Chapter 51
Monday went by without a hitch. I had gone to work to help Dee out for the day. Nick had a few things to take care of, so, he dropped me off at the mall. I had told Dee I would need at least Tuesday off, so I would work late to make up for it. Nick and I were scheduled to make any alterations on our wedding attire at 12:00 pm on Tuesday. I had told Dee that we would be a bit late, if the doctor’s appointment went as scheduled. I knew however, that doctors appointments never went as scheduled and we would most certainly be late. She didn’t seem phased at all, rather, she was a bit thrilled.
“Dee, why are you so excited that we will be late?” I asked, now very curious.
“Oh nothing....well, if you call having Kevin and AJ in tuxes ‘nothing’.” She replied.
“Aha...I see. Then I will tell the doctor to take her time.” I finished.
We were swamped with customers until late on Monday, and there was no way I would get home until after 10:00 pm. I called Nick to let him know that we were all running late tonight, and to tell him when to pick me up. Nick was a bit concerned. He didn’t want me to be over stressed.
“Honey, I am fine. Just my feet hurt, but honest...I am fine.” I told Nick.
“Heather, now look, you don’t need to over do it. Please honey, I don’t want you to overwork yourself. Okay?” Nick pleaded.
“Nickolas, I am fine...honest.” I stated.
“Okay, I will be there to pick you up at about 10:30. Just wait at the store. I will meet you there....okay?” he insisted.
“Yes, hon, I will wait here for you. See you then. Love you.” As I gave him a kiss over the phone.
We hung up and then I went back to my work. I had several girls in the shop looking for unique dresses for the New Year’s celebration. I was surprised at how much money they were actually willing to spend. When I had brought out a very short, diamond studded cocktail dress, three of the girl’s literally jumped at the outfit.
“Ladies, you all need to calm down. This dress is worth $15,000.00 and I don’t want to have to pay for it if you all destroy it.” I insisted.
All I could think about was how glad I would be to get home tonight. I just wanted a good night’s sleep. It was finally closing time and Nick soon arrived. As he walked around the corner to the store, he saw me vacuuming the store.
“Honey, didn’t I tell you to take it easy???” he asked, then giving Dee a slightly upset look.
“Nickolas, dear, I have a job to do. I am fine. I will be done in just a minute.” I said.
He sat down to wait, looking a bit upset. I knew he didn’t even want me working, but I insisted. He waited impatiently until I grabbed my bag and walked up to him.
“Honey, please don’t be mad...I just want to work. My nerves are shot with all the stuff going on and I just needed to do something to take my mind off it all.” I looked at him with gentle and sweet eyes.
He had a little chat with Dee, that which I was unable to hear, and then he walked me to the car. As we drove home, I started to dose off. Nick looked my way and noticed my head leaning up against the window and me snoring. After the 20 minute ride, we arrived at home.
Nick carefully nudged me awake.
“Honey, we are home. It’s time to wake up, for just a few minutes.” He said softly as he helped me out of the car.
I walked groggily up to the front door, he opened it for me, and then I made my way to the bedroom. Nick watched me as I stumbled down the hall and then plop down on the bed. He did nothing but sigh and take my shoes off. He didn’t bother to wake me...he just left to me to sleep just as I was. All he did was pull the covers up over me and then climb into bed next to me.
*** *** ***
The alarm clock went off far too early for me. I reached over and smacked the snooze button and went back to sleep. This little ritual continued for about 45 minutes, at a very steady 9 minute interval. Nick finally reached over, turned off the alarm and got up. He knew that we had to leave in about an hour and a half for the appointment.
“Heather hon, you need to get up. You are supposed to drink a bunch of water before you go. I think the doctor said something about a couple of glasses. Come on, honey...time to get up.” Nick nudged me.
I just rolled over and put the pillow over my head. I didn’t want to get up.
“Heather, now, come on. Time to get up. You have an appointment with Dr. Christine today, and well, you are going to get up. Then we have to go get the alterations done. Come on baby...get up. Pretty please.” Nick continued to whine. He finally got up and pulled the covers off of me.
