Read Online Punchline by Jacqueline Diamond - Free Book Online
Authors: Jacqueline Diamond
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walked down a short hall. “He called yesterday and specifically asked to be here.”
Obviously, there had been a mistake; probably the doctor had two women patients with similar names. Belle braced herself for the inevitable embarrassment that such a mix-up would cause.
She was about to march into a tiny room, wearing nothing but sunglasses and a puny garment that could easily double as a cleaning rag, and find herself face-to-face with a startled and completely unfamiliar man.
She wondered if he was cute. She might let him watch.
The ultrasound room had its lights turned low, and a curtain surrounded the equipment. When she entered, Belle felt as if she were strolling into the haunted house at a Halloween party, except that she was the only one wearing a costume.
She prepared an apologetic smile as the nurse led her around the curtain. “Gee, I guess there’s been a mis…”
There was no point in finishing the sentence, because there had been no mistake. Or rather, there had been a huge, enormous, pigheaded one.
D ARRYL COULDN‘T BELIEVE the woman was wearing sunglasses to an ultrasound. Who was she planning to fool?
Besides, the paraphernalia prevented him from getting a good look at her shocked expression, which spoiled a lot of the fun. He’d had a hard time falling asleep last night for all the chortling as he imagined Belle’s reaction today.
“Hi, honey,” he said.
The technician, indifferent to the vibes thrumming across the room, instructed her to lie on a padded table.Belle made quite a production of climbing onto the padded table and flopping down on her back.
“This might feel a little cool.” The technician parted the front of the gown and squirted some goo on Belle’s stomach, then took a device that resembled a computer mouse and moved it across her stomach.
Darryl’s gaze shifted to the ultrasound screen. All he could see was a gray blur. He might as well have been looking at a close-up look of Belle’s kidneys.
“Okay, I think we’re getting an arm here,” said the technician. “And there’s the heartbeat.” She pointed at something pulsating in the middle of the screen.
“It’s kind of rapid, isn’t it?” Darryl asked.
“Babies’ hearts beat faster than adults’,” said Belle, removing her sunglasses.
Did women know these things by instinct? He refused to believe it. “Did you read about that somewhere?”
“My doctor showed me,” she said. “We could hear the heartbeat on his stethoscope.”
To Darryl’s surprise, it bothered him that he’d missed that experience. By the time he’d even learned of the baby’s existence, a significant milestone in its life had already passed.
On the screen, the picture coalesced into a baby. A lump formed in Darryl’s throat. The kid was tiny, but it possessed a nose, feet, hands, even fingers. Incredible.
“He’s sucking his thumb.” The technician pointed. “See there?”
“‘He,’“ Darryl repeated. “It’s a boy?”
“Let’s see if we can tell.” The technician swooped her mouse over Belle’s stomach.
“What do you mean, ‘if?” he demanded.
“Sometimes you can tell, sometimes not,” the woman explained. “There, that looks like a penis—nope, just a shadow.”
“Try harder, will you?” Darryl had come here expecting to learn the child’s sex. What good was modern science if it couldn’t determine that?
“Who cares?” said Belle.
He shrugged. “You need to know what color to paint the nursery, don’t you?”
“I’m painting it purple,” she said.
The technician shook her head. “I’m afraid Baby’s not going to cooperate. Are you having an amniocentesis? You can find out that way.”
“Of course she is.” Darryl wanted answers and he didn’t want to wait six months for them.
“Only if you let them stick a needle in your abdomen while you’re wide-awake, too,” Belle snapped.
“They don’t really do that,” he said. “Do they?”
“All the time,” said the
Obviously, there had been a mistake; probably the doctor had two women patients with similar names. Belle braced herself for the inevitable embarrassment that such a mix-up would cause.
She was about to march into a tiny room, wearing nothing but sunglasses and a puny garment that could easily double as a cleaning rag, and find herself face-to-face with a startled and completely unfamiliar man.
She wondered if he was cute. She might let him watch.
The ultrasound room had its lights turned low, and a curtain surrounded the equipment. When she entered, Belle felt as if she were strolling into the haunted house at a Halloween party, except that she was the only one wearing a costume.
She prepared an apologetic smile as the nurse led her around the curtain. “Gee, I guess there’s been a mis…”
There was no point in finishing the sentence, because there had been no mistake. Or rather, there had been a huge, enormous, pigheaded one.
D ARRYL COULDN‘T BELIEVE the woman was wearing sunglasses to an ultrasound. Who was she planning to fool?
Besides, the paraphernalia prevented him from getting a good look at her shocked expression, which spoiled a lot of the fun. He’d had a hard time falling asleep last night for all the chortling as he imagined Belle’s reaction today.
“Hi, honey,” he said.
The technician, indifferent to the vibes thrumming across the room, instructed her to lie on a padded table.Belle made quite a production of climbing onto the padded table and flopping down on her back.
“This might feel a little cool.” The technician parted the front of the gown and squirted some goo on Belle’s stomach, then took a device that resembled a computer mouse and moved it across her stomach.
Darryl’s gaze shifted to the ultrasound screen. All he could see was a gray blur. He might as well have been looking at a close-up look of Belle’s kidneys.
“Okay, I think we’re getting an arm here,” said the technician. “And there’s the heartbeat.” She pointed at something pulsating in the middle of the screen.
“It’s kind of rapid, isn’t it?” Darryl asked.
“Babies’ hearts beat faster than adults’,” said Belle, removing her sunglasses.
Did women know these things by instinct? He refused to believe it. “Did you read about that somewhere?”
“My doctor showed me,” she said. “We could hear the heartbeat on his stethoscope.”
To Darryl’s surprise, it bothered him that he’d missed that experience. By the time he’d even learned of the baby’s existence, a significant milestone in its life had already passed.
On the screen, the picture coalesced into a baby. A lump formed in Darryl’s throat. The kid was tiny, but it possessed a nose, feet, hands, even fingers. Incredible.
“He’s sucking his thumb.” The technician pointed. “See there?”
“‘He,’“ Darryl repeated. “It’s a boy?”
“Let’s see if we can tell.” The technician swooped her mouse over Belle’s stomach.
“What do you mean, ‘if?” he demanded.
“Sometimes you can tell, sometimes not,” the woman explained. “There, that looks like a penis—nope, just a shadow.”
“Try harder, will you?” Darryl had come here expecting to learn the child’s sex. What good was modern science if it couldn’t determine that?
“Who cares?” said Belle.
He shrugged. “You need to know what color to paint the nursery, don’t you?”
“I’m painting it purple,” she said.
The technician shook her head. “I’m afraid Baby’s not going to cooperate. Are you having an amniocentesis? You can find out that way.”
“Of course she is.” Darryl wanted answers and he didn’t want to wait six months for them.
“Only if you let them stick a needle in your abdomen while you’re wide-awake, too,” Belle snapped.
“They don’t really do that,” he said. “Do they?”
“All the time,” said the
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