California Girls(49)

Dr. McQueen smiled at her. “Sounds like you’ve made up your mind. All right. I’ve given you my best ‘are you sure?’ lecture, so let’s move on. I’ll meet you in the examination room. After double-checking you’re physically good to go, we’ll figure out when we next expect you to ovulate. There are a couple of options and we’ll go over them. How does that sound?”

“Perfect.”

Twenty minutes later, when Dr. McQueen finished the exam, she didn’t look happy.

“What’s wrong?” Zennie asked. She’d just had her annual four months earlier. Her Pap had come back completely normal. What could have changed in that short a time?

“Nothing’s wrong,” her doctor assured her. “It’s just...” She smiled. “Zennie, my best guess is you’re ovulating right now. Not to rush you, but the lab is here. We could confirm you’re ready with a quick ultrasound, have your friend’s husband come in and make a deposit, so to speak. After the lab does their thing, we could make an attempt right now.” Her voice softened. “Or we could wait a month if you need time to process all this. I know it’s very quick.”

The news was a little disconcerting, but if she was going to do this, why wait another month?

“Let’s find out if I’m ovulating,” she told the doctor. “After that, I’ll decide.”

A little warm gel and time with a wand later, she had her answer. Zennie’s heart thundered in her chest. She was both scared and excited.

“I want to do this,” she told Dr. McQueen. “I’m going to call Hayes right now and have him get over here.”

Dr. McQueen grinned. “I’m going to leave you alone for that conversation,” she said with a chuckle.

Zennie got her phone and dialed. Hayes’s assistant put her through right away.

“Hey, Zennie, what’s up?”

Zennie drew in a breath. “Hayes, I know this is really fast, but I’m at the doctor’s office. She gave me a clean bill of health, and it turns out I’m ovulating right now. So if you want to get started today, you have to get here right away.”

There was a moment of silence. Hayes cleared his throat. “So you’re saying I would be, ah, providing the sample.”

Zennie sighed. Men were so delicate. “I’m sure they have a room here where you’ll be able to make that happen. No pressure.”

“Oh, there’s pressure. Right now? Okay. I’ll clear my calendar and be on my way.”

She gave him the address and hung up, then went to tell Dr. McQueen’s nurse Hayes was on his way.

Zennie looked at the clock on the wall and knew Bernie would still be at school. Zennie texted her the information, along with the address for the doctor’s office, then prepared to wait.

Less than three hours later, Zennie lay flat, with her feet slightly elevated, Bernie holding her hand.

“I can’t believe this is happening,” her friend told her. “Zennie, thank you so much.”

“You know it could take a couple of tries, right? I’m unlikely to get pregnant the first time.”

“I know, but still. You just did it, you didn’t even think about it.”

“I’ve already said I want to do this. Why would I wait?” She looked at the door. “Hayes isn’t joining us?”

Bernie grinned. “He went home. I’m not sure he wants to face you right now.”

“It was kind of weird. I did my best not to think about it while it was happening.”

They both giggled.

“How do you feel?” Bernie asked. “I heard there could be cramping after artificial insemination.”

“There’s barely anything. A slight achiness, but it’s already fading.” She looked into Bernie’s eyes. “We’re doing this. We’re making you a family.”

“I know. I can’t believe it.”

Dr. McQueen knocked once, then entered the room. “All right, Zennie, you’re ready to go live your life. I’ve sent your local pharmacy a prescription for prenatal vitamins. Start taking those right away.” She put several papers on the counter. “These talk about what to eat and what not to eat. Also, there’s a basic list of restrictions. No alcohol or caffeine. Avoid hot tubs. You can do a home pregnancy test in two to three weeks. Come back and see me, regardless of the results. If you’re pregnant, we should talk and if you’re not, let’s get you going on monitoring your cycle. Fair enough?”

“We have a plan,” Zennie told her.

Dr. McQueen smiled at Bernie. “Good luck. I hope I get to see a lot of you at the visits.”

“Me, too.”

The doctor left. Bernie stepped back. “I’ll leave you to get dressed. And once we walk out of here, we’re not going to talk about it at all. Not until you take the pregnancy tests. I don’t want you worrying that I’m going to overmonitor you. I’m not even going to think about it.”

“Me, either.” Zennie sat up. “Although we’re both lying when we say that.”

Bernie laughed. “We both so are. But we’ll pretend to be normal. How’s that?”

“It’s a great plan.”

*

Saturday morning Ali wanted nothing other than to sleep in and be lazy, but that wasn’t an option. She’d promised her mother to help finish going through the bonus room. Mary Jo would be working, so it would just be the sisters. If the three of them hustled, they should be able to finish in a few hours, or so Ali hoped.