Tracie Peterson (18 page)

Tess sat up, rather startled. “Oh, I’m sorry. I’ve just been dozing.”

“No apologies are needed,” the man said, taking the chair beside her. He had dressed casually in khaki shorts and a white cotton shirt. The straw hat he wore shielded his face, while his sunglasses hid his eyes.

Tess had pushed her own sunglasses atop her head so that she wouldn’t tan with the obvious marks on her face, but now as she squinted against the brilliant reflection of light on the water, she found it necessary to put the glasses back on.

“I did want to talk to you,” Tess agreed, “but I don’t want to do business on the Sabbath. Perhaps you would have some time for me tomorrow?”

He smiled. “I will make time. Are you reconsidering my thoughts on your relocation business?”

Tess nodded. “Yes, I am. I know Brad has told you about Sherry. Her baby isn’t due until November, but with her living with us and her need for schooling, I think it would be better to turn parts of the business over to others rather than see it go completely by the wayside.”

Bartolo nodded. “I’ll be happy to set up a meeting for tomorrow. I’ll have my secretary call you first thing in the morning.”

Tess felt a strange relief at his enthusiasm. She had worried that actually speaking to him on the matter might cause her to change her mind. But instead, Tess felt a great sense of peace about the idea.

Laughter sounded from the bow of the boat, and Tess looked up to find Sherry and Stacy laughing at the antics of Daniel. He apparently didn’t mind showing off for the girls.

“I’m so glad the kids are enjoying each other’s company,”
Tess said, continuing to watch the petite blond teenager. “I’m never quite sure what Sherry will actually find favor with.”

“With kids, it’s always hard to tell,” Bartolo offered. “Mostly they need reassurance that they are safe and that all is well.”

Tess nodded. “I guess we all feel that way.”

Bartolo got to his feet and added, “Oh, and I’ve found that a little spending money helps.” He grinned mischievously and raised a brow. “And that, too, is of interest to most all of us, no?”

Laughing, a thought crossed Tess’s mind. She should give Sherry an allowance. Maybe she could give the girl chores around the house and offer to pay her. Would Sherry find that offensive? After all, the idea was for Brad and Tess to take care of her and foot the bills for her pregnancy. Would she feel it unreasonable to be given responsibilities, as well?

Then again, what would Sherry involve herself with if she had money? Would she get into drugs or other kinds of destructive behavior?

Tess contemplated the matter for the rest of the afternoon. It was a real dilemma. On one hand, every kid needed a little spending money; on the other hand, she didn’t know that she entirely trusted what Sherry might do if she had extra funds. The matter clearly came down to trust. Tess needed to trust Sherry, but in order to trust her, she would have to allow the child room to prove herself worthy.

CHAPTER 18

Weeks of meeting off and on with Bartolo and her accountant left Tess feeling very positive about her decision to expand. Bartolo had already arranged to draw up plans, detailing his ideas for Tess’s approval.

Tess could find no fault with his suggestions. The office layout and plans for staffing were sensible and would easily promote positive business practices. In all actuality, Tess found it rather amazing that Bartolo had such a clear understanding of her business and the work she hoped to accomplish.

At one point, she’d even asked him why he didn’t just open his own relocation business and leave her out of the deal altogether. He was, after all, wealthy and well-received in the Miami area. It wouldn’t be that hard for him to arrange something on his own. His answer had been simple. He had prayed about it and felt this was the direction to take. Tess could hardly argue with reasoning like that.

The day of Sherry’s first doctor’s appointment came upon them the day after Tess finalized her agreement with Bartolo. Having the matter of her business resolved gave Tess a tremendous amount of relief and allowed her to focus on Sherry and the baby. Even so, Tess approached the doctor’s office feeling rather apprehensive. Sherry had hardly said two words about the appointment, and Tess found it impossible to understand the teenager’s silence. Was this a good sign or a bad sign? Was she excited to be going or nervous? As if reading her mind, Sherry suddenly spoke.

“I hate going to the doctor. They’re always poking you or sticking you with needles or doing some other stupid thing.”

Tess nodded. She couldn’t help but hear the anxiety in her voice, and when Tess mingled it with her own nervousness, she felt an overwhelming urge to reassure Sherry. Reassure them both.

