2.8 No Room to Dance in There

"All right, keep it up," Michelle instructs through mouthfuls of ice cream. "No, no, no. Remember it's one, two, three and four. Don't forget we added that extra step. Try it again. Oh my god, this is so good," she says as she looks at her ice cream spoon.

"No, that wasn't it. Here, let me show you," she says as she struggles to get out of the chair.
"Michelle, don't get up, we'll get it," Sam says confidently.
"No you won't, I have to show you." She finally gets out of the chair and waddles to the dance floor. She doesn't want to admit how tired she is lately. She still has two months left, and she can't be stationary for that long. She decides to show them at half speed- it'll be easier for her.
"See? One, two, three and four. You can do it. Okay, now by yourselves. Good, kind of. Now up to tempo? Not so great. That's all right; let's call it a night. Thank you everyone, clap for yourselves. Good work guys." She sits back down and finishes her ice cream carton.
Sasha sneaks into the dance studio and walks up behind Michelle quietly.
"Boo!" She screams. Michelle almost has a heart attack and falls onto the floor. Sasha immediately feels bad and starts apologizing profusely.

"Michelle, I'm so sorry, I just thought it would be funny…"

"It was," Michelle sighs, "but you made this mess, so help me up kid." Sasha barely tries to lift her and falls over when Michelle tries to pull hard. She topples over her and they both giggle. "Alright, are you going to really help me?" Michelle asks jokingly. "I wasn't kidding, pull- hard."

"Right." They finally get her up and she wobbles for a second before gaining her balance.

"Michelle?" Sasha asks cautiously, "Can I ask you something, personal?"
Michelle's tone grows somber. She isn't sure what could be on Sasha's mind. "Yeah, what is it?"
"Well, you moved out when you were young, right?" Sasha looks up with those sad eyes that reflect Michelle's miserable childhood every time she looks in them.

"I did, but it was different circumstances than yours. Plus, I didn't get to live in an apartment like you. I was training at ABT. It was more like going away to college. I had a dorm to live in. Why? What's on your mind?"

"Well, I really like Roman, and I don't want to lose him."

"That was a big jump."

"He's graduating in a couple months and I am thinking about… asking him to move in with me."

"Sasha…"

"Before you say anything, I came to you as a friend, not as a mother. I don't need a mom. I need a voice of reason. Am I being stupid?"

"Has he said anything about where he's going after high school? Is he going to college?"
"He only applied to his dream school and didn't get in. His parents are kicking him out a week after graduation. They said he really disappointed them."

Michelle thinks for a while, then answers, "I don't think you're being stupid if you really like him, but be careful. Don't just ask him to move in. Try to get the idea in his head first."
"Thanks…"
Michelle interrupts, "but if you end up pregnant because you're living with a boy I will come over to your cute little place and kill you myself. I know you don't want a mom, but I will do that. Understood?"

Sasha is a little shocked by the outburst, but she nods and Michelle gives her a little smile.
"Want to get something to eat? I have some leftover nachos at my place."
"Didn't you just eat a whole thing of ice cream?"
"So?"

…

They finish off the nachos and Sasha looks at Michelle, impressed by how much she could eat.
"What? Do I have salsa on my face?"
"No, I just can't believe how much pregnant women can eat. Aren't you ever full?"
"I think that's the point. I have completely lost that sensation. The other day I ate two breakfasts, then got nauseous and threw up, then ate brunch and lunch an hour later."

"Wow. Is he moving at all?" Sasha asks.

"Actually, not much lately," Michelle realizes. "I'm not sure the last time… He kidney-punched me on Monday. I remember because it was during the preschool ballet class… That was three days ago."
"Is that bad?"
"I'm not sure. I have to talk to Fanny. Are you staying here tonight?"
"No, Roman is coming over to my place. We're not doing anything!" she insists.

"I didn't say anything… I'll see you tomorrow. Okay kid?"

"Yeah, sure." Sasha leaves and Michelle heads up to Fanny's room.

She shakes Fanny awake.
"Ahhh! What is it?"

"Fanny, he's not moving."
"You woke me up because the baby is actually letting you sleep? Last week you were in here because he wouldn't stop."

"That's what I mean. I haven't felt him move in three days." Fanny sits up, suddenly concerned.

"That's bad, right?" Michelle asks, panicked.

"It's not good. He was moving a lot and now he's not. We'll have to go to the doctor tomorrow. I'll cancel my classes in the morning."
"No, Fanny. Don't cancel; I can go by myself."
"I mean it, Michelle. I'm going with you. The only time I've heard of this happening, it didn't end well." Michelle sits on the edge of the bed and places one hand gently above her abdomen and one below, as if trying to hug the baby inside of her.
"Get some sleep, if you can, okay?" Fanny tries to reassure her.

