Part 471
As they waited for the doctor, Howie stood between her legs with his hands under her shirt caressing her stomach. He felt for movement and was amazed each time he felt it. It was like both of them were trying to get closer to the warmth of his hands.
Sarah smiled as she enjoyed the sensation of Howie’s touch. It was so relaxing to have him doing this and she started to get sleepy. With her eyes closed, she said, "They know their daddy is here."
Laughing softly, Howie said, "Mama’s enjoying it too, isn’t she?"
"Um hmm."
"Are they more active today than normal?"
"Not really."
Dr. Grizzard knocked on the door and came in. "Good morning, Mr. And Mrs. Dorough. How are you doing today?"
Howie shook the doctor’s hand and said, "Please…Howie and Sarah. We’re doing pretty good today."
"Seems my office has become the place for Backstreet babies. When is your due date?"
"February 28th," answered Sarah.
Looking over Sarah’s chart, she asked, "Your blood pressure today was right on track. I see where your regular doctor has asked you to keep an eye on it. How has it been running?"
Howie answered, "About the same as what’s in her chart. Depends on what we’re doing, how tired she is, and what kind of stress she’s under that’s not normal for our way of life."
"What would be NOT normal for your way of life?"
Sarah laughed, "Not much, but I think Howie’s talking about the arguments which are part of our life because of the stress."
"Arguments? If they raise your blood pressure, you really need to avoid them. Everything else looks perfect. Not too much weight gain, which is amazing given that you’re pregnant with twins. How do you do that?"
Howie laughed, "Hard to gain weight when she’s constantly throwing up."
"Morning sickness?"
"Around the clock is more like it," snarked Sarah. "I also perform every night, had a five year old to keep up with for a while, and a husband who keeps me focused."
Dr. Grizzard smiled as she watched the couple staring at each other. "I see you haven’t had a glucose tolerance test yet. How long are you going to be in Denver?"
"A couple more days. The show is on the tenth and we’ll leave that night afterwards," said Howie. "Why?"
"I’d like for Sarah to come in tomorrow and do the glucose test."
Sarah looked at Howie knowing he had plans. "Howie?"
"What’s involved?"
"I can’t eat for eight hours prior."
"If the numbers aren’t good on the first round, I can do the other test right afterwards so she won’t have to wait for the next one. It’ll take a few hours if I have to do the three hour test."
"Is it important?"
"It’s standard, Howie. I had one with Jesse too."
"It’s a screen for gestational diabetes. I don’t think I need to remind you that this pregnancy IS a high-risk pregnancy."
"No, you don’t," agreed Howie. "Especially to the father."
Sarah didn’t miss the playful gleam and wink with Howie’s comment. She rolled her eyes and playfully pushed him away. "What time, Dr. Grizzard?"
"Let’s go ahead and get it over with. How about 8 AM? That means nothing after midnight to eat."
Howie frowned and Sarah remembered he’d wanted to go clubbing that night. She knew that whenever they did that, he always took her to breakfast afterwards and then they’d go home, make love until dawn, and fall asleep in each other’s arms.
Thinking fast, she said, "We can do the clubs tomorrow night, ‘D’. Maybe AJ and Kevin will be here in time to go with us then."
"She’ll be here, Doc," answered Howie. "And we’ll talk about clubbing later. You’re more important."
"Good. Now, time for the tummy check and to listen to these two little ones. Then we can go take a look at them."
Howie helped Sarah to lay back on the table as Dr. Grizzard prepared to finish the exam. Standing at her head, Howie played with her hair as the doctor first measured Sarah’s belly and then put the ‘goop’ on Sarah’s stomach. He laughed as she shivered when it hit her.
"Sorry about that. I normally warm it up but the little ‘oven’ is off today."
"That’s okay. None of the other doctors have ever warmed it up."
As the distinct sound of first one heartbeat and then the other could be heard, Sarah giggled. This pregnancy was definitely far more fun because of Howie. He got the goofiest look on his face listening to the ‘noise’ the babies made.
"Everything is perfect," announced the doctor as she wiped the gel off Sarah’s stomach. "You’re right on target. So how long have you known Rebecca?" she asked as Howie helped Sarah to sit up.
"We were roommates at Florida State."
"I feel like I already know you. Tell me, have you got your eating disorder under control?"
Sarah was shocked that the doctor knew about that as she said, "Yeah…since last February. I checked into a clinic."
"Rebecca felt so guilty about leaving you knowing what you were going through. She spent many an hour talking to me about you."
"I’m glad she had someone to talk to," said Sarah. "I wanted to find her but, well, I had to think about myself at the time and then when I got out of the clinic, I didn’t have a clue where to look. To be perfectly honest, Denver was the LAST place on earth I would have thought to look."
"I think she figured that. She was a mess….right up until about April I guess."
Sarah remembered the date distinctly. "April 24th. It was when I FINALLY caught her online and could ‘talk’ to her. She wouldn’t open up but at least it was contact. She had emailed me back in March but wouldn’t answer mine."
"I’m glad you could get through to her. She wouldn’t ever tell me everything but I knew she was miserable."
"I didn’t tell her anything she didn’t already know."
"Sometimes we can’t see the forest for the trees. Let’s get you down to the ultra sound and see how these guys are doing. You and Howie can go to the end of the hall and there’s a changing room in there. There should be a gown there for you and I’ll be there shortly. I’m gonna go sneak a quick peek at this little bundle of joy."
"Be prepared to lose your heart," warned Sarah. "He’s a heart stealer."
"Thanks for the warning. I’ll see you in a few minutes."