Searching for Moore (26 page)

“Very good hand-eye coordination, I’m impressed,” she laughed.

He focused in on the stick and saw the plus sign and looked up at Mia, who was nodding her head and smiling.

The look in his eyes melted every inch of her. “Baby Girl,” he whispered hoarsely, as she smiled at him. He pulled her head down to his chest and kissed her hair. She peeked up at him and could see his mega-watt gorgeous smile, but he was lost somewhere.

“Where are you, Schooner?”

He smiled at her, “Thinking. I want this divorce NOW.”

“Don’t worry about that.” Mia reassured.

“But we have a baby coming,” he was verbalizing it for the first time and she could see the enormity bursting in his every thought.

“I promise I’ll put your name on the birth certificate.” Mia gave him her devil grin.

“Bitch!” He laughed, grabbing her and tickling her until she yelped. He then smiled at her and took her face in his hands, becoming serious again. “Mia Alyse Silver, you are having my baby.”

“Schooner James Moore, yes I am.”

His smile was so beautiful that Mia thought if there is one moment she wanted to take with her into the next life, this was it right now. The feeling in her heart and the look in his eyes and his smile, made her think, this is all I want from this lifetime. It doesn’t get better than this.

“Hand me my pants. They’re on the floor by your side of the bed,” he asked. Mia rolled away from him, grabbed his jeans and flung them at him, whipping them into his face, “Ouch.”

He pulled his jeans off of his face and smiled at her. “You know,” he began, “sometimes parents are very smart. Take my parents, for example, they are very smart people. They loved you the minute they met you. Me, well, I was not quite as smart. I was totally intrigued from the moment I met you, but I was also more than a little intimidated by you. You were different and cool and you totally embraced it and you clearly didn’t give a shit. Me, I was afraid to be different, even though deep down, I knew I was. So I did everything I possibly could to fit in. I didn’t quite know what to make of you, Mia, and frankly, I didn’t know how to act around you because I thought you’d see right through me and my bullshit. I was afraid you would know what a fraud I was and that you wouldn’t like me. You were this total enigma, this cool New York girl and I already knew you were so much fun to be with, just from the time we’d spent together and from watching you around campus.” He nodded his head with the admission, “Yes, I watched you — in the dining hall, on The Quad. And I envied the fun you and everyone around you were always having. But you, you were always at the center of it. So on that first day of Interim, I was thrilled when I saw you sitting there, because I knew I was going to have a chance to get to know you and that was something I really wanted. And later that day, you called me out on my shit and I went back to my dorm that night and laid in my bed thinking about you and how you made me feel. It was like the fairytale where the wooden boy comes to life,” he laughed, “except I was a plastic boy and you made me feel real. That magic that I had watched all first semester, well now I had a front row seat in that magic circle. And I just wanted to be with you all the time. You were my high, Mia. You taught me how to let me be myself and to like that guy and that is probably the greatest gift anyone has ever given me. Ever. And you liked that guy too and that made my heart soar. I wanted you to like me, not Mr. Hotshot Tennis God. I wanted you to like me. And it was when we were on that mountaintop together, that I was actually able to put it all together. I was in love and it hit me like a brick or maybe a snowball. I had fallen in love with you.” Mia stroked his face and smiled at him, her eyes filled with tears.

“So, yesterday afternoon I sat down with my parents and told them everything for the first time. And they are thrilled that you are joining our family,” he reached out and brushed away Mia’s tears with his thumb. He stuck his hand in the pocket of his jeans, “Mia Alyse Silver, the minute, and I mean the minute, that my divorce is final I want you to be my wife, forever.” Out of the pocket he pulled a ring box. “This was my grandmother’s. My mother wants you to have it and I want you to have it.” He opened the box and removed a platinum and diamond art deco ring. “Marry me, Baby Girl.” He slipped the ring on her finger and then held her hand tightly in his.

Mia was momentarily lost in his eyes swimming through the turquoise blue waters to that island where lost souls find happiness. It was finally their turn, she was almost at the shore.

She smiled and nodded, “Schooner James Moore, aka Baby Daddy,” they laughed through their tears as Mia found her voice, “I guess we can just face the fact that I am smarter than you because I was totally smitten from the moment I first laid eyes on you. You were so damn pretty, your eyes and a smile that should be outlawed. And I was so shy meeting you, but I remember thinking that we could be really good friends and have the best time together, like crazy adventures good times. And although I was seriously crushing on you, I knew you were looking for a prom queen type, which yes, we can both admit, I was not,” they laughed, “and I didn’t quite know how to deal with you, so aloof was a very safe and easy way for me to relate to you. And interestingly enough, I have been told by more than one man in my life that I am aloof. But I digress… So when I looked up in that lecture hall that first day of Interim and saw you, my heart skipped a beat. Then you came and sat down next to me and my heart was pounding in my chest. I was afraid you could hear it and I was also afraid you could read my mind, so cool girl came in and took over to protect me. I needed someplace to hide and she always provided the perfect ruse. And then Rick said that we had to break into groups and at that moment, I just took control because it meant I’d get to spend time with you and I might really get to know you. And what surprised me most of all was how you just fit in with us right away, you just came and took your place. And it was easy and I didn’t need cool girl there, because I could be me with you and we were totally on the same wavelength. And that night after the mountains, you kissed me for the first time,” she smiled at him, his eyes bright with tears, “and I slept in your arms and from that moment on, my life was never, ever the same. I remember thinking “The realization of a secret dream” which was this horoscope that came packed in some lip gloss I got when I was a really little girl, like 5 or 6 years old, and I hid it and held onto it for years and years. And that is what I was thinking that night as I dozed off with my head on your chest. The realization of a secret dream.” They both had tears streaming down their cheeks. “I can’t wait to be your wife, Schooner.”

She held out her hand to look at the stunning ring, “Now this is the smartest thing you’ve ever done.” They both laughed. “Are you sure this shouldn’t go to Holly though?

He shook his head, “This one is yours. I think my mother may have put it in safekeeping for you right after freshman orientation.”

Mia laughed, “You were not kidding. She is a very smart woman. I knew I liked her.”

Mia picked up her phone and took a photo of the ring on her finger. She looked at Schooner, devil smile at full tilt.

“Oh no, who are you texting that to?”

She just smiled, enigmatically.

“Your Mom?” He guessed.

“Nope.”

“My Mom?”

“Nope.”

“Seth.”

“Nope, he’ll be second.”

“Kami.”

“Nope.”

“Gaby.”

“Nope.”

“CJ,” he teased

“Ugh, nope,” laughing, “I don’t want to be responsible for an earthquake in LA.”

He shrugged his shoulders, palms up. “I’m out of guesses.”

“Katie Holmes,” smiled Mia and they both laughed.

Schooner’s right leg bounced up and down at a frantic pace as he and Mia sat in Dr. Gary Cohen’s waiting room. Dr. Cohen, one of the top-rated physician’s in Manhattan for high-risk pregnancies was known for his laid back caring manner and was universally adored by his patients.

Mia had been one of Gary’s first patients when he joined a prestigious gynecology and obstetrics practice — long before he was known as “The Man” for high risk pregnancies. A friend of Mia’s, a nurse at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital, had recommended a doctor when Mia was suffering from irregular cycles and prolonged periods of bleeding. The senior doctor in the practice was no longer accepting new patients, so Mia was assigned to the new guy, who was just starting out and trying to build a patient roster. Nearly twenty years had passed since.

“You’re making me nervous. Stop that.” Mia placed a hand above his knee and gave him a pointed look.

“Sorry,” he took her hand and squeezed it.

“So when is Yoli flying in?” She needed to distract him or his nerves were going to start making her even more nervous than she already was.

“I think she lands about 11 P.M. tomorrow night,” his eyes were darting everywhere.

“Schooner!” He looked at her. “Stop.”

“Sorry. I can’t believe I’m this nervous.” His eyes were wide and he looked like a lost boy to Mia. She smiled at him, God, he is sweet, she thought.

She leaned over and kissed him, “This is going to be a long freaking nine months. Keep it up and I’m sending you back to LA.”

He smiled against her lips, “Bitch,” and they both laughed.

“Mia Silver.” A nurse was at the door.

Mia and Schooner stood and in sync looked at one another and said, “Showtime.” They laughed as they headed back toward the exam room, hand in hand.

Dr. Gary Cohen entered the exam room, arms outstretched for a hug, “I hear my favorite patient is here.”

Mia gave Gary a warm hug, “I’ll bet you say that to all of your patients.”

“You and I were babies when we started,” they both laughed.

“Gary, I’d like you to meet my fiancé, Schooner Moore.”

Gary extended a hand and a warm smile to Schooner, “So, you’re the guy responsible for knocking her up, huh?”

They all laughed, “That would be me.”

“Good job, Man.” Gary clapped Schooner on the shoulder.

“Alright, Miss Mia, I’m going to do a sonogram in a few minutes. We’ll take a look and make sure this is a viable pregnancy, and then discuss some of the risks of being forty and pregnant, things we need to look out for, regimen, etc.”

“Ok, let’s get you up on this table, feet in the dreaded stirrups. I’m going to do a vaginal ultrasound on you. What we’re looking for is fetal pole or possibly even a fetal heartbeat, depending on how far along you are.” He squeezed gel onto the head of the ultrasound wand. “Are your periods still so irregular?”

“Yup.” Mia nodded, bracing herself for what she knew was going to be a cold, goopy wand.

He laughed, “You’ve always been a mess. Ready?”

She nodded, holding her breath and biting her bottom lip. Schooner grabbed her hand and squeezed it. He smiled down at her, his eyes saying all she needed to hear. He was surprisingly calm after his mini-meltdown in the waiting room.

“Ahhhh!” Mia stiffened from the cold, wet feeling probe.

“Relax.” Gary smiled up at her. He manipulated the wand, eyes intent on the screen. She squeezed Schooner’s hand tighter. Please, please, please, she said a silent prayer. Gary kept making adjustments to the wand, moving it left, center, right.

And finally a whoosh, whoosh, whoosh sound and Schooner let out a “Yes!”

Mia looked from Schooner’s smile to Gary. He was nodding his head, “Good job, Mia,” he was smiling, “we have a heartbeat.”

She felt the familiar sting of tears in her eyes and turned to look at the monitor. The tech pointed out the baby’s heartbeat and Gary told her to print it.

She looked up at Schooner who was watching the fetal heartbeat and mouthed the words, “Our baby.” He brought her hand to his lips and kissed it. She knew he couldn’t speak.

“Ok, let’s get some measurements and we’ll calculate a due date.” They moved markers around on the screen and pressed buttons that sounded like snapshots to Mia. “Ok, we’ve got it.” Gary informed his tech. “Mia you can get dressed now and why don’t you and Schooner come meet me in my office.” He handed her a wad of tissues with a smile and she wondered if it was for her tears or to clean off the nasty goop.

Schooner and Mia entered Gary’s ultra-modern office, hand-in-hand, and he motioned for them to have a seat.

“First, let me congratulate you. This is a very exciting day and I’m really thrilled for both of you. Schooner, I’ve known Mia for a long time and she is absolutely one of my very favorite people, so this pregnancy and her health are personally even more important to me than it typically is with a patient. I consider Mia a friend.”

Schooner smiled at Mia, “She does have that affect on people, doesn’t she.” He rubbed her hand in both of his, smiling ear-to-ear.

“Have you known one another long?” Gary asked.

“Twenty-four years.” Mia offered. Gary’s eyes widened in surprise. “We went out freshman year in college.”

Gary was smiling. “How’d you guys get back together?

“Facebook.” Schooner responded with a smile, as if that explained everything.

“Good for you.” Gary looked at them, shaking his head. “Ok, let’s get to the serious stuff. Here’s the good news, Mia you conceived right away, with no problems. Considering your age, irregular periods and irregular ovulation pattern, that is great. The fact that the embryo implanted normally and we now have a heartbeat is also really good. The embryo has a CRL measurement of slightly over 5MM. Again, perfectly within the norm and very good news.”

“What is a CRL measurement, Gary?”

“Crown to rump length.”

“Cool.” Mia was smiling, picturing a little head and bottom all curled up sleeping.

“Based on that measurement, we’re looking at a fetal age of about 5 weeks and a gestational age of 6 1/2 — 7 weeks. If you go full-term, Mia, we’re looking at a birth date right before Christmas.”

She backhanded Schooner in the arm, smiling at him, “How’s that for a gift from a Jewish girl!” He grabbed her hand and brought it to his lips. Schooner was beaming.

“Now let’s talk about the elephant in the room.” Gary began, “Mia, you’re forty. So what does that really mean? It means we need to test for certain things, look for certain things, keep our eyes open and be prepared to make some decisions, should we need to.”