Part 38
By Tekhne
Bella sat nervously on the vinyl chair in the waiting room of the student health center. She'd paled when the nurse drew her blood, and I thought for a minute that she might pass out, even though she was lying down. She still looked like a ghost, but she didn't seem in danger of fainting any time soon.
"You know," she said quietly, "You didn't flinch, Jake. A lot of guys would. You didn't even ask what happened with the birth control pills."
I shrugged. "Birth control doesn't always work. Pills have a smaller failure rate than other things, I know. But nothing's certain. It's not like you did something wrong." I lowered my face to her and kissed her.
"But I did."
"Well, I guess you could say we both did, if you want to look at it that way." After all, I'd been there, too.
She frowned. "That's not what I meant. I forgot about the antibiotics I took at the end of break. I should have remembered that they can lower the effectiveness. I just didn't think about it."
"Well I didn't think about it, either. And worrying about it won't change anything." Maybe appealing to her practical nature would calm her.
"But I've changed everything. You had it all planned out, Jake. It was perfect." She nudged against me, and I held her tighter.
"It hasn't changed that much. We planned to get married. It will just be sooner rather than later. We'll figure out how to make school work. We'll figure out everything." Part of me felt a little scared, too, but Bella didn't need to hear that. Not now. She needed reassurance.
She clung to me quietly, but she seemed calmer. I kissed her forehead and worked through my own feelings. I couldn't help being excited. After all, if Bella was pregnant, we'd be getting married sooner. There was nothing I wanted more than that. We wouldn't have to hide from Charlie and Billy anymore, although I was pretty sure that both of them already had a pretty good idea of the extent of my relationship with Bella.
What if we had twins? I read somewhere that Indians have a higher percentage of multiple births. What would Bella look like pregnant? I smiled at that thought.
The responsibility was a little intimidating. But I was making good money at the shop and paying the loans off early. We'd get by. More than get by. And we'd be a family. I'd be a father. A father.
"Miss Swan?" A woman's voice brought me out of my daydreams. "Dr. Wells is ready to discuss your test."
Bella squeezed my hand. Then she squeezed tighter, not letting go. I followed her into the tiny exam room. Bella stared at the white paper rolled across the table and sighed. She jumped when the doctor joined us.
"Miss Swan. Mr.—"
"Black."
He looked us over carefully and smiled. "I'm assuming, from your expressions, that I have good news. The test was negative." He handed Bella a sheet of paper.
She took it without even looking at it and exhaled slowly as a smile trembled across her relieved face. I was relieved, too. But a little sad as the images of my impending family fled from my mind. I ruffled Bella's hair. There would be time enough for family later. For now I had Bella all to myself.