It took Julie a couple days to get in to see the doctor, but here she was sitting alone in some cold examining room waiting on the doctor to come in. She didn't like being here alone, but she had no one to come with her. The few people she could have asked her all on the hockey team and they had practice and a team meeting. Even if it hadn't been for that she'd probably ended up coming alone anyway. There would have been no point in asking Portman, he hated doctors and avoided them at all cost.
It felt like she'd been there for an eternity. She looked down at her watch. She'd been waiting in that room for fifteen minutes. "Come on already." About that time he finally came in. He was kind looking man. Late forties to early fifties. His hair was dusted with a beautiful shade of white. He had a very warm comforting smile. He introduced himself to Julie and shook her hand.
He started out by checking her vitals. Blood pressure, heart rate, height and weight among other things. Then he took a seat in front of her. He asked her questions about her symptoms. Julie thought a moment and shrugged. "Well…I've been tired, and nauseated mostly." He wrote everything she said down on a clip board and nodded occasionally. "Ok…when was your last menstrual cycle?" Julie started to answer right away, but then she realized she didn't know. She couldn't remember the last time she had had her period. "I don't know." The doctor nodded and made a note. "Alright. I'm going to need to draw some blood."
Once the blood had been drawn Julie was once again left alone in the examining room. She looked around the room checking things out keeping her mind occupied. Her gaze however, kept returning to this chart of the development of the embryo and the fetus.
She was still staring at the chart when the doctor came back in. "I have the results of your blood work. You don't have the flu or a stomach virus. You're a very healthy young lady." Julie was relived to find out that she was healthy as far as that went, but she was still confused. If it wasn't the flu or a stomach virus than what could it be? "If that's not what's wrong then what is it?" The doctor sat back down and looked at his clip board and then up at Julie. "Ms. Gaffney. You're pregnant. About six to seven weeks as far as I tell."
Julie couldn't move. It was as if she had just suddenly become paralyzed. It was like being in dream you couldn't wake up from. It seemed so unreal. "I'm what? It can't be. It has to be a mistake." He shook his head and looked at Julie. "No, I'm afraid it's not a mistake."
He walked over to a table in the room and opened a draw and pulled out some papers. "Here take these with you. " He handed Julie pamphlet's on pregnancy and prenatal vitamins. "I want you to make another appointment with the receptionist when you leave, and I want you to look at those. I know you're going to have a lot to think about. Look over these pamphlets may be they can help you." There was also pamphlet's on the different options Julie had. She spent another fifteen to twenty minutes talking with the doctor before she left.
She was still in shock and disbelief when she left. She drove around for awhile then stopped at the park and just walked around. She needed to think before she went back to school. How was she going to tell people? How was she going to tell her parents? Worse yet, how was she going to tell Portman?
As she walked around the park she watched all the mothers there with their kids. She sat on a bench and just watched for the longest time. She tried to imagine herself doing that someday because that could be her in a few months. She couldn't really imagine herself as a mother. Not now anyway may be in a few years, but not now. "What am I going to do? I don't think I'm ready for this kind of responsibility."
When she couldn't take watching and observing the parents out with their kids for the day she stopped at the swings. Swinging was always a good way to take your mind off your problems or think about solutions to your problems. For awhile though she didn't think. She just focused on the rhythm of the swinging. Then she brought herself back to reality. She went over it in her head. The fact she was actually pregnant. The one thing she had tried so hard to convince herself that she wasn't. She also went over the different options that were available to her.
When Julie did leave the park to head back to Eden Hall, she'd only come up with two conclusions. One, she was NOT going to terminate the pregnancy, and two she was going to bite the bullet and tell Portman right away.
Portman was at a team meeting with the rest of the Ducks. Orion was discussing their performance in the last game. Along with the work they needed to do for Friday's game. This was a big game and it meant they were up for the state championship and may be even on to higher achievements. Julie was still dismissed from practice so she had permission to miss this meeting.
When she got to Orion's office he was still talking, but is sounded like he was finishing up. Julie stared at the door and started to knock then stopped herself. "Come on Julie. You'll have to do this sooner or later. Just not yet." She stepped back from the door and sighed. She wasn't even sure yet how she was even going to go about telling him. "Be blunt or sugar coat it?" she debated. She took a cleansing breath and walked back over to the door. Being blunt she decided was probably her best bet.
