Chapter 1
“V ivian, so good to see you again,” Doctor Grace Holbort said, her slate gray eyes crinkling with her smile, and her bobbed, white hair swaying as she leaned forward to grasp Vivian’s hand.
Vivian shook Dr. Holbort’s hand, smiling. She liked Dr. Holbort, and was very glad to have been under her care for the last year. If things went well today though, she wouldn’t have to come back to this office for another year. And if things went really well she would have an amazing gift for Hawk on their wedding night.
“Your fiancé isn’t with you today?”
“No, I didn’t tell Hawk I was coming. I wanted it to be a surprise.”
Dr. Holbort raised an eyebrow. “Really, well let’s get you some good news then. Could you hop up here on the table please?”
Vivian climbed on the table and lay down, shivering in her skimpy hospital gown.
Dr. Holbort began her exam by feeling her abdomen. “Sorry you are cold. This will be quick.”
Vivian nodded as Dr. Holbort’s soft hands chilled her more.
“So when are you getting married?”
Her chill forgotten, Vivian’s face flooded with a smile. “Tomorrow. Tonight is our rehearsal dinner, and tomorrow at 4 p.m. is the ceremony.
“Wonderful! How exciting! Will it be a big ceremony?” Dr Holbort’s hands expertly traced the now familiar pattern of Vivian’s entire stomach, gently probing each organ.
“Yes, very big. My sister and I have 374 people on the guest list.”
“Oh my! That is a huge wedding, where will you put them all?”
“It’s been a challenge setting it all up, but we managed it. The ceremony is outside, we have 360 degree seating, and we will have big screen coverage so the people in the back can see and hear, and then the reception is at the Eller’s Mansion. They have a reception area big enough for all of us.
“Amazing. You can sit up now.”
Vivian sat up and pulled the gown around her.
“Why don’t I step out while you get dressed? Give me 10 minutes to go over the results of your other tests, and then I’ll be back to discuss them with you.”
“Thank you Doctor.”
Vivian waited for the door to snick shut, then put her blouse and jeans back on. A small niggle of fear chewed at the back of her mind. What if the tumor is back?
She shook her head. Don’t be silly, she chided herself. Of course it’s not back. She’d been tumor free for over 6 months now, eating zero sugar, doing her self-checks, and taking wonderful care of herself. Besides, the odds were on her side. The tiny, local chemotherapy implant she’d had implanted in the tumor and then removed after 2 months had caused hardly any side effects, nicely shrinking the tumor in record time. She was healthier than she’d been 5 years ago. This kind of tumor only recurred in some small percentage of people. And she was in love. Things were good.
She finished dressing and sat down to wait for the doctor, breathing deeply.
A knock at the door announced Dr. Holbort’s re-entrance.
“I have good news.”
Vivian smiled. Of course she did.
“Your abdomen is soft and supple and there is no occurrence of the tumor. I think you are done with it for good.”
Vivian strained forward, wanting to ask the most important question of all. “Am I cleared to have a baby?”
Dr Holbort smiled broadly. “Yes, absolutely. Your treatment was so specific that your eggs should not have been damaged by it, but if any were, they are all out of your body by now anyway. I see no reason for it not to be safe for you to get pregnant immediately.”
Vivian hugged herself. A baby. A little fat bundle of 10 teeny toes and ten nibbly fingers. She couldn’t wait to be a mother. She couldn’t wait for all of it. The pregnancy, the cravings, the impossibly big belly, the labor, the delivery, the nursing, the sleepless nights, the new depths of worry - all of it!
“Dr. Holbort, that’s the best news I’ve heard all day. Thank you so much for everything.”
“Of course my
“V ivian, so good to see you again,” Doctor Grace Holbort said, her slate gray eyes crinkling with her smile, and her bobbed, white hair swaying as she leaned forward to grasp Vivian’s hand.
Vivian shook Dr. Holbort’s hand, smiling. She liked Dr. Holbort, and was very glad to have been under her care for the last year. If things went well today though, she wouldn’t have to come back to this office for another year. And if things went really well she would have an amazing gift for Hawk on their wedding night.
“Your fiancé isn’t with you today?”
“No, I didn’t tell Hawk I was coming. I wanted it to be a surprise.”
Dr. Holbort raised an eyebrow. “Really, well let’s get you some good news then. Could you hop up here on the table please?”
Vivian climbed on the table and lay down, shivering in her skimpy hospital gown.
Dr. Holbort began her exam by feeling her abdomen. “Sorry you are cold. This will be quick.”
Vivian nodded as Dr. Holbort’s soft hands chilled her more.
“So when are you getting married?”
Her chill forgotten, Vivian’s face flooded with a smile. “Tomorrow. Tonight is our rehearsal dinner, and tomorrow at 4 p.m. is the ceremony.
“Wonderful! How exciting! Will it be a big ceremony?” Dr Holbort’s hands expertly traced the now familiar pattern of Vivian’s entire stomach, gently probing each organ.
“Yes, very big. My sister and I have 374 people on the guest list.”
“Oh my! That is a huge wedding, where will you put them all?”
“It’s been a challenge setting it all up, but we managed it. The ceremony is outside, we have 360 degree seating, and we will have big screen coverage so the people in the back can see and hear, and then the reception is at the Eller’s Mansion. They have a reception area big enough for all of us.
“Amazing. You can sit up now.”
Vivian sat up and pulled the gown around her.
“Why don’t I step out while you get dressed? Give me 10 minutes to go over the results of your other tests, and then I’ll be back to discuss them with you.”
“Thank you Doctor.”
Vivian waited for the door to snick shut, then put her blouse and jeans back on. A small niggle of fear chewed at the back of her mind. What if the tumor is back?
She shook her head. Don’t be silly, she chided herself. Of course it’s not back. She’d been tumor free for over 6 months now, eating zero sugar, doing her self-checks, and taking wonderful care of herself. Besides, the odds were on her side. The tiny, local chemotherapy implant she’d had implanted in the tumor and then removed after 2 months had caused hardly any side effects, nicely shrinking the tumor in record time. She was healthier than she’d been 5 years ago. This kind of tumor only recurred in some small percentage of people. And she was in love. Things were good.
She finished dressing and sat down to wait for the doctor, breathing deeply.
A knock at the door announced Dr. Holbort’s re-entrance.
“I have good news.”
Vivian smiled. Of course she did.
“Your abdomen is soft and supple and there is no occurrence of the tumor. I think you are done with it for good.”
Vivian strained forward, wanting to ask the most important question of all. “Am I cleared to have a baby?”
Dr Holbort smiled broadly. “Yes, absolutely. Your treatment was so specific that your eggs should not have been damaged by it, but if any were, they are all out of your body by now anyway. I see no reason for it not to be safe for you to get pregnant immediately.”
Vivian hugged herself. A baby. A little fat bundle of 10 teeny toes and ten nibbly fingers. She couldn’t wait to be a mother. She couldn’t wait for all of it. The pregnancy, the cravings, the impossibly big belly, the labor, the delivery, the nursing, the sleepless nights, the new depths of worry - all of it!
“Dr. Holbort, that’s the best news I’ve heard all day. Thank you so much for everything.”
“Of course my
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