Chapter Seven

By the time Friday rolled around, I was a bundle of nerves in anticipation of what the doctor would tell us. As Martin kept reassuring me, there was more than likely nothing to be worried about, but I was anxious anyway. Part of it, admittedly, was excitement; at this appointment, in the ultrasound, we would get to see our baby for the first time.

We had cheated a little bit when it came to hearing the heartbeat. I didn't think I could wait nearly a week, and I didn't have to try hard to convince Martin to use the surgery's fetal heartbeat monitor. We waited until surgery hours were very much over and the door was firmly locked before I hopped up onto the consulting room table.

"Lie down and undo the top button of your jeans," Martin instructed, using his doctor voice. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes and did as I was told. He gently pulled the waistband down a bit and placed the wand low on my belly, moving it around slowly. Suddenly, the quick, whooshing sound of the heartbeat filled the room. He and I locked eyes, and I could see there were tears glistening in his. I could feel my eyes fill as well as we remained in silence, just listening.

"It sounds good," I said softly, finally breaking the silence.

"Yes," Martin agreed gruffly. "One hundred fifty beats per minute, and strong. Perfect."

"Perfect." I beamed at him, tears streaming down my cheeks; he leaned down and gave me a long, sweet kiss, his hand tenderly resting on my belly.

Dr. Hall was pleasant and no-nonsense, only about five feet tall with short auburn hair and bright blue eyes. After doing a thorough examination and ultrasound, she was able to put our minds at ease.

"Everything looks just as it should, Anna," she said. "You are in perfect health; the baby's heart rate is excellent, and the ultrasound shows nothing out of the ordinary. As far as I can see at this stage, there is no indication that you can't carry this baby to full term. From my calculation, your due date will be around September 15th."

"Do you think progesterone treatment is warranted in this situation?" Martin asked. Always the doctor, I thought, smiling to myself.

"I don't think it's necessary, no. Her cervix is normal. If she had had several premature deliveries, then I would definitely explore that as an option, but since there was only one, I think we can proceed without it."

"If you are sure, then I trust your judgement." High praise, coming from my husband.

Joan called my cell as we were driving home. "All right, I have everything sorted for dress shopping tomorrow afternoon," she told me brusquely.

"Oh, great! Surgery hours end at noon, so I will be ready to go soon after that. Now, am I allowed to know what you have planned, or are you going to make me wait?" I answered.

"You'll have to wait a little while longer; I want it to be a total surprise!" When I whined in protest, she added, "Now, none of that…it will be worth the wait, I promise!"

I hung up with Joan and looked over at Martin. "Are you in on this?" I asked him.

His face colored. "I have no idea what you're talking about," he replied.

I laughed. "Right…very convincing. Can you just give me a little tiny hint?"

He shook his head vehemently. "Absolutely not. Joan will murder me."

Early the next morning, Al Large came into the surgery for a routine blood pressure check. When I asked how he was doing, he gave me a look that told me maybe I shouldn't have asked.

"In about an hour, I will be going into the woods with Mark Mylow for a lad's camping weekend," he answered darkly. "So, about as well as could be expected, you could say."

I winced. "Oh dear. Well, look on the bright side; you may end up having a lovely time. The weather is supposed to be good, at least."

"Did I mention the new PC might be coming along as well?"

"Is that…a bad thing?" I asked. He hadn't seemed like such a bad guy when I met him.

"Well, he managed to crash the police jeep into the side of Jake Abbott's chicken coop yesterday, so I don't know…you tell me."

"You're kidding!"

"I plan to have the Doc on speed dial, just in case."

"Hmm. Might not be a bad idea," I laughed.

After all the patients had been seen and the surgery was locked up for the day, I ate a quick bite of lunch with Martin in the kitchen, and then gave him a hug and kiss before heading over to the farm to pick up Joan.

"We shouldn't be too late. What are your plans for the day?" I asked him.

"None to speak of; I have some reading to catch up on, so maybe I'll do that," Martin answered with his arms around me. I laid my head against his chest and held him tightly.

"Well, I hope you have a good afternoon. I'll miss you, but I know you don't want to spend the day watching me try on dresses."

"Mmm. Just promise me you'll take it easy; if you get fatigued or nauseous, cut the shopping short and go again another day," he instructed.

"Yes, doctor." He gave me a withering look as I stood on tiptoe to kiss his lips.

It was a rainy, chilly afternoon, but I was excited to finally be getting something done in regards to the wedding. Joan had loved the idea of having it in her gazebo (had nearly cried when I suggested it), and was already planning a menu for the dinner she offered to prepare for all of us. I knew there were plenty of beautiful flowers that would be blooming in her garden when the time came, and since we were keeping it virtually a secret, there was no reason to order formal invitations. This may just be the least stressful wedding in the history of weddings, I thought.

The only regret I had was how far away Mom and Granny were, and how much I would have liked for them to see me try on dresses. I loved living in Cornwall, but there were days when I just ached to see my family. We had been waiting until after the doctor's appointment to let them know about the baby, and now I just wished I was able to tell them in person. I would have to settle for a Skype call…which was better than just a regular phone call, but still wasn't quite the same.

I pulled up to the farm and grabbed my umbrella before getting out of the car in a sudden deluge of pouring rain. As I was walking up to the door, there was a flurry of activity inside the kitchen, the curtain fluttering closed quickly. It looked like Joan wasn't alone…who could she have in there with her? I opened the door and suddenly stood face to face with my own mother. I could hardly believe it, and almost tripped on the doorframe in my haste to get to her.

"Mom!" I exclaimed, throwing my arms around her and bursting into tears. How had Joan managed to get her here without me knowing?

"Surprise!" she exclaimed, hugging me ferociously. "Oh, it's so good to see you, honey!"

Joan stood against the kitchen counter, smiling from ear to ear. "I was afraid Martin was going to let the cat out of the bag before we could get her here, but I can see he was able to keep the secret."

"I had absolutely no idea!" I said incredulously.

"It was a spur of the moment thought, and when I told Marty about it, he worked out all of the details for me," she explained.

"I pulled into Bodmin station yesterday afternoon and Joan picked me up. Granny really would have loved to come too, but she said she didn't think her old bones would let her come now and still be able to be here in July for the wedding." Mom finished.

"Aww, I'll miss her. But I understand…that's a long trip for anyone, let alone someone in their 80s," I said. "So you've been here in Portwenn all night, you sneak!"

"Yes, and it's been quite an adventure so far; I got to help pull a lamb out of a sheep's ladybits last night."

I laughed. "That's one of the first things I did when I met Joan as well!" I told her.

"Never a dull moment here on the farm," Joan said. "But tell me…how did everything go yesterday?"

She was talking about the doctor's visit, of course. But before I could tell her about it, I would have to tell Mom about my bit of news.

"It went very well," I began. "Mom, there is something I have to tell you…"

She looked me in the eyes and I could see realization dawn before I had said a word. "You're having a baby, aren't you?!" she exclaimed, pulling me into her arms again. "Oh my goodness, this day just couldn't get any better!"

"How the heck could you tell just by looking at me for five seconds?" I demanded, laughing.

She cocked her head at me. "I can't explain it, you just have that look. I can just tell," she answered.

Joan made us some tea and I spent the next few minutes telling them about what Dr. Hall had said. They were both overjoyed to hear that everything looked perfect and that both the baby and I were healthy. We made plans for later that evening to call Daddy and Granny and tell them the news.

"Martin will be coming over for dinner after we get back," Joan informed me. "But right now, we need to get a move on if we want to make the appointment at the dress shop."