Read Online The Christmas Baby Bump by Lynne Marshall - Free Book Online
Authors: Lynne Marshall
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morning, Stephanie hung up the phone after a long conversation with her mother. She’d used the excuse of being on call—which wasn’t completely untrue—for not showing for Thanksgiving. If things followed the usual routine, her sister would be on the phone within the next ten minutes, and Mary was ruthless when it came to arm-twisting. All the more reason to get started with her appointments.
Phil had surprised her last night with both his technical skill and tender banter with his brother. The more she got to know him, the more she suspected his playboy reputation was just a cover. Helping out with Robbie’s exam hadn’t been nearly as bad as she’d thought it would be, another surprise. Maybe she was getting used to him. She’d watched the boy sleep, and yearning had clutched her heart. If only her son could be alive.
She closed her eyes and bit her lip. Someone tapped on the door.
“Your next patient is ready.”
Thank heavens for work.
By midmorning, Amy delivered the latest batch of lab reports and special tests.
Stephanie shuffled through the stack with an eye out for two in particular. The first was great news—it was just an ovarian cyst for Ms. Winkler. The next report wasn’t nearly as welcome. Celeste Conroy’s Pap smear showed abnormal cells. She picked up the phone.
After she’d calmed the woman down, she suggested her plan. “I’d like to perform a colposcopy, which is a fancy way of looking at your cervix up close with a bright light and magnifying glass.”
The proactive next step went over better than the bombshell dysplasia news.
“And while I’m examining your cervix, I’ll take atiny biopsy of that questionable area. This will give us a better idea of exactly what we’re dealing with.”
After a brief silence, several questions flew from the young pregnant woman’s mouth. Stephanie answered each as she was able.
“The exam is not threatening to your pregnancy, though after I do the biopsy, there may be some mild cramping and light bleeding. We’d have to monitor you carefully to make sure the bleeding was from the biopsy and not from the pregnancy, but the risk is extremely low that your baby will be in jeopardy.”
After a few more minutes of convincing the patient to arrange an appointment on Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, she hung up.
And now she had a good reason to stay in Santa Barbara for Thanksgiving. She needed to be well rested and in top form on Friday. Mary could twist her arm all she wanted, but she wouldn’t give in to Thanksgiving dinner in the desert.
Her next call was pure pleasure. “Ms. Winkler? This is Dr. Bennett from Midcoast Medical. I’ve got your ultrasound results back, and you can rest assured that your enlarged ovary is nothing more than a pesky cyst.”
She smiled when her patient sang out a loud “Hallelujah!”
By lunchtime it occurred to Stephanie that she hadn’t seen Phil in the clinic all morning. She nibbled at her microwaved plate of food, and half-heartedly chatted with a couple of coworkers. It also occurred to her that Thanksgiving was going to be one lonely day. She’d hole up in her hotel room and watch a stack of old DVDs and pretend it was just another day. Maybe she’d eat an open-faced turkey sandwich with dressing and gravy, with a side of cranberries from the deli around thecorner, too. Oh, and she’d watch the famous New York Thanksgiving Day parade on TV, she mused with a jumble of faraway thoughts.
“I bet you’re wondering where I’ve been,” Phil said, standing beside her.
“What makes you think I’ve even noticed?” she said, glancing over her shoulder, going along with his playful tone.
“We noticed you weren’t around,” one of the two nurses sharing the community lounge table chimed in. As far as Stephanie could tell, Phil had all the ladies in the clinic wrapped around his finger.
His quirked brow and goofy expression of “see what I’m saying?” made her laugh. It felt
Phil had surprised her last night with both his technical skill and tender banter with his brother. The more she got to know him, the more she suspected his playboy reputation was just a cover. Helping out with Robbie’s exam hadn’t been nearly as bad as she’d thought it would be, another surprise. Maybe she was getting used to him. She’d watched the boy sleep, and yearning had clutched her heart. If only her son could be alive.
She closed her eyes and bit her lip. Someone tapped on the door.
“Your next patient is ready.”
Thank heavens for work.
By midmorning, Amy delivered the latest batch of lab reports and special tests.
Stephanie shuffled through the stack with an eye out for two in particular. The first was great news—it was just an ovarian cyst for Ms. Winkler. The next report wasn’t nearly as welcome. Celeste Conroy’s Pap smear showed abnormal cells. She picked up the phone.
After she’d calmed the woman down, she suggested her plan. “I’d like to perform a colposcopy, which is a fancy way of looking at your cervix up close with a bright light and magnifying glass.”
The proactive next step went over better than the bombshell dysplasia news.
“And while I’m examining your cervix, I’ll take atiny biopsy of that questionable area. This will give us a better idea of exactly what we’re dealing with.”
After a brief silence, several questions flew from the young pregnant woman’s mouth. Stephanie answered each as she was able.
“The exam is not threatening to your pregnancy, though after I do the biopsy, there may be some mild cramping and light bleeding. We’d have to monitor you carefully to make sure the bleeding was from the biopsy and not from the pregnancy, but the risk is extremely low that your baby will be in jeopardy.”
After a few more minutes of convincing the patient to arrange an appointment on Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, she hung up.
And now she had a good reason to stay in Santa Barbara for Thanksgiving. She needed to be well rested and in top form on Friday. Mary could twist her arm all she wanted, but she wouldn’t give in to Thanksgiving dinner in the desert.
Her next call was pure pleasure. “Ms. Winkler? This is Dr. Bennett from Midcoast Medical. I’ve got your ultrasound results back, and you can rest assured that your enlarged ovary is nothing more than a pesky cyst.”
She smiled when her patient sang out a loud “Hallelujah!”
By lunchtime it occurred to Stephanie that she hadn’t seen Phil in the clinic all morning. She nibbled at her microwaved plate of food, and half-heartedly chatted with a couple of coworkers. It also occurred to her that Thanksgiving was going to be one lonely day. She’d hole up in her hotel room and watch a stack of old DVDs and pretend it was just another day. Maybe she’d eat an open-faced turkey sandwich with dressing and gravy, with a side of cranberries from the deli around thecorner, too. Oh, and she’d watch the famous New York Thanksgiving Day parade on TV, she mused with a jumble of faraway thoughts.
“I bet you’re wondering where I’ve been,” Phil said, standing beside her.
“What makes you think I’ve even noticed?” she said, glancing over her shoulder, going along with his playful tone.
“We noticed you weren’t around,” one of the two nurses sharing the community lounge table chimed in. As far as Stephanie could tell, Phil had all the ladies in the clinic wrapped around his finger.
His quirked brow and goofy expression of “see what I’m saying?” made her laugh. It felt
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