Chapter 8
Rory had been to Dr. Norton's exactly eleven times when she'd been expecting Finny, now from what she'd read she had a feeling these visits were going to be even more frequent. They waited for Dr. Norton in his office until he finished talking to a colleague in the hallway, both settled into the white leather armchairs, the office having been recently redecorated. Rory always pondered in cases like these how much redecoration was really necessary and how much of it was splurging to show how well he earned from his clientes, themselves included.
But despite having done this before, they were still both a little anxious. To Logan the idea of childbirth was still terrifying but the grace of which Rory had done it last time, despite it having taken 30 hours, made him ever in awe of the woman next to him. He observed her carefully, still not quite grasping how she was dealing with it - she'd been not too keen to discuss these things, hardly ever bringin it up herself, and she seemed to be in a sort of early mourning process of her career which had only just begun to gather its bearings.
"Welcome Mrs. and Mrs. Hunztberger, I apologize for that," Dr. Norton added, gesturing towards the door that he closed after him.
"Good to be back," Logan commented, a proud look on his face, while Rory simply nodded.
"So, Rory, how are you feeling?" he asked, recalling Rory telling her once a lengthy story about why she didn't like being called Mrs. Huntzberger.
"Tired, a little nauseous, been sick a few times - usually brought on by certain smells or when the car takes a rapid turn. I'm showing a little already," Rory explained, placing her palm on her belly.
"Well all that sounds perfectly normal as you surely already know yourself. Your blood- and urine test labs came back good, blood pressure is fine, iron is on the lower side, but it's nothing some added supplements won't fix, I'm sure. I'll make notes for you so you know how much to increase your folic acid and iron intake," he explained.
After some more information concerning the tests he was planning to take, making her groan inside of the idea of becoming a pin-cushion, he led the two to the examination room for her ultrasound.
The moment leading up to the ultrasound lacked it's novelty, and it was more Logan who seemed anxious to see them. Rory wasn't really sure what she felt, but what was obvious was that her excitement didn't reach that of Logan's and in a way she felt bad for not keeping up to his level. Maybe she should just fake it until she felt it?
That changed thought once she saw them - each in their own amniotic sacs, their little heads, bodies and legs, their heartbeats audible. It was then her mouth curved upwards, the whole concept of not only being a mother, but becoming a mother of quite a large family hit her, feeling a sense of panic and joy at once. She had no idea how she was going to do this - even without considering her career. The idea of being responsible for so many little creatures, even now - by nurturing them right by her own food consumption, doing what was best for them, seemed daunting. In a way she felt envious of Lane even - because the way she'd had her twins had been in a bliss of ignorance. Rory knew too much already, and she knew how loss hurt, and there was nothing she wanted more at that moment to meet those two little button-nosed creatures. She stared at the screen for a while, speechless, Logan observing her reaction carefully, making him smile in return even more.
"So that's good right, the two sacs - or what does that mean exactly?" Logan inquired, while Dr. Norton continued to take measurements and explore every side of her belly.
"Yeah, and the fact that they have separate placentas is a good sign as well," Dr. Norton replied pointing at the placentas.
"Can you tell whether they are identical or fraternal?" Rory asked, jolting out the initial haze.
"Fraternal twins are more likely, but without a zygosity test that we can do once they're born I won't be able to tell for sure," he replied. "But do you want to know the sexes?" he asked.
"Yes," Logan replied for the two of them, getting no objection from Rory.
"Twin 1 is a girl, and twin 2 - also a girl," he replied, cheerily.
Rory squeezed Logan's hand, seeing his face light up like a Christmas tree. And for her, she couldn't really deny that it had that certain something to it - the chance to have a mother-daughter(s) relationship, to aim to achieve something comparable to what she'd had even if not quite as intense but with the good parts. Perhaps it was good that there were two, plus Finny - evening the attention out a little, giving the children also someone else to talk to other than just her, and that there certainly would be - both Logan, and each-other.
"So all is looking well, the babies are doing great, your own vitals look good as well and we'll just have to make sure that it stays that way," Dr. Norton concluded.
"What is it that we need to be looking out for, what are the main risks?" Logan asked, clearly feeling a little helpless. Rory was doing all the sensing, all he had were facts, figures and obvious symptoms.
"Twins require more nutrients as said but there is a higher chance of gestational diabetes, so you'll definitely need to keep an eye on what you eat. If you crave something - have it, but in moderate amounts. We'll do a glucose tolerance test around 24 weeks. We'll also have to keep a close eye on your blood pressure, preferably you should measure it a few times a week at home as well. And I know these are not nice things to hear but you should know that there is also a higher likelihood for birth defects - heart abnormalities for example, and miscarriage. If anything feels off, you bleed or experience severe pain, you should definitely contact us," Dr Norton explained.
"And the delivery? Is it true that it's like a 50% chance it'll be through a Cesarean?" Rory asked.
"It's about right. It all depends which way they are positioned, whether they are in distress and so on. Preterm labor is also a significant concern - about 50% are born before the 37th week," he added.
"So I'll basically be on a bedrest all summer," Rory sighed, recalling Lane's bedrest orders during her babyshower, years ago. She hadn't really been in that close contact with Paris at the time when she had her babies, and because Paris wasn't really the one to share unless specifically asked and then replying with the overabundance of details, she hadn't really asked either. Though the fact that she knew people who'd been through this, did make her breathe a little easier - she had people to share notes with at least.
"Well that might be the case, but I see no reason to worry about that now. Let's stay optimistic, okay?" the doctor assured.
"Are you lost, miss?" Jess inquired playfully as he half by chance noticed Rory stepping into Truncheon's office, carefully glancing around the foyer for guidance.
"No, but a little embarrassed for never actually having been here before," Rory replied with a sigh of relief after seeing the familiar face, hugging him in greeting. She wished she could've been able to honestly say that he looked good, but frankly he just looked beat - his beard scruffier than usual and dark circles around his eyes.
"Nah, don't worry about it. You've had enough on your plate," he assured. "Are you here for me?" he inquired, having not expected her.
"Right, yes, sorry I didn't call first. I was just seeing this retired professor for a consult by Fort Greene and thought maybe you hadn't had lunch yet," Rory suggested, having been caught up by her spontaneity.
"Are you in a hurry?" Jess asked, adding an explanation, "I need to finish up something real quick, I might be like 10 minutes."
"Actually no, for once. I'll just browse your collection here," Rory gestured towards the display book shelf that had already caught her attention. The meeting she had been to had gone faster than she'd expected, the 80-something professor having surprised her with his tech-savvyness and quickly ploughed through her existing data with remarkable speed, giving her plenty of tips for continuing her work.
"I'll be quick," Jess promised, heading quickly towards his glass cubicle, diving into the e-mail he'd begun writing before he'd noticed her from the distance.
Rory put her bag down on the armchair next to the bookshelf, along with her grey wool coat, aiming to take the browsing quite seriously. The shelf contained quite a few items she'd been meaning to read but hadn't had the time, and she almost forgot herself, until she noticed an unexpected addition in the shelf - a dark-toned comic book with somewhat violent content. She checked the back, the label noting the Iron Circle instead of Truncheon and because she wasn't familiar with the recent developments it made her wonder why it was there. Perhaps it was the way she studied it, looking at the credentials, the quality and flipping through to the culmination, much like an editor would, that had caught his attention.
"Hey! You're Logan's wife, right?" a sudden low voice asked, surprising Rory.
"Oh, hi, I am," she replied, recalling having seen the face before.
"Noah," he introduced himself. "I don't know if you remember me," he added.
"Oh, yeah," she reflected friendlily, reconnecting the name to the face.
"So what do you think of the graphic novel addition?" he inquired, having noticed her as the first person who'd actually shown interest.
"I'm definitely more of a traditional book kind of person, but I think there's definitely an audience for these," she replied politely. Having heard a thing or two about Noah from Logan and Celeste, she was a little cautious, but tried to stay objective. After all - she had no issues with him and it genuinely seemed like friendly small-talk.
"Well, we're going to get a lot more of these, we're merging with this small publishing house from Chicago," he added excitedly, clearly feeling a little proud of the achievement.
"Must be exciting," she committed neutrally, placing the book back on the shelf. She was just about to ask whether they took this type of submissions in this office as well, or did everything go through Chicago, thinking of Celeste's work, feeling a little guilty for still not having given her feedback on her recent works, but her thought was cut short.
"Ready to go?" Jess asked, as he returned, his jacket already on, his collar pulled up.
"Yeah, just a sec," Rory replied as she pulled on her own coat as well, saying to Noah, "it was nice seeing you again", politely.
"Likewise," Noah added, heading back to work with a friendly salute.
"So, Italian or Japanese?" Jess asked energetically as the two stepped outside, the day being unusually warm and sunny for February.
"I think Japanese has a bit too high likelihood of raw fish for me right now," Rory noted casually.
Jess raised his eyebrow at her, trying to understand if he really did make the right conclusion form that sentence.
"You didn't know?!" Rory asked, stopping at her path, registering his surprised face, and by that confirming his suspicion. "I figured Celeste told you," she added, having half expected her to.
He shook his head, feeling a little disappointed that his wife hadn't told him the news, but knowing that the logic behind not telling him could just be about the early timing and maybe Celeste just hadn't considered it her news to tell.
"Well, congrats," he replied, as they continued to walk, Jess tucking his hands into his pockets. While he had no intentions of having more kids, the idea that his friend was clearly happy in her relationship, procreating and everything, did make him momentarily envy her, making him wish things were as simple as that for him as well.
"Then you probably don't know that there's two of them," Rory added, with a smirk. Telling people this was kind of growing on her - it was like topping one piece of positive news off with another one. They were going to take the announcement photos the following day with Logan so they really hadn't made it their goal to tell everyone in person, because somehow the second time didn't seem as big of a surprise for anyone and there truly was a lot of people to tell and she didn't exactly have time to visit everybody they knew.
"Two babies?!" he exclaimed in disbelief. That seemed like a whole other level, he'd never even really registered as a possibility having himself been so focused on having and raising just the one.
"Yep, two girls. And the end of my career as we know it," Rory replied, sounding less enthusiastic.
"Ah… I'm sure you'll do fine," Jess assured.
They soon reached the restaurant that was just around the corner, and settled at one of the red-and-white checkered table-clothed tables that was available. The place was understandably busy this time of day but thankfully by sticking to the specials, as Jess advised, they got their orders in quite quickly.
"So I hear you're joining forces with some other publishing house?" Rory asked, having once worked for Truncheon after all.
"Yeah, it's called the Iron Circle and we're going to keep their trademark going as it already has a bit of a reputation amongst fans. But yeah, it's mostly young adult, some mature, graphic novels," Jess explained.
"Yeah, I saw one and Noah told me a bit about that," Rory reflected.
"Right," he sighed, adding, "I'm letting him handle it," still in disbelief how much trust he was putting into the guy. But he really saw no other way.
"Good, because honestly - you look like crap, you need to work less," Rory pointed out.
"Gee, thanks," he smirked back at her. "I am trying to delegate, I really am. I just didn't sleep too well last night and regretfully decided it was a smart idea to go write instead of staring at the ceiling," he added with a sigh. Ever since Celeste's issues were brought up, he'd made a strong effort to spend more time with both her and Evie, even it that simply meant reading a book in bed to Evie together or just cleaning up. He hadn't dared to go up to write when there was an option to be with her instead, as if afraid to allow her negative thoughts to form by sticking around and by not giving her reason to find flaws in him.
"You're writing again?" Rory asked curiously. Jess was for sure one of her favourite contemporary authors, and this was certainly positive news.
"I haven't gotten very far yet, but yeah," he replied, humbly.
"So what's the book about?" Rory inquired into his writing curiously.
They continued to discuss the book for a while, Jess staying fairly nondescript about the plot but describing the mood and general thematics. Rory still felt a little weird about having left her own books like she had, and surely now she had more to write than ever - having figuratively seen both worlds - but clearly there was no room on her plate.
"It must feel nice, to feel that flow," Rory recalled, for a moment actually missing that type of writing which she hadn't really done in a while. Academic writing came to her almost as easily but it was that creative aspect that she missed - the poeticness, the possibility to write through images and emotions without making every idea crystal clear. Maybe someday?
"Yeah, but it's a little challenging if my intentions are to not work as much," he explained somewhat unenthusiastically.
"Everything okay?" Rory inquired, feeling like there was something more to it. That added to the way Celeste had been at Logan's birthday sure had raised some questions.
"I'm just worried about Celeste," Jess sighed, feeling like there was no point in hiding it. Rort being very likely the only other person who might understand her.
"Oh? Me too actually," Rory replied. "She seemed a little off at Logan's party and I've been so busy myself I haven't really been able to spend much time with her. She hasn't called like she used to, and I'm not really sure what's the deal there," she added, hoping to get some clarity. She had figured she was to blame and while she'd apologized for this before and Celeste had assured she wasn't mad, she couldn't help but to feel a little responsible too - maybe she could've helped sooner?
"She's having some sort of a crisis, she's not happy… First she tells me she misses me, that I work too much, and now she just seems lost. She told me she feels like an 'anonymous empty spot' - her words," Jess explained, cringing at the thought.
"Yeah, that does not sound good," Rory reacted.
"Could you talk to her? Maybe refer her to your therapist or something? I am at a loss here really. I'm not sure what to do other than hear her out and try to be around her more," Jess replied, sounding desperate.
"I can try," Rory replied, knowing that her schedule was not exactly wide open but seeing her friends struggle, surely she needed to help in whichever way she could. This clearly couldn't wait.
The next moment their Florentine pasta arrived, scattering the grim mood for some time as they ate.
"You know, Celeste has been working on her drawings for quite a while. Maybe she should try to get a book together based on those. She's been waiting for my feedback on a few, but … yeah, I haven't exactly been an exemplary friend right now," Rory added regretfully, placing her utensils down on the side of the plate for a moment.
Jess felt guilty for not really having paid much attention to her aspirations when it came to her drawings lately. Sure, he'd liked what he'd seen - some were innocent, some certainly not, almost feeling private for the two of them, but it always seemed more like a hobby than anything. And he really hadn't been under the impression she'd really seriously considered publishing those. But if she did, and it had just been him missing her ques - it was his fault more than anything for not supporting her more.
"Maybe she could even speak to Noah about it? He seems to know the genre a little better," Rory added innocently. She knew of Noah's background and form what Celeste had shared at Logan's birthday party, so as far as she knew it was all pretty innocent.
"Maybe," he replied. It would make the most sense wouldn't it? - he pondered.
"But I think that should come from you," Rory suggested.
"I'll think about it, okay?" Jess said, taking another bite of her pasta.
"I'll go see her tomorrow," she offered.
"Thanks," Jess replied. "I really appreciate it," he added. It was his whole life that was at stake - the work was just work, and while he loved it, it was the idea of going home to her (them), to provide for her (them), not that he really needed to, that gave the work an end goal - so she'd feel proud for him, that was what mattered to him.
