It had now been two weeks since Helen told Bitsy that she was pregnant with her child. It didn't seem like nearly enough time to fully process everything, especially since it now left their futures uncertain. Moreover, Helen was starting to show now, something that was making her rather anxious. Would people on the street immediately be able to pick up that she was pregnant? She shook her head away at that thought. Of course not. For now, her baby bump was just small enough that someone could just assume it was a pouch of fat, so she could easily pass it off as a little bit of weight gain if she wanted to. Besides, she was in her late forties, and she wasn't exactly in the best shape to begin with. Anyone who didn't already know she was pregnant would be none the wiser.
Then again, that was the least of her worries. Given her age, she had to worry about what sort of complications could arise during her high-risk pregnancy. What really concerned her, though, was how people would react if they found out how the pregnancy came to be in the first place. For one, a scandal would surely break out. After all, what they had done together that day was a huge no-no, not the least because Bitsy could and would easily lord her power over her if she wanted to. Secondly, there was always the risk that the Brandenham Hotel's reputation could be affected as well. Would this pregnancy even be worth it in the end if it meant that the hotel, the very thing Bitsy had dedicated her life to, would be a casualty?
It ultimately didn't matter, Helen decided. She'd made the decision to keep the baby, and she was going to stick with it. After all, it was God's will that she bring this child into the world. Perhaps this child would be just the thing she needed to fully ensure she got Bitsy's money.
Today was Saturday, June 18th, the day of her first ultrasound appointment. Helen had decided that Bitsy would come with her to Mount Sinai for this appointment, whether she wanted to or not. After all, it was her child, too. The least she could do was be there for her, even if half-heartedly so. It'd be better than nothing.
Helen sighed and leaned back in her seat, wondering to herself how long she would be here before her name was called. As she sat there in the waiting room amongst other expecting parents, she thought about how surreal this all felt. Part of her wanted to believe that this wasn't actually happening, that this was all some sort of weird dream she was having right now. She knew better, though. This was real. She even pinched herself on the wrist just to be extra certain.
Bitsy sat beside her, a scowl embedded into her face and her arms crossed like a petulant child. "I'm so glad you dragged me down here. It's not like I had more important things to do, you know."
"Well, this is more important," Helen replied. "I'll have to go in for another appointment in two weeks. In fact, I have to go in for an ultrasound every two weeks to make sure nothing's wrong with the baby."
"Every two weeks? Christ, Helen, I don't know how you're supposed to keep track of that."
"I know it sounds like a lot, but I really want to make sure everything's okay. Besides, I can manage doing it every two weeks, trust me."
Bitsy was tempted to roll her eyes at this, but refrained from doing so at the last second. This would all be over soon enough.
The two women proceeded to watch several of the expecting parents in situations just like theirs come and go, come and go, come and go in order to confidently prepare for their own bundles of joy. Eventually, after what felt like nothing short of forever waiting, Helen heard the nurse call out her name, and she quickly rose from her seat.
"Alright, here we go," Helen said. "C'mon, Bitsy, follow me."
"Finally," Bitsy muttered. "About damn time."
Bitsy and Helen proceeded to follow the nurse into the doctor's office. Once inside, they took a look around and noted how small the room felt, particularly with its only conspicuous furniture being an examination table and a sonogram machine.
"The doctor will be in shortly," the nurse said before leaving.
"Alright, thank you," Helen just said.
As soon as the nurse left, Helen proceeded to sit on the examination table and wait for the doctor to arrive. In the meantime, she and Bitsy proceeded to start talking amongst themselves.
"I can't believe you'd let this happen, Helen," Bitsy growled.
Helen was taken aback. "Excuse me? You're the one who got me pregnant."
"Yeah, but it's not like I wanted this to happen! And I'm pretty sure you didn't, either!"
"Even if I didn't, so what? I'm not getting rid of our child, not when God Himself willed it into me."
"Don't you dare bring God into this! No God would ever, ever-"
Just as Bitsy was about to escalate things further, the doctor walked in, putting an end to the argument.
"Good afternoon, Miss Squillace," the doctor began. "I'm Dr. Meggyesfalvi, and I'm here to perform the ultrasound."
"Hey, doc," Helen replied. "Boy, am I glad to see you."
Dr. Meggyesfalvi smiled. "Thank you. Are you ready to see your baby?"
"Yeah." Helen squeezed Bitsy's hand a bit tightly. "Might as well, right?"
"Good." Dr. Meggyesfalvi proceeded to squeeze some gel onto Helen's belly. "Now let's get started."
Soon, the doctor began to glide the transducer over Helen's skin. As she did so, the screen flickered to life and revealed the fuzzy, dark world that had formed inside her patient's womb. While maneuvering the probe, Dr. Meggyesfalvi kept her focus on the tiny developing humanoid figure moving as if without gravity through a small ocean of amniotic fluid.
"Is that...?" Helen began to trail off.
Dr. Meggyesfalvi nodded and turned the screen slightly so the expecting parents could get a better look. "Yes, that's your baby."
While this was happening, the room was filled with the sound of a heartbeat, strong and rhythmic like a tiny drum.
"Our baby..." Helen practically whispered to herself.
"God, is that a baby or an alien creature?" Bitsy chimed in, seemingly in disgust.
Helen's mood soured a little upon hearing that. While Bitsy wasn't technically wrong to compare their unborn child to an alien, it still seemed uncalled for during an intimate moment like this.
Dr. Meggyesfalvi chuckled. "That's perfectly normal at this point. They'll start looking more human as they develop." Her face lit up. "Oh, as long as you're still here, would you like to know the sex of the baby?"
"Yes, please," Helen quickly piped up, her voice tinged with excitement and anticipation.
"Well, okay, then." Dr. Meggyesfalvi proceeded to focus the ultrasound on a specific area. "Congratulations, you're having a girl."
Helen proceeded to lay there in stunned but joyful silence, letting the reality of it all sink in with every heartbeat they heard.
"A girl," Helen could only echo.
Within a few minutes, the ultrasound was over.
"Alright, well, everything looks healthy so far. However, you will have to come back in two weeks."
Helen started to get up. "Okay, thank you."
"No problem. Alright, have a nice day now."
"You too, Dr. Meggyesfalvi."
"Thank you. Oh, before you go, I'm sure you'll want pictures. Do you want me to give you some copies?"
"Yeah, that would be great."
"Okay." Dr. Meggyesfalvi handed Helen a printout of the ultrasound, an image of the baby forever captured in that moment. "Here's your little princess."
On the ride home from the hospital, Helen studied the ultrasound printout in her possession, making sure to trace and memorize the outline of her daughter's face and tiny hands. It still didn't seem real, but it was. It still didn't seem possible, but it had been. This was a human being developing right inside of her, a human being who could possess the best and worst traits her mothers could offer.
"She's going to be incredible," Helen murmured to herself.
Bitsy didn't say anything. How was she supposed to accept this? How was she supposed to accept any of this? This certainly wasn't what she'd wanted to do in her twilight years, and yet... it seemed fate had other plans. She had no idea if she was capable of raising a child or if she even had the patience for it. After all, the scars her parents left behind were not the kind to fade away. They were permanent. For all she knew, she could be just as bad of a parent as they were, if not worse.
"Well, if she's anything like me, she'll be a handful," Bitsy said.
Helen couldn't help but chuckle a little. "Yeah, I bet she will be."
Afterwards, Helen clammed up and resumed studying the ultrasound printout she was holding in her hands. She had no idea what the future would bring, but she knew that no matter what happened, the baby would be a part of it.