Fall for Me (Danvers #3)(25)
Nick wrapped his hand around hers and brought it to his lips. “You know that everything will be okay, right? I know this is a lot to take in, but we can handle it. We need to look for a bigger place soon and we can hire some help if we need to. Claire and Jason will be happy to let us use Chrissy for more training. How about some of those baby classes, too?”
Beth finally put her hand over his mouth and said, “Please stop talking. I appreciate the reassurances, but I really want to make it home before I freak and if you keep talking that isn’t going to happen.”
“But—”
“No! Either you get me a bag to breathe in or we start talking about the weather. I cannot process things as fast as you can. Right now, all I can picture is my stomach dragging on the floor and my ass stuck in the door. You can solve all of our problems tomorrow; for right now just let me finish my panic attack.”
Nick chuckled. “Okay, princess. I’ll just read this breast-feeding magazine and keep my mouth shut.”
Beth thought he was kidding until she caught sight of some pictures. They could put National Geographic to shame. She jerked the magazine out of his hands and muttered, “Just stare at the walls, please.”
All too soon, the nurse was calling them back. Beth was mortified when the nurse stopped at a busy area and thrust a plastic cup in her hand. “Take this in the restroom there and give me a urine specimen. When you’re finished bring the cup out with you.” Then, handing her two packets, she continued, “Please wipe from front to back twice before gathering your specimen.”
Oh, dear Lord. Weren’t there supposed to be medical privacy regulations? Now at least five people standing near her knew that she was going to pee in a cup and how she would be wiping before she did it. Nick leaned against the wall looking at her with amusement. She quickly entered the bathroom and shut the door. How can I possibly pee knowing they are waiting for me? I’m a timid tinkler at the best of times. She finally turned on the water full blast, hoping it would inspire her to go, as well as block out the noise in the hallway. After what seemed like an hour, she managed to collect a small amount in the cup.
The nurse looked at the cup disapprovingly, saying, “I hope this is enough.”
Next, she was told to sit in a chair while the nurse drew three tubes of blood and stuck her finger. Finally, the nurse took a blood pressure cuff and wrapped it around her arm. Beth had so many bad memories about those things. When she was at her heaviest, the regular cuffs didn’t fit. The nurses either tried to hold them on her arm, which ended with them popping open, or made Beth wait while they searched for a large cuff. The indignity of having that happen never got any less humiliating. Beth often wondered why all doctors didn’t just use the larger cuff and save some of their patients from a lot of embarrassment.
Nick reached out to pat her shoulder, obviously picking up on her mood even if he didn’t know the cause. She breathed a sigh of relief as the nurse finally let her up from the chair only to lead her directly to her ultimate nightmare: the scales. Why had she not realized that this would happen? She would have made Nick wait in the other room had she thought about having to weigh in in front of him. She knew the number on the scales was acceptable and in normal range, but it didn’t lessen the nausea she felt every time she stepped on.
She looked wildly around the area, hoping there was a position that would give her some privacy. When she saw the large, digital display on the wall above the scales, she knew it was hopeless. I can’t get on the scales in front of him, I just can’t! The nurse was waving her forward impatiently as she looked at Nick. He raised an eyebrow as if to ask what was going on. She didn’t want to voice her insecurities in front of the nurse, but if she delayed any longer, the nurse was going to forcibly pull her on the scales.
She felt Nick’s hand at her back. “Honey, do you mind if I walk down the hall to the water fountain while you’re finishing up here?”
Beth sagged in relief. She turned a grateful look on him and said, “No, that would be great, thanks.” He gave her a smile of encouragement and walked quickly down the hall and out of sight. She jumped on the scale quickly and, as she always did in a doctor’s office, turned her head to keep from looking at the number.
* * *
Nick quickly walked away from Beth and didn’t stop until he rounded the corner, out of sight. His heart squeezed at the look of pure terror on her face as she tried to avoid getting on the scales in front of him. It had taken him a minute to figure out why she was hesitating, even though the nurse was trying to rush her to step on. When she finally looked at him, he could see the panic in her eyes and it finally hit him. She seemed so confident to him, especially sexually, that it was hard for him to imagine her suffering from confidence or body-image issues, but she clearly did.
Suzy had warned him when he first moved in with them at Gray’s that he’d better never say anything to Beth about her weight. Apparently, at one time, Beth had been overweight and Suzy was fiercely protective of her sister’s feelings. It was a threat that was unnecessary. He had never been one to make fun of other people, even when he was in school, and he certainly would never do anything to upset Beth. She was a beautiful person, both inside and out, and, regardless of her size, she would still be a beautiful person to him. He had dated a variety of women in his time and, contrary to popular belief, not all of them were stick-thin models. He loved women with curves. He hated to take a woman to a restaurant and have them order water and a salad. It made him too self-conscious to enjoy his own meal.