Tess opened the clinic door and held it for Sherry. “Dr. Zeran is a good friend. I’ve known him for quite a while now. He actually goes to our church, but since we have so many people and several services, I know it’s hard to get to know everyone.”

“I just hate being messed with,” Sherry admitted in an unusual moment of openness.

“I do too,” Tess admitted, following Sherry into the building. “I’ve been here enough times, I could walk these halls blindfolded.”

Sherry eyed her quite seriously for a moment. “Were you sick?”

Tess shook her head. “No, just trying to get pregnant. The doctors couldn’t figure out any reason I couldn’t have a baby, so we just kept coming back and trying different things.”

Sherry looked away but seemed to consider the words while Tess pushed for the elevator.

“Until I got pregnant, I’d never had a woman’s kind of examination,” Sherry said, shuddering. The elevator doors opened and they stepped inside before she added, “Being examined now is sure different from being examined when you’re a kid. I didn’t like it at all.”

Tess felt sorry for the teenager. What a rude awakening to adult life. “It can be very uncomfortable and a bit embarrassing, but you have to realize that these doctors deal with people in this manner all the time. It’s just their business. Dr. Zeran is very kind, and I don’t think you’ll have any reason to be afraid.”

“I hope not. I still wish I didn’t have to go through stuff like this.”

Tess reached out to touch Sherry’s shoulder. “I’ll stay with you, if you like.”

“Would you?” Sherry’s voice held such hope, but just as quickly she tried to look unconcerned. “You can if you want.”

“Of course. I didn’t want to intrude, but I’d love to see the sonogram firsthand.”

“Good. I want you there,” Sherry said. Then, as if realizing she’d said too much, the girl looked at her rounded abdomen. “I’m really getting big.”

“Yes,” Tess agreed, seeing her discomfort in having exposed her fears. “You’ll probably be amazed at how big you’ll get in the next few months.”

She hated herself for envying this little girl. In a perfect world it would have been Tess who carried the new life. This child would have been safely in a loving home, attending school, and having the time to grow up properly before being faced with such responsibilities. But it wasn’t a perfect world.

They waited some thirty minutes in the reception area before the nurse finally called Sherry back. When Tess followed close behind, Sherry announced to the nurse that she wanted Tess with her at all times. The nurse smiled in response and told Sherry that would be just fine.

The nurse weighed and measured Sherry, got a routine work-up of blood and urine samples, then left them with the promise the doctor would be right in.

Dr. Zeran arrived in short order and within a matter of minutes had the exam completed, much to Sherry’s relief. Tess had been surprised to have Sherry reach for her hand halfway through the procedure, but even now, with the exam over, Sherry was still clinging to her hand.

“You look to be in good shape,” Dr. Zeran told Sherry. “Your measurements are good and in a few minutes I’ll send you down the hall for the ultrasound. After you finish with that, we’ll discuss the results.”

Sherry and Tess were soon taken down the hall. The technician, a young blond woman who appeared to be not much older than Sherry, smiled at them in welcome.

“I’m Gail and I’ll be doing your sonogram,” she announced.

Sherry looked warily at the woman and then to Tess. “What do you have to do to me?” Sherry asked.

“Oh, it’s simple and painless,” Gail told her confidently. “I’ll put some jelly on your tummy and we’ll use this,” she
held up a long, cylindrical instrument, “to give us a picture of the baby on the screen.”

This seemed to give Sherry some comfort, and Tess could sense her relaxing.

“Now I need you up here on the table,” Gail instructed.

Tess stood by as Gail ran through her preparations. She couldn’t help but wonder what might be going through Sherry’s mind. She knew what would have been running through her own mind had she been the one under examination.

Would it be a healthy baby? Would it be a boy or a girl? How much development would she be able to see?

All of these questions flooded Tess’s mind, along with numerous other thoughts. Thoughts like what it would feel like to be the one having the ultrasound.

“Have you been feeling the baby kicking today?” Gail questioned.

Sherry nodded. Tess was startled at the news. She hadn’t even thought to ask Sherry if the baby had been kicking. The thought had never even entered her mind.

“How long have you been feeling the baby?” Tess blurted out without thinking how it might sound.