…

Michelle is still awake when the sun comes up. Fanny calls the doctor and he says to come right in. They get to the waiting room early and sit listening to elevator music for a long time.
"Michelle, calm down."
"I'm calm…" she lies.

"You're gripping the arms of that chair so tightly your knuckles are white. You're not calm."

"Dr. Evans will see you now," a nurse says. The petite nurse leads them to an exam room. She tells Michelle that she'll have to do a urine test and that Dr. Evans will do an ultrasound and a few other tests.

Christian comes into the room. Michelle didn't realize how tall he was last time she saw him. He sits on a stool and reads off the chart, "Mrs… Flowers, how are you?"

He looks up and sees Michelle. He smiles and chuckles, "Michelle, you didn't pass out again, did you?"

"You remember my name?" she asks, surprised.

"I'd never forget that smile." He pauses for a second. "I'm so sorry," he apologizes, "that was inappropriate. You're married. Sorry."

"I'm not married," she laughs.

"Oh, it's just your chart says you are, and you have a wedding ring."
"Right, that must be confusing," she adds. "I was married, to a wonderful man- and this is my mother-in-law…" she points at Fanny, who shakes the doctor's hand, "but um, he died in a car wreck."
"I'm so sorry, that's terrible. And now you're pregnant and he's not here. That's such a sad story."
"Well, the pregnancy was self-induced… I mean, I did it without him… I mean, it's his..." Fanny gives Michelle a strange look as she flounders in conversation. "Can I start over?"

"Um, sure."

"We were married for 24 hours, he died, I missed him, he had donated to a sperm bank, now I'm pregnant." She smiles and waits for his brain to put all the pieces together.
"Oh, okay then," he says, still unsure of all the plot points. "All right, well what brings you in today?" He asks to change the subject.

"Oh, right, I'm not feeling any movement. The last time I remember anything was a kidney-punch four days ago. Could this have something to do with me drinking when I didn't know I was pregnant yet?"

"Probably not. Was it just a little alcohol?"

"About six drinks…" she says carefully.

"No, that wouldn't have any effect. If it were a week of drinking, maybe, but one night won't hurt anything. That's not good, though, so I'll have to do a few tests."

He raises Michelle's shirt and measures her stomach.
"How far along are you?"
"29 weeks."

"You're smaller than you should be at 29 weeks, so let's do an ultrasound and check the baby's weight."

…

"There's good news and bad news," he says. "The baby is normal weight and looks healthy, but you have low amniotic fluid."
"What does that mean?"

"The baby sits in a sac, sort of like a water balloon, and it's filled with this amniotic fluid. There are a few reasons why it could be low, but we can't pinpoint it for sure. The baby isn't moving because there isn't much room to dance around in there."

Michelle laughs really hard at his little joke.
"What's so funny?"

"You said 'dance in there,' and Fanny and I are both dance teachers. Now when he does move I'm going to think of him doing jetés across my uterus."

"Well, if we don't monitor your fluid, he might not be jeté-ing anywhere in there."
"How serious is this?"

"It's not the worst prognosis, but you still have pretty far to go before you're full-term. As your uterus expands, it may just produce more and not be a problem. You are tall, and that usually means more room for the baby."

"So we don't need to do anything?"
"Well, I want you to start drinking fluids, I mean a lot of fluids. That might be hard because you'll have to urinate even more often than you do now."
"Oh god. I'm not sure that's possible."

"And I'll want to see you every week to make sure the little guy is still okay in there."

"If you wanted to see me so much, you could just ask me out…" she says playfully. "I'm sorry, that was inappropriate. I'll blame that one on pregnant brain. Sorry."

"Don't be sorry. I would love to take you out, but I still need to see you every week," Christian smiles as he writes his phone number on a prescription pad and hands it to her. Fanny gives Michelle an eyebrow, and Michelle rolls her eyes at her.

…

"Here," Fanny asserts as she hands Michelle another glass of water.
"Fanny, I can't drink anymore! I am going to explode, or at least pee my pants."

"Drink it." Michelle tries to chug it, and halfway through the glass she has to stop to rush to the bathroom.
"I have never peed so much in my life!" She yells through the door.
"It'll all be worth it soon," Fanny says to herself happily. Michelle comes out of the bathroom to see Fanny smiling at her.
"What?"

"Nothing, I'm just happy."

"Fanny! He moved!" Michelle says grabbing her stomach. "He just did a summersault!"
They both go to bed happy and hopeful for the coming days.