Chapter 15- Appointments and Aversions

"Are you guys about ready?" Katy appeared in the doorway of Maya's room. "We have to be at the doctor's office in like 45 minutes." Maya rolled her eyes at her mother.

"Relax, Mom. That is plenty of time." Maya rolled over to face her mom. "The doctor's office is like 10 minutes away, what is the rush?" Katy gave her a stern look that convinced her to jump out of bed.

"The doctor might be 10 minutes away, but the way you move, we'll be lucky to get there a halfhour late." Maya could not argue with that. Lately, she had been extremely tired this past week. She could not get herself to do anything. Her mother said it was pregnancy hormones and creating another human life. Between the fatigue and throwing up every 2 hours, Maya didn't know how she was going to make it through the next 8 months.

"Ugh. All right." Maya yawned and stretched. "I'm up." Katy nodded and gestured toward the kitchen.

"When you're finished in here, Josh made you lunch." Katy turned away to grab her purse, but noticed that Maya was in tears. "What's wrong?"

"He's so incredibly sweet. He didn't have to do that." She continued sobbing as she was getting dressed. Josh heard her crying and ran into the room.

"What happened, Maya? What's the matter?" He looked around for some cause of the crying, but there was nothing. He looked back at Katy for a clue. She looked at him, knowingly.

"Hormones." She replied. Josh wrapped her in a tight hug and rubbed her back soothingly. Suddenly, she pulled away and covered her nose in disgust.

"What is that ungodly smell?" she exclaimed. Offended, Josh smelled his tshirt.

"Um, deodorant?" He replied, confused.

"Did you bathe in it?" Maya pushed past him and headed for the bathroom. Josh could hear her retching from the bedroom. Katy came running in the bedroom to investigate.

"What happened, Josh? Why did Maya run into the bathroom like that?" she asked, concerned. He shrugged his shoulders.

"Apparently, I made her sick with my scent." He replied. Katy leaned in close to sniff him.

"You smell fine to me. Maya's body is going through a lot of changes right now, and her sense of smell is in overdrive." Katy looked toward the bathroom and then at the clock on her phone. "Maya is not going to want to eat right now. Just pack it up and we will take it with us." Josh nodded and obliged. He hoped this smell thing would not last too long with Maya. He might start taking it personally if it did.

"Maya Hart? Is there a Maya Hart?" the nurse at the front desk called out. Maya stood up and walked toward the desk.

"That's me. I'm Maya." She replied. She handed the nurse her paperwork and the nurse looked at Maya and smiled warmly.

"Come with me, we are going to get your vitals first." As she followed the nurse, she gestured for her mother and Josh to come along. They followed Maya and the nurse into the tiny, nook-like area where her vitals would be taken. When they discovered how small the room was, they opted to wait in the waiting area.

"She will be right back out. I am only doing vitals right now." The nurse observed. "Don't worry. When she gets into the actual room, it's a lot bigger." Katy and Josh laughed and walked back out into the waiting room. Maya came back a couple of minutes later in tears. Worried, Josh looked at Katy, who nodded calmly and mouthed the word 'hormones'. Maya plopped down in the waiting room chair and sobbed.

"I gained like 5 pounds already. I'm gonna be a whale by the end of this." She sobbed. Josh pulled her close to comfort her, but she pulled away again and shook her head. "I don't know what it is you are wearing, but please stop. It is making me sick. Seriously." Josh was taken aback by this comment and switched chairs.

"Maya", Katy admonished, "I get that you are frustrated and not feeling well, believe me. I have been there. But that is no excuse to be rude." She gestured to Josh. "What did he do to you? Try to be more tactful." Maya looked at her mother and then to Josh, in shock.

"I didn't, I mean, but", she stammered. "I'm sorry, Josh. I didn't realize I was being mean. Would you please try wearing a different scent?" Josh nodded and agreed.

"I understand that your nose is very sensitive right now, and I will wear a different deodorant." He got up to approach Maya. "Can I hug you now? You may want to hold your breath?" Maya laughed and hugged Josh.

"I love you, Josh. I am sorry again."

"I love you, too. Maya." He kissed the tip of her nose. No sooner did they sit back down, the nurse called Maya back to the room. All three of them filed in behind the nurse.

"Ok, Maya, are you ready?" The doctor asked when Maya was laying on the bed. Maya nodded, though she did not know what to expect.

"This isn't going to hurt her or anything, right?" Josh asked, worried. Katy patted his knee reassuringly, and the doctor smiled and shook her head.

"Of course not." she explained, turning toward Maya. "Basically, what is going to happen is we are going to put this gel on your belly. Then I will take this device here, called a transducer", she held up a small wand connected to a cord, "and rub this through the gel. From that we will be able to see a picture of your baby." The doctor stood next to Maya and squirted a glob of the cold gel on her belly. Maya's heart felt like it was beating a million miles a minute. She held her hand out and Josh rushed over to hold it in his own. Maya took a deep breath.

"I'm so nervous, Josh." Smoothing her hair, Josh kissed her forehead.

"It's okay. I'm here." he replied. She squeezed his hand and turned toward the doctor.

"All right. I'm ready." she said. The doctor put the transducer on Maya's belly and moved it around, settling on a specific area of her belly.

"You guys see this little flutter, right here?" The doctor pointed to a moving little flicker on the screen. "This is your baby's heartbeat." Katy stood up to stand at Maya's side. Maya looked from Josh to Katy and back again.

"There's a baby in there." Maya said, with tears in her eyes. Katy wiped away her own tears.

"Yes, sweetheart. There is." She grabbed Josh's other hand and squeezed it. She looked at Josh, who was smiling with tears in his eyes.

"Can we get a picture?" Maya asked the doctor. The doctor smiled and nodded.

"Of course you can, honey." she replied. "Right after we finish with this."