I reached down, pulled the covers back over me and groaned about getting up. He was not enthused with this and this time pulled the covers completely off the bed. He threw them across the room and left them in a balled up mess. He stood there and laughed at me as I moaned and groaned about getting up. Finally, I gave in, got up and wandered into the shower. I closed the door in his face as he tried to follow me.
Nick stood there puzzled, and then waited until he heard the water start. After a few minutes, he decided that he would play one of his silly games with me. He went to the kitchen and grabbed a plastic pitcher out of the cabinet, filled it with ice cold water and walked down to the bathroom. I heard the door open, but then no other sounds. The next thing I know is that a full pitcher of icy water was being dumped on my head from over the shower curtain.
“NICKOLAS GENE!!!! YOU ARE GOING TO DIE A SLOW AND PAINFUL DEATH FOR THAT!” I screamed as he dropped the pitcher and ran.
I leapt out of the shower, threw my robe on and chased after him, soaking wet.
As I rounded the corner to the living room, I saw him standing at the edge of the kitchen with the sprayer hose from the sink stretched out. I knew he had the water running from the faucet, and it wouldn’t take much effort for him to spray me if I got any closer.
“You take one more step closer and I will squirt you!” he yelled.
I walked away casually, and left him standing there. Little did he know I was going to get the pitcher he dropped and fill it with water. The next thing he remembered was me heaving a pitcher of cold water at him. We both stood there looking like drowned rats, only I was the one who looked like I had swallowed a small melon. We just stood there laughing at each other until we collapsed on the floor in hysterics. Finally, out of some miracle, we got calmed down enough to eat breakfast, and get ready to go.
*** *** ***
“Hello, can I help you ma’am?” the lady at the front desk asked.
“Yes, I have a 10:00 appointment with Dr. Christine. My name is Heather Truesdale, umm, soon to be Mrs. Heather Carter.” I replied.
“Oh yes ma’am. It will be just a few minutes.” She said.
We took our seats in the waiting room. I looked around and noticed that there were some very young looking girls in the room also. I just glanced at Nick who was very shocked.
“I can’t believe how young some of these girls look. I hope they know what they are getting themselves into.” I whispered to Nick.
He just shook his head and stayed quiet.
“Mrs. Truesdale, if you would come with me please.” A nurse said. “Mr. Carter, if you would stay here for a few minutes, once Heather is ready, we will come and get you.” She continued.
Nick gave me a kiss and then I went into the examine room. First the nurse took my blood pressure, and weighed me. Then she handed me a little cup and told me that I knew what to do with it. I just gave her an evil look and went on my merry way to the ladies room. I soon returned and she handed me a paper gown, the kind that doesn’t have anything for a backside, and a sheet for my legs. She told me that Dr. Christine would be right with me.
After a brief wait, Dr. Christine arrived and started to ask me some questions. She did a pelvic examine to make sure that everything looked okay, and then took measurements of my tummy to see that all was progressing as normal.
“Heather, are there any questions you have before we do the sonogram?” she asked.
“Umm, yeah, I wanted to know, I have been really moody lately, is there anything I can do for that?” I asked, trying not to sound dumb.
“Well, there isn’t much, other than to just get rest and try to relax more. Don’t put yourself in stressful situations that you know will set you off.” She answered.
“Oh, yeah...and well, I don’t know how to ask...but, umm, seeing as Saturday is my wedding day, umm, you know, can I umm, ‘do it’ on our honeymoon?” I asked, turning bright red.
“Heather, I don’t know why you are so embarrassed. These are all very common questions. And yes, you may have intercourse up until the baby is born, so long as you are comfortable as well as your husband.” She answered very professionally.
“Oh okay, cuz umm, I was worried about that.” I said, trying not to laugh.
She smiled and then asked if I was ready for the sonogram. I told her yes and she asked if I had brought a video tape with me. I handed the tape to her so that she could record the sonogram for Nick and I.
“I will be right back, I am going to get the technician and have him get you ready. Nick is welcome to join us, do you think he wants to?” she asked.
“Oh yes, he would love to be here for this. Believe it or not, that guy knows more about all this than I do.” I giggled.
Dr. Christine then went to get Nick as the technician and nurse got me ready for the sonogram. They had me lay back comfortably on the table and then they put this gooey blue gel on my tummy. Nick was then brought into the room and took a seat right next to me. He held my hand gently the entire time as Dr. Christine proceeded with the sonogram.
“And as you can see here....there are the little toes, and the fingers. And if you look closely, the eyes and the nose and all the facial features. We may be able to tell the sex of the baby at this time, would you like me to try?” she asked.
Nick and I both looked at each other and knew instantly.
“No ma’am. We would like it to be a surprise. I think it is something very special and we will wait until the baby is born. If that is okay of course.” Nick answered.
“There is absolutely nothing wrong with keeping it a surprise. All I will tell you then is that the baby looks very healthy and is developing exactly as it should. Now for the moment that most enjoy, would you like to hear your child’s heartbeat?” she looked at us with a smile.
“Yes, please, we would like that very much.” I said.
Dr. Christine then used a small device called a “doptone” to let us hear the heartbeat.
“See, I told you she would use a doppler thingie.” Nick said proudly.
“Well, you are pretty correct Nick. This is called a doptone, and it picks up the baby’s heartbeat and transmits it to this speaker so we can hear it.” She responded.
Nick just smiled at me and I could see a twinkle in his eyes as he waited patiently.
Suddenly the room was filled with the most joyous sound we had ever heard. For the first time, we could hear the fast heartbeat of our small child. It was the most amazing sound in the world. Tears began to fill both of our eyes immediately.
“Oh honey, do you hear that?” Nick asked softly.
“That is amazing.” I uttered. “That is our little boy or girl...” I said.
Nick leaned over and kissed me softly as Dr. Christine smiled. She always enjoyed seeing the way the parents reacted.
“Well, everything looks very good. If you have no further questions, I will let you get dressed Heather. I would like to see you in about a month to do a check up. So far, everything is perfect. Just remember to get enough sleep, eat properly, and get a little exercise. And Nick, please be very supportive. Heather will probably be moody, if you haven’t already noticed. Try to be understanding and supportive. Remember, show each other lots of love and things should be just fine.” Dr. Christine said.
“Thanks so much. We will put our pics up on the fridge and keep the video to show to everyone.” I told her.
“Oh yes, I forgot, the baby can hear you, so talk to it and sing to it. We are finding that babies that have that sort of interaction tend to be more emotionally stable.” She finished.
*** *** ***
Meanwhile...
Dee was at the shop working on Kevin and AJ’s tuxes. It was just a few more days until my wedding, and the guys hadn’t had time to get all the fittings done. There was nothing but anxiety on Dee’s part, and the guys all knew it. They thought that making Dee laugh during the alterations would make things better, but...that was to be seen.
“Damnit AJ, if you would just hold still, I would get this done a lot faster.” Dee said, exasperated.
“Well, hell, if you would get those damn pins away from my precious little Alex, then I wouldn’t be so squirmy!” AJ blurted out.
“Little Alex??!!” Kevin burst into laughter.
“Hey, every guy names his...well, you know...his little brigade commander. I mean, the soldiers need a leader...and they just can’t call him ‘dude’!” AJ ranted.
Dee and Kevin were laughing so hard that Dee accidentally stabbed a pin into AJ’s leg. Kevin fell on the floor in hysterics as AJ hollered at the top of his lungs.
“HEY! Watch it! That is precious cargo down there!” AJ yelled, as he winced in pain.
“Oh really...why don’t you prove it AJ. What is so special about ‘Little Alex’, I mean, it can’t be the best out there!” Dee teased.
“Oh yeah? Go ahead, make fun of me. But, I can guarantee, I am the best there is to offer baby. And if you could give me just five minutes, I could prove it to you!” AJ said to Dee with a sly look.
Kevin jumped in, getting a bit hot under the collar.
“I don’t think you need to be showing her anything AJ. We all know that I am the best. You better not even think of ‘showing’ her anything AJ, cuz you ain’t got what it takes. I was the one voted “Most Sexy” and trust me...you couldn’t even come close.” Kevin said, sounding a bit irritated.
“Come on guys, you both know that you got it going on.” Dee said, not realizing exactly what she had said.
Kevin and AJ just turned and looked at her. They were surprised that Dee had blurted out what she had and felt a bit embarrassed.
“And Dee, if you had to decide, umm, between the two of us...who would you pick as the sexiest man?” Kevin asked.
“Umm, well, I don’t want to pick between you both. You are both very sexual in your own way...” she tried to answer.
“PICK ONE!” AJ and Kevin shouted at the same time.
“Well, umm, I would have to say...” she spoke, but was quickly interrupted.
“Hey guys! We made it!” Nick said, startling everyone.
Nick and I had finally arrived to be fitted for our attire. We were only about 45 minutes late, and felt bad about it. It appeared that we had walked in on a heated discussion.
“Hello guys, what were y’all talking about?” I asked, obviously confused.
“Umm, oh nothing Heather. Don’t worry about us...how did the appointment go?” Dee asked me.
AJ and Kevin turned and looked at each other, vowing to prove at a later time who was better. Nick looked at them with a funny grin, confused at the looks they were giving each other.
“Oh Dee! It was the most amazing thing...we got to hear the baby’s heartbeat! It the most awesome thing in the world.” I said as a few tears quickly filled my eyes. Nick also started to tear up. He was so touched by all that was happening in his life that he couldn’t hold it in anymore.
“Congrats to the proud Mommy and Daddy to be.” AJ said sincerely.
“We know that this must be a very very special time in both of your lives, and we are so proud of you both.” Kevin added.
They all hugged us and then made us tell them all about the appointment. But, one question loomed on their minds.
“So, is the baby going to be a boy or a girl?” Dee asked.
“Well,” Nick and I looked at each other. “we decided to keep it a secret. We really don’t want to know until he or she is born. It will be so much more special.” Nick finished.
“However,” I continued, “we have decided on names. We know it is a bit early to worry about it, but we came up with some ideas. If it is a girl, her name will be Kathryn Lynne. And, if it is a boy, we were thinking about Tyler Gene.” I said simply.
Everyone agreed that the names were beautiful and that no matter what, the baby would be sweet and adorable. We finished the alterations on the guys, although I wasn’t allowed to see Nick’s tux. Dee wanted it to be a secret...so, I had to sit anxiously outside of the fitting room while Dee finished. Then, the guys took Nick out to eat while Dee worked on my dress. It was tradition that the groom not see the bride’s dress until the actual ceremony, so Dee insisted that the guys take Nick out so she could work.
Dee very carefully pinned the dress and made the necessary adjustments. Only a few minor adjustments needed to be made on the dress. Dee was pleased that she created a dress that she didn’t have to worry about the pregnancy with.
“You are going to look so beautiful on Saturday, Heather. Nick won’t be able to take his eyes off of you.” Dee said softly.
“Yeah, the dress looks great, but how am I going to hide this hideous scar on my face?” I asked, feeling down again.
“Heather, now you listen, and you listen good. You are beautiful. When will you understand that Nickolas Gene loves you for you...and he thinks you are the most gorgeous woman in the world? He loves you...okay? Don’t worry. And, anyway, as long as you love him and he loves you, nothing can stand in your way.” She spoke, trying to make me understand.
After about an hour’s time, we finished, and Dee contacted the guys on the cell phone. Everything was finally finished for Saturday. The cake had been ordered, the party all arranged, the gowns, the tuxes, and all other details had been taken care of. All that was left was to walk down the aisle on Saturday evening.
Nick came and got me and took me out to eat, and then straight home. I was exhausted with everything that had been happening. I always felt tired, but couldn’t understand why. Nick was worried that all the wedding nonsense was draining me and wanted me to just relax for the next four days. He arranged for me to just relax at the house, and he would do everything for me.
For the next four days, I was treated like royalty. He did everything
for me, pampered me, and showed me more love than I had ever seen.
I knew that Saturday was going to be the happiest day in my life, and the
time was finally here for Nick and I to start our new life together.
Everything was ready...and I knew that we were about to take a beautiful
journey through life together, always and forever.