One of These Days
Chapter Four: Growing Up
A week later, Lizzie was sitting in her room, knitting a scarf and watching TV, when she heard a little knock and her mom come in, "Lizzie, honey?" Jo said softly.
Lizzie turned off the TV and looked at her mom, "Yes, mom?"
"Honey, I was thinking about this earlier," Jo said as she came into the room and allowed herself to sit on Lizzie's bed, "and you have grown up to be quite a lovely and responsible young woman."
Lizzie smiled, wondering where this conversation was going.
"You're eighteen and old enough to vote, and well, I also think it's time that you might want to see a gynocologist before you go to college."
Lizzie gulped at the thought. On top of everything else, her period was a day late, which already had her a little scared. Even though she had placed what happened with her and Gordo in the back of her mind, suddenly she thought of it again, "Oh?" Lizzie said, "What makes you think that?"
"Well," Jo said, shifting a little, "It's time for your yearly check up and I was talking to my OBGYN, and he was talking about this great doctor in his practice that specializes with younger women. Also, you'll be going to college soon, so you might want to go now and see how you like it."
"Okay," Lizzie said, not knowing what else to say. She knew enough about this to know that everything was between her and the doctor and besides, the gynocologist would allow her to calm down a little about her unlikely fear of being pregnant.
"Well, I made you an appointment for later today and If you want me to go with you, I'll go, but If you want, you can also go by yourself. The practice is in the hospital."
"I'll go by myself," Lizzie answered, knowing that she'd rather not have her mom be suspicious of anything and wanting to take advantage of the privacy.
Jo smiled, standing up and leaning over to give Lizzie a kiss on the forehead, "Okay, sweetie," she said, then she walked away, "You're appointment is at two."
Lizzie smiled back, "Thanks."
A few hours later, Lizzie was on her way to the hospital. She was sort of tempted to tell Gordo about it, but decided not to, thinking that it was better to not tell him because it was useless if they were both worried.
She arrived, signed in and filled out papers before waiting to be called. When she was finally called in, she was somewhat relieved to find out that this doctor was a woman. She wasn't sure she could handle telling the complete truth to a man.
The doctor lead her into a room where there was a desk and a chair for her and told her to sit down as she would ask her a few questions, "Now, Lizzie," she started, "What brings you in here today?"
Lizzie shrugged and smiled nervously, "I'm eighteen and I'm about to go to college."
The doctor smiled and looked at Lizzie, "Hon, there is no need to be worried. Just relax because the questions are about to get a little personal."
"Okay," Lizzie said, taking in a deep breath.
"So," the doctor, Dr. Jones, said, looking down at her paper, "Are you sexually active?"
Lizzie tensed up. They really did get right to the bottom of things, didn't they? She thought about how to answer the question, "Well," she said, trying to decide if having sex once counted, "What do you mean by that?"
"Have you engaged in any sexual activity in the past two years?" The doctor said without blinking.
"Well, once," Lizzie said, half tempted to defend her answer by telling the story.
"Was that your first time?"
"...Yes."
"Did it occur in the past two months?"
"Yes," Lizzie said, blushing.
"Did you use any sort of protection?"
"No," Lizzie said, really tempted to tell the story at this point.
"Are you interested in learning about the types of protection available to women in the future?"
"Um...sure," Lizzie said, figuring that going on the pill or something would probably help her control her fear.
"Okay," she said, looking up as she stopped writing, "Well, there are basically four options available. The most commonly known one is the pill, which you take everyday at the exact same time. Then, there are other options, like a patch, a ring, or a shot. Which one sounds the most appealing to you?"
"The pill I guess," Lizzie said.
"Okay, but when I give you the perscription, you need to realize that you should also have your partner use a condom, even though you are on the pill. Also, we need to figure out which pill would be best for you. Do you smoke?"
"No."
"Good. That means the pill will be more effective. Do you have asthma?"
"No."
"Heart problems?"
"No."
"Any major allergies?"
"No."
After a series of a few more questions, Dr. Jones stood up and asked Lizzie to follow her. Lizzie was weighed and measured and then led to the infamous room in gynocology. The one with the stirrups, "Okay, Lizzie, well, here's a gown that should open in the front, so if you could just take of your pants and underwear for an examination and then after that, go to the bathroom so we can collect a urine sample, you should be good to go."
"Okay," Lizzie said and the doctor left. Lizzie took off her pants and underwear and put on the gown as she sat awkwardly on the table. She had to admit that this was easier than she thought it would be, but it was still weird at the same time. A few minutes later, Dr. Jones returned for the examination.
To avoid any excruciating details, it was over a few minutes later and Lizzie got dressed and was lead to the bathroom. Lizie shut the door and looked at the cup. She wondered if it was too soon to tell anything. When she finished, she left the bathroom and went back to the doctor's office, where the doctor said she would call her if anything seemed to be wrong and after that and then she would talk to her more about birth control. Lizzie agreed, paid the front desk and left to go back home. She thought about stopping by Gordo's house or Miranda's house just for the heck of it and to get her mind off what just happened, but figured the doctor might call and she didn't want to deal with that in their house, so she went home. She figured if the doctor didn't call by five, she would do something else.
Lizzie came home, her mom asked her how it was, she told her that it was fine and then Jo left her alone. Lizzie went to her room and continued knitting and watching TV, but her mind wasn't really with what she was doing.
Her cell phone rang twice, both from Miranda, but Lizzie didn't answer, not wanting to get tied up on the phone. The clock ticked and Lizzie was about ready to give up and let herself calm down...until 4:49.
Her cell phone rang and Lizzie didn't recognize the number, so her heart jumped. This could be it, she thought. "Hello?" she answered, shaking.
"Miss McGuire. This is Dr. Jones. You seem to be a healthy young lady and the test results are showing that, however there is one thing that I'm a little concerned about and that I think we should address immediately."
Lizzie gulped. She knew what was coming up, "Yes?" she asked, waiting for her to say it.
"Well, the pregnancy test seemed to be positive. I wanted to know if you'd be willing to come down here again so we can discuss a few things and allow me to give another test because it is extremely rare, however possible for woman to be pregnant after only having had sex once. Also, if you are pregnant, you might want to discuss your options," she said.
"Oh," Lizzie said. She'd heard what she was trying to deny. It had been a little over ten days, but they were possibly the craziest and most life changing ten days of her life, "Okay. When should I come in?"
"Is nine too early for you?"
"No. That's fine. I'll see you then," Lizzie said, pressing the end button on her cell phone. What was she supposed to do now?
