Chapter 13 - A Gift

It was a mild January morning when Kimberlee found herself sitting in the doctor's office. She had continued to get sick even after she arrived and it was then that she started to worry and wonder if something could be wrong with her, nothing could have prepared her for the news she was about to receive.

"Well Ms. Shaw, I believe we've found the culprit."

"What is it, can it be treated?"

"It's not serious, but if you want to treat it we shouldn't wait much longer or it will be illegal to do so?"

"What in the world are you talking about?" she asked wide eyed

"Ms. Shaw, you are pregnant."

She stared at him blankly with her jaw resting on the floor.

"You really had no idea that you might be pregnant?"

"I thought it was just stress, what with moving here from Paris and everything else that happened."

"Is the father still around?"

"No, we broke up just before I left. I suppose I should let him know" she said quietly.

"That choice is yours, tell me though. Will you want to keep the baby or should we discuss other options such as adoption?"

"I suppose realistically I should look into that, what with school starting next month, but I want to keep my baby. This child is all I have left of him."

"Then I will recommend you to an obstetrician and you can get started on your prenatal care. Now if you will lie back we'll do an ultrasound and see just how far along you are."

Kimberlee lay back on the table and the doctor applied the cool gel to her abdomen. He then pressed the wand of the machine into her, on the screen she could see a picture beginning to form. She looked in amazement at her baby.

"Well, judging by the size of the fetus I'd say that you are approximately twelve weeks along, a full trimester. Would you like me to print a picture for you?"

"Please" was all she said.

The doctor handed her the picture and then left so she could change back into her clothes. When he returned a few minutes later he had with him a referral form for an obstetrician and sent her on her way. She stepped out of the doctor's office still in shock, she was carrying Erik's baby, and she didn't know whether to cry tears of joy or sadness that he wouldn't be here to experience this with her. She crossed the street and went into a coffee shop, ordered a Vanilla Latte and sat down at a table. Over the speakers she heard this song, a song that made perfect sense and seemed like it had been written just for her.

'In a moment,
Everything can change,
Feel the wind on your shoulder.
For a minute,
All the world can wait.
Let go of your yesterday.

Can ya hear it calling?
Can ya feel it in your soul?
Can ya trust this longing?
And take control

Fly
Open up the part of you that wants to hide away.
You can shine,
Forget about the reasons why you can't in life,
And start to try cause its your time.
Time to fly"

She put the picture down and put her head into her hands and started to cry. A young man who worked at the coffee shop came over to her table to see if she was alright.

"Are you alright Miss?"

"What! I'm sorry, yes I'm fine."

"Well if it's all the same to you, you don't seem fine. May I join you?"

"Sure."

"Does it have anything to do with this?" he asked noting the ultrasound photo on the tabletop.

"It has everything to do with that, but I'm actually very happy and excited about being a mother. I'm only sad because his or her father won't get to experience all this."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Well, I'm sure you will be a fine mother."

"Yeah, now I'll just have to figure out what to do about school, I'm supposed to start at UCLA in two weeks and now this."

"When is your due date?" he asked

"Why are you so interested?"

"I'm pre-med at UCLA, so call it student curiosity."

"Late June according to the doctor."

"Okay, so you can finish the first semester, take a couple of semesters off and then go back. UCLA has a good daycare facility and the school will do all they can to help young mothers out."

"How do you know all this, and don't tell me it's because you are pre-med."

"No, I'm a single father, my girlfriend died during childbirth. But don't worry, that doesn't mean that you will" he said seeing the scared look on her face.

"She had a very complicated pregnancy, but neither of us believed in abortion, so that wasn't even an option."

"How old is your child?"

"She's two now and she's a handful" he laughed.

"Your boss is looking this way; I had better let you get back to work before you get into trouble."

"Won't happen, the boss is my father, but I am going to be late for class if I don't hurry. So…"

"My name is Kimberlee Shaw; it was nice meeting you…"

"Jason Lee, it was good meeting you too Kimberlee. Maybe I'll see you here again sometime."

"Maybe, or maybe even on campus" she said with a smile.

Jason got up, shook her hand goodbye and went into the back. Kimberlee finished her latte and then got up to leave herself. She stepped out into the sunshine, grateful that she had already met someone who was in the same boat she was, single parenthood. The next step would be breaking the news to her father and uncle…and to Erik.