Charles quickly stepped in to comfort Jude. “You don’t have to worry about it too much. The doctor is just giving us a heads-up.”
“A heads-up? But we can’t indeed see the baby’s fingers when both its fists are clenched!” Jude was about to leap out of bed.
While watching her reaction in resignation, the doctor was slightly regretting his decision to point the truth out to the couple. However, it was his duty to do so. As a doctor, no matter how slim the chance of the defect occurring could be, there was nonetheless a chance in which that might be the case, so he had to inform them.
“At the moment, I can’t capture the baby’s face clearly, so I can’t take a photo of it. Why don’t you go on a quick stroll before coming back? You can have some chocolate. The baby will turn to face us when it’s excited.”
Meanwhile, Charles helped Jude up, and then wiped away the coupling agent on her belly with some tissues. After he ushered her out of the room, she began pacing back and forth in the corridor. “Darling, could our baby actually not have fingers?”
“It won’t. Don’t worry too much about it.”
“What do you mean by that? The possibility is there! This is your baby we’re talking about. Why do you seem not to care about it at all?” Jude was starting another rant yet again.
“Why would I not care about the baby? Jude, the doctor already told us that there is only a slim chance of the defect occurring. A lot of babies have their fists clenched during ultrasound scans, so there’s nothing to worry about.”
Despite Charles trying to patiently explain to Jude, she burst into tears of sorrow unwittingly. “You’re such a heartless b*stard! You don’t care about our baby at all! The baby would be disabled if it turns out that it has no fingers! How do you expect the child to survive then?”
Jude was sobbing like a child, which prompted the people around them to look her way. Slightly embarrassed by the attention, Charles led her to the lounge in a corner. “Now, now, Jude, don’t cry. I swear that the baby will be alright.”
“Your swearing means nothing! Can you give me another baby if this baby is disabled? I went through such a lengthy pregnancy to give birth to the baby, so this baby is the only one I want...”
All the while, Charles was feeling defeated. When will this pregnancy end? I don’t think I can do this any longer.
It took him some time to placate Jude. Upon doing another scan, the doctor heaved a sigh. “I’m sorry. The baby is still clenching its fists. And it’s asleep now, with its back to us, so we can’t take a clear photo of it.”
Hearing that almost gave Jude a mental breakdown. “Why would it fall asleep now of all times? Does it not worry about anything at all?” Even after a few more attempts, the baby was still asleep. With Jude exhausted and running out of stamina, they had no choice but to go home.
Even after getting home, Jude was muttering incessantly, going down the rabbit hole. “What if the baby doesn’t have fingers? We didn’t get to see its face, so what if it’s ugly? I won’t be able to love him if he looks ugly. I know I will. You know I’m all about looks.”
All Charles could do was listen to her nonsensical words while trying his best to console her. After she fell asleep at night, he was finally able to relax. He received a video call from Pierre when he was in his study.
Neither of them liked the other in the beginning. Nonetheless, they ended up being best buddies who would talk about loads of stuff. Mainly, they compared their own circumstances with each other, hoping to find solace by knowing who had it worse.
“What is it?” Charles didn’t want to pick up Pierre’s call at all.
“I’m calling to see how you’re doing. From what I gather, you couldn’t see your baby’s fingers and face when you went for an ultrasound scan today. Here, look!” