“Baby is nice and healthy,” she said by the end. “I’ll have a DVD of the photos ready for you shortly.”

“Thank you,” I told her as she wiped off the gunk on my stomach.

I rolled my shirt down and moved off the bed. Heath stood up with me, still having not said a word to me since I’d corrected the technician, and we walked out. I didn’t let his indifferent demeanour bring down my mood. I was still reeling with excitement. I was going to have pictures of my baby!

*

The ride back to the apartment was quiet. I held my disc with both hands, already looking forward to reliving the experience when I got back and jumped on Heath’s laptop.

I looked over at him again, frowning at his off mood. God, what had I done?

“Are you alright?” I asked him when the silence got to be too much.

He nodded. “Yep.”

I sighed. He was lying. I set the disc down in my lap and turned to him fully. “Heath,” I started with a soft voice, “I want us to be open and honest with each other. Communication is extremely important. If something is bothering you, please let me know. That way we can avoid a misinterpretation, or any hurt feelings.”

He thought about my words for a moment. “Fuck, do you have to be so goddamn rational all the time?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean you’re like the adult between us sometimes, which you shouldn’t be. Telling me this shit and making me realize how right you are –”

“I don’t mean to offend you –”

“You’re not. You’re reminding me what I’m doing wrong, and you’re completely right to.”

I waited for him to continue, but he didn’t. “So what’s wrong?” I pressed.

He exhaled, turning the car into a parking lot of a shopping centre. The engine was still on after he parked it, and he took a few moments staring idly out the window to gather his thoughts.

“When she assumed I was the father,” he finally started quietly, “you were so quick to tell her I wasn’t. Are you ashamed of me or something? I mean, I know I’m not anything to be proud of, and I’m definitely not some hot shot accomplished guy –”

“I didn’t mean it like that,” I hastily interrupted him. I felt a bubble of panic. That was the last thing I wanted him to think! “Oh, my God, Heath, no way would I be ashamed of you! That’s impossible. When she said that, you looked like you’d been hit by a car or something. I didn’t want to freak you out and push you away if people started to think you’re something you aren’t.”

The relief shone in his face as he nodded. “I never said I didn’t want to be a part of your kid’s life, Allie, and I would never get freaked out by what other people think. I’m doing all this so I can be an uncle and give your little person a chance. I don’t want you to be doing this on your own.”

“Well, I appreciate it.”

With a soft smile, he said, “I know you do. Everything about you is genuine. Always genuine.”

I returned the smile, feeling my heart hiccup in my chest. “Anything else upsetting you?”

“No, and if there is, I’ll be sure to bring it to you.”

“Okay.”

He then turned off the car and opened the door. He motioned me out.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

As he stepped out, he stretched and answered, “To get you some maternity clothes. You’re going to need it, right? I saw your bump, and it’s gotten a lot bigger in two weeks.”

I stepped out and walked with him to the entrance doors of the shopping centre. I felt around the jeans I was wearing, noting how tight they were.

“Clothes are expensive,” I said. “We can go to a used shop –”

“No,” he cut in, stopping to face me. “I’m going to get you a bunch of nice stuff. None of this baggy shit you’re wearing. I’m tired of seeing you in Ryker’s clothes. I want something on you from me.”

“But it’s expensive –”

“I’ve got another fight coming up and you can guarantee I’ll be winning. Stop stressing. I can pull some overtime at work too. We’re going to be fine.”            

There was no arguing with Heath. Once he decided on something, it was next to impossible changing the course of it. So I simply nodded, because at the end of the day he was right. I was getting bigger, wasn’t fitting into any of my clothes, and I couldn’t keep living in Ryker’s clothes any longer.

We spent the rest of the afternoon getting a new wardrobe for me. He didn’t lose his patience. Didn’t hurry me along. He waited patiently for me, stopping every few aisles to point something out. He had a radically different taste to me, pushing me to wear clothes that didn’t hide my bump. He wanted me to embrace it, which was hard because I didn’t want the attention drawn on me because I was young and pregnant at the same time. I’d seen enough judgmental stares in public on other girls in similar situations, and I knew it couldn’t have been nice.

“Look at this,” he said, pulling out a grey, baggy dress from a rack. “It’s called a maternity wrap.”

I stood next to him and went to look at the price tag. Having learned about this compulsive thing I did, he immediately hid it in his hand. “Nice,” I mumbled with a roll of my eyes, “I can always just look at the price on the other exact same dresses here, Heath.”

“Don’t you even dare,” he threatened.

“Or what?”

“Or I swear to God I’m going to beat you.”

“You’re going to beat a pregnant woman?”

“There are other methods to being beaten.”

“Yeah? Enlighten me.”

He smiled wickedly. “Every girl hates being tickled. I’ll tickle you for a fucking hour.”

I shrugged indifferently, hiding the terror that made me feel. “I like being tickled. That would be great.”

Leaning into me, he whispered into my ear, “You didn’t follow my advice about lying in front of a mirror, huh, Allie?”

I reddened and pressed my lips down to keep from smiling. Avoiding the heat leaning into my side, I grabbed the sleeve of the dress and looked it over. “I don’t like the V-neck,” I told him.