Damian sat in a waiting room chair holding a brochure as Genny got checked in. He hadn't even looked at it, he just needed something to do with his hands. The night before he'd gone on an anxiety-filled Google hunt. He'd started with what happens at a first pregnancy appointment, which led to him looking into some of the things they would be testing for. If Genny was Rh negative and he was Rh positive that could lead to problems especially since this was her second pregnancy. If Genny contracted rubella or chickenpox during pregnancy that could cause birth defects, miscarriage, or stillbirth. Some of the disorders they tested for meant the baby would die before birth or shortly after. He had to stop when he saw the statistic that 1 in 4 pregnancies end in miscarriage, He prayed the Rosary and then prayed to the patron saints of pregnancy and childbirth. He felt better but was still anxious.
"Sorry, that took so long." Genny sat down in a chair next to him. "Why are reading about early menopause?"
"Oh." He glanced down at the brochure he was holding and then set it down. "I didn't even realize that was about that."
"Are you okay?"
"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" He looked over at her. She still looked just as beautiful as she had that night. She didn't look noticeably pregnant yet. Her breasts might've been a little bigger.
"I'm fine. Just tired and constantly nauseous. I thought second pregnancies were supposed to be easier, but this one is worse. What is The Second Chance Center? Is that where you work now?"
He glanced down at the blue polo shirt he was currently wearing. "Yes. It's kind of a rehab center for former gang members to help integrate into a more normal life. Most of them have very few job skills. Many are ex-cons. All of them have repressed trauma. I work there as a counselor to help them work through trauma and develop better coping skills."
A nurse entered the waiting room. "Gennifer Bradford."
"That's me." Genny gets up and Damian follows her. Damian observed silently as the nurse got Genny's weight and took her vitals once they entered the exam room. Before she left the nurse instructed Genny to take off her clothes from the waist down. Damian knew what this was about. In his research, he'd learned that early in pregnancy they did a transvaginal ultrasound. It sounded uncomfortable.
"Do you want me to leave?" Damian asked as Genny started to take off her pants.
"You've seen me naked before." She smirked at him and fully removed her pants.
"True." His eyes lingered on her underwear and he remembered how good she felt. Maybe now they'd be able to do that again sometime. When she started to pull off her underwear he averted his gaze.
A few minutes later the doctor, a middle-aged black woman. "It's nice to see you again, Genny," She told Genny and then extended a hand toward Damian. "I'm Dr. Dorothy McGee you must be Genny's husband."
"No, I'm not. I'm-" Damian started.
"We're not even-"
Dr. McGee smiled. "It's okay. I don't need the details. I shouldn't have assumed." She moved the portable ultrasound machine over to the exam table where Genny was sitting with a sheet over her lap. "Everything going okay so far? Any cramps or bleeding?"
Much to Damian's relief, Genny shook her head. "The symptoms are more than when I had my son eight years ago. I can only eat 3 things and even water makes me nauseous. And I'm tired all the time."
"You are older this time so that could account for the difference in symptoms. There are a number of things that could cause hormone levels to fluctuate." Dr. McGee turned on the machine and inserted the probe. Damian got and walked over to stand next to Genny so he could have a better view. Some small white blobs that were moving appeared on the screen, but he wasn't sure which was the baby. "Have you been undergoing any fertility treatments?" Dr. McGee asked.
"Not for years. I had some trouble conceiving a second child with my ex-husband, but I want off of those almost 3 years ago," Genny replied her eyes focused on the screen. "Why?"
"It's just that spontaneous triplets are rare. Only about 1 in every 7,000 pregnancies," The doctor explained as she focused on the screen.
"Triplets?!" Genny voiced Damian's question.
"Yes. Here we have Baby A, Baby B is over there, and Baby C is all way at the bottom of the screen," Dr. McGee narrated as she talked about different parts of the ultrasound. "All three look good and their heart rates are right where they should be." Damian looked at the screen in awe. Three babies. He was going to have 3 children. Up until recently, children were an impossibility and now he was going to have 3. It was a miracle.
The doctor printed out some pictures and handed them to Damian and Genny. She turned off the machine and moved it out of the way. Genny sat up. "I feel that there are a few things you should know about a triplet pregnancy. It automatically makes you high risk which means you'll have to see a different doctor and be monitored more closely4. There's an increased risk of miscarriage, preterm birth, and stillbirth. Also in general it puts more stress on your body. There is a procedure that can be done that would reduce the pregnancy from a triplet one to a twin one."
"Is that something I can think about?"
Damian stared at Genny and tuned out the doctor's response. How could she even think about something like that? He walked back over to the chair he'd been sitting in and stared at the black-and-white printout. Genny and Dr. McGee moved on to discussing the bloodwork she would need to get done, but Damian wasn't listening. He'd had several parishioners come to him in the confessional or at other times after they'd had abortions. He never shamed them for the difficult decision they'd made.
"Are you okay?" Genny asked as she put her clothes back on. Damian realized that the doctor had left. "You've been awfully quiet."
"Are you going to kill one of our children?" He looked up at her with the printout still in his hands.
She froze for a second. "I'm weighing all of my options. I have a child who doesn't deserve to have his life upended because of a choice I made. I just landed a full-time teaching job. I don't know if I can juggle that and be a single mom to four kids, three of whom that will be premature infants."
"I'm going to be involved. I want to help!" He implored. "My mom was a single mom to me and my four younger siblings. Even working two jobs she was able to handle things just fine."
"How much of a childhood did you have? Were you expected to act like a parent to your younger siblings? I don't want that for Tyler."
"God never gives you more than you can handle."
"That's bullshit! God gave me an abusive narcissist of a father because he thought I could handle it. I'm sorry, but that's pure and utter bullshit." She picked up her bag and headed for the door. "If you want to see your children you can file for custody in court. I'm done." With that she left Damian alone in the room.