She knocked on the door and opened it slowly stepping inside. The room feel silent as she walked in. Every eye in the room turned to look at her. Julie felt her heart start to pound and it felt like there were millions of butterflies fluttering around inside her stomach. Orion looked up slightly annoyed at the interruption. "Julie, are you joining us, or do you need something?" She took a breath and let it out. "I need to talk to Portman." Portman stood up and looked from Orion to Julie. "Can't it wait Gaffney?" Julie shook her head. "No, I don't think it can." Orion motioned for Portman to go ahead and leave. "Go on, but I still expect you to be at practice Portman."
Portman and Julie stepped out of the office and into the hallway. She leaned against the wall and looked down at the ground. Trying to fight back the tears that were stinging the back of her eyes. "Okay, what's so important Jules?" Julie lifted her gaze and bit her lip. She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. "Jules? What's so important that you drug me out of an "important" meeting?" Julie closed her eyes squeezing them shut and trying to get her thoughts together. There was several minutes of silence and the air was starting to fill with tension.
Portman now growing very impatient walked over to Julie. He grabbed her shoulders and looked her in the eyes. "Tell me NOW, what is it?!" Julie swallowed a lump in her throat and blinked back the tears in her eyes. "I'm…I'm pregnant." she whispered and turned her head quickly as the tears came.
Portman shook his head. Thinking he had to have misheard what she had just said. "WHAT?" Julie looked back at him her cheeks glistening with tears. "You heard what I said. Portman I said I'm pregnant. Expecting, knocked up. However you want to put it." Portman shook his head again and his face started to turn red and he pushed her back against the wall. "How the hell did this happen?" He ran his hands through his hair. This couldn't be possible. "Damn it Julie!!" He turned away from her putting his hands on wall and leaning on it. "Damn it Julie! This not a good time. We're going all the way this year. I may even get a scholarship. I can't deal with some kid." Julie brushed the tears from her eyes. "Don't you think I realize this isn't a good time. I didn't plan on this happening." She wrapped her arms around herself and leaned against the wall. "How did this happen? How do you think it happened?" Portman glared at her and narrowed his eyes saying nothing to her last comment.
Portman pounded his fist into the wall. This was his worst nightmare coming true. It worse than a nightmare. He had never thought about being in this situation. He wasn't the type of the guy this kind of thing happened to. He was the father type, and certainly not the type to get a girl pregnant.
"Shit Jules! What are you going to do about it? You're not keeping it are you? I don't want to be tied down to some kid." Well so far this was pretty much the reaction she had expected. She now had to face his reaction when she said she wasn't going to terminate the pregnancy. "I'm not having an abortion if that's what you mean." She stood up a little taller. "I will carry this baby to term. I don't know yet if I'll keep it."
Portman's gaze narrowed. "You can't be serious? Whatever Julie…I got practice I can't deal with this now." Portman punched the wall again as he stormed off. He got to practice highly pissed. He didn't say anything to anybody about what Julie had said to him. They'd have to hear it from someone else. He wasn't having any part of it.
At practice anyone who wasn't on his scrimmage team became fair game. No one escaped getting checked by Portman at least once. "Dude, what's your problem?" Fulton asked after checked for the third time. "I don't want to talk about it!"
Julie watched Portman walk away. She knew what that meant. He wasn't just walking away for the time being. He was walking away completely. She was alone now. She tried to pull herself together. She still had to tell her parents. There wasn't any point in putting that off. So, she left to go back to her room to tell them.
Julie dialed the number with shaky hands and waited for someone to answer. "Hi, mom…" she said nervously. "Julie honey. What's wrong you sound upset." Julie sat on her bed with her knees drawn up to her chest and one arm wrapped around them. "Mom…I have something I have to tell you, and you're probably going to get upset so, I hope you're sitting down."
Mrs. Gaffney sat down on her couch. She was expecting some bad news, but she was prepared for the news she was going to get. "What's the matter Julie? What could be so bad?" There was silence then Julie started to talk. "Mom…I'm….I'm pregnant." Mrs. Gaffney almost dropped the phone. She was not ready for that news. She was prepared for Julie to say she was having trouble with school or something had happened on the hockey team, but pregnant. "Julie…how could you let that happen? What do you plan on doing?" Julie sighed. "I don't know yet…"