Sadie intently studied the solitaire game she had pulled up on her phone, refusing to look anywhere but the screen. She could already feel the questioning stares coming from all directions of the waiting room, she didn't need to see them. Her face burned as she thought about it, how everyone here knew she must be pregnant…and that she was young enough to have her mother accompany her to the obstetrician.
"Sadie Miller?" She was pulled out of her musings by a nurse, standing in the open doorway leading to the exam rooms. She stood on shaky legs, her mom behind her and made her way to the nurse.
"I'm Sadie." She said in a voice that came out much tenser than she'd intended.
"Hi sweetie, my name is Beth and I'll be your nurse today." She was a perky young girl and Sadie couldn't help but smile at her.
"Hi." Sadie replied shyly. She followed the nurse around the corner, looking to her mother for support. Barb smiled softly, wearily.
"Okay, just hop up on the scale for me." Beth instructed. Sadie complied, shewing her lip as her height and weight were taken. "Four feet and ten inches. You're such a little thing!" Beth commented, much to Sadie's chagrin.
"Should have seen her as a kid." Barb grinned. "She was always this tiny little thing, smallest kid on the playground."
"Perpetually." Sadie complained. Beth laughed, motioning towards one of the small exam rooms.
"Right in here. I'll just get your vitals and then the doctor will be in to see you." She said, busying herself with taking Sadie's pulse and blood pressure.
"How are you feeling?" Barb whispered, pushing Sadie's hair out of her face.
"Scared." Sadie whispered back.
"It's okay." Barb promised.
"Alright, your vitals are all looking good." Beth told her, holding a blue gown. "Just slip this on and the doctor will be in to see you in just a few minutes."
"Oh, okay." Sadie took the gown hesitantly. "Thanks."
Beth gave her a reassuring smile and a wink before leaving Sadie and Barb alone in the room.
"I really don't want to do this." Sadie admitted, stripping off her shirt.
"I know, but it has to be done." Barb shook her head. "It isn't any fun, but it's important."
"Thanks for the encouragement." Sadie said sarcastically.
"It's unfortunately true….internal exams suck." Barb shrugged. "I'll take you out for ice cream after, like we used to do if you were a brave girl during your shots." She laughed. Sadie retaliated by throwing her jeans at her mother's face. Barb caught them, still chuckling.
"Ugh, don't they have a smaller one?" Sadie questioned. She was drowning in the gown, clearly not intended for someone of her short stature. Her mother opened her mouth, no doubt to make a snide reply, but was interrupted by a quick knock on the door.
"Come in." Sadie said, voice wavering. A woman in a doctor's white coat peeked in, then opened the door to enter fully.
"Wanted to make sure you'd had time to change." The woman explained. "My name is Doctor Simon, and you must be Sadie?"
"Oh yeah." Sadie felt her face flush, knowing what was soon to come.
"And you are?" The doctor asked, turning to Barb.
"Barb, I'm Sadie's mother."
"Moral support, excellent." Doctor Simon commented. She sat on a stool by the sink and began clicking around on the room's computer. "Why don't you go ahead and jump up on the exam table for me Sadie?"
"Okay." Sadie wavered, but complied, suddenly feeling a little dizzy with nervousness. She felt like a child, drowning in this massive gown, legs hanging off the edge of the exam table.
"Alright, just a few questions before we get started." Doctor Simon told her. "Do you know how far along you are?"
"Uh, well.." Sadie blushed profusely, glancing toward her mother. "It's hard to say….but I've only missed one period."
"That's okay. Plenty of people come in not sure about that. How may sexual partners?" She asked, deepening Sadie's blush even further.
"Just one." She said.
"Good…" The doctor made a note on the computer. "And have you had any nausea, vomiting, lack of appetite?"
"All of the above." Sadie wrinkled her nose. "I've thrown up three times already."
"Three?" Barb raised an eyebrow curiously, she'd only known about one of these incidents.
"Umm, yeah." Sadie ran her fingers through her hair. "The first time was at work, and then there was a time after you'd already left for work."
"And how bad is the nausea?" The doctor asked.
"Pretty bad." Sadie admitted. "It comes and goes, but at least once a day I feel like I'm gonna puke."
"We'll keep an eye on that, but it's pretty normal." Dr. Simon assured her. "Alright, just let me scrub up and we'll see what's up."
"I'm really kind of…I've never been…" Sadie stuttered, her pulse quickening.
"Never had a pelvic?" Sadie shook her head.
"Is it going to hurt a lot?" She asked quietly.
"Well, I won't lie to you, it probably will. But I'm going to be as gentle as possible honey, and, once we're done, we can have a look at the baby." She smiled at the young girl. "Sound fair?" Sadie nodded eagerly.