Sherry looked up at her and shrugged. “I don’t know. A little while.”

Tess felt more pangs of jealousy.
Oh, God, help me
, she prayed.
I want this to be a joyous occasion and I don’t want to do anything to make Sherry upset with me
.

Gail went to work locating the baby, and within moments, she had a visual outline on the screen. It looked to Tess like a poorly tuned black-and-white movie.

“This is your baby’s head,” Gail announced to Sherry. “Can you see it? Here’s the nose and the mouth.”

“I do see it!” Sherry exclaimed.

“Yes!” Tess agreed enthusiastically. “I do too.”

“Oh, look,” Gail said, grinning, “the baby is sucking his . . .” She paused and added, “or her, thumb.”

Sherry shook her head. “I didn’t know they could do that when they were still inside.”

“They do a lot of things,” Gail replied. “Sometimes I’ve even seen them sucking their toes.”

Tess and Sherry laughed and exchanged a look of amusement.

“Do you want to know the sex of the baby?” Gail questioned.

Sherry looked to Tess, giggling as she did. “It’d be like knowing the end of the movie before you watched it.”

“I agree,” Tess said, reaching out to touch Sherry’s hand. “But it’s up to you.” She thought of Sherry’s feeling of helplessness—of being poked and prodded. It seemed a small concession to allow her to choose this matter of knowing the sex of the baby.

“I don’t want to know,” Sherry replied, suddenly seeming to remember her position. “It won’t matter anyway.”

Tess tried not to be affected by the girl’s sudden change of mood.

Dr. Zeran came in about that time and Tess’s thoughts shifted. “Well, how’s it going? Oh, good,” he said, noting the screen. “I see our little star is already making a debut.”

“I’ve asked them whether they want to know the sex of the baby,” Gail said, handing the doctor the notes she’d already charted.

“And?” He looked first to Sherry and then to Tess.

Tess finally shook her head. “No. Let’s keep it a secret.”

David smiled at Tess. “It’s more fun that way.” He studied the chart for a moment. “The court arranged for your records to be sent to me, Sherry. I’d say the due date is right on target for what you were already expecting from your previous doctor. Looks like November twenty-sixth, give or take.” He handed the chart back to Gail. “Have you decided what hospital you’ll use and how you will proceed once the baby is actually on the way?”

Tess nodded. “To a certain extent. We’ll use the Aventura Hospital. It’s closest.”

David nodded. “It’s a good hospital.” He dismissed Gail and allowed Sherry to sit back up before continuing. “I hope you’ll both understand, but there are some questions that I must ask. They might be uncomfortable for one or both of you, but I need to know what your plans are for the delivery of this baby.”

“What do you mean?” Tess questioned.

“Well, for instance,” David began, “do you plan to be in the delivery room with Sherry? Is Sherry planning to use Lamaze, and will you be her partner if she does?”

“I guess we hadn’t really considered it yet,” Tess said, looking to the teenager for confirmation. Sherry said nothing and looked down at the floor as if to avoid the entire matter.

“The breathing techniques taught in Lamaze will be good to help with the birthing process. There are also some good educational films shown during the class time that will give you an idea of what the process will be like once you’re actually in labor.”

“I’d be happy to help Sherry through the classes, if she wants my help,” Tess offered.

“That’s fine,” Sherry said without emotion.

Dr. Zeran continued. “There’s something else. I need to know what the plans are once the baby is delivered.”

“What do you mean?” Tess questioned. Sherry looked up as if to see his response.

David leaned back, striking a casual pose. His words, however, were anything but casual. “This situation being what it is, I need to know what the plan is for the baby after delivery—after we’ve finished examining and caring for the baby’s needs. Does Sherry want to have time with the baby? Is she going to be a partial caregiver? Or will the baby go immediately into your care, Tess?”

Tess didn’t even look to Sherry for a response. She could allow the child a say on many things, but this wasn’t one of
them. “Sherry has agreed that since I’ll be the baby’s adoptive mother, I’ll be the one to handle the baby after the delivery.”

“Is that right?” Dr. Zeran asked, looking directly at Sherry.

“I didn’t want the baby anyway,” Sherry replied flatly.

Tess realized Sherry was upset by the situation. She could hear an edge of fear in the girl’s voice.