapbook, Bianca grabbed a bright colored pen and wrote beneath it Two Months.
At that point, Bianca couldn't wait for the rest of her pregnancy to play out. And she would be sure to document every step of the way.
…..
Oh the joys of mother/daughter bonding..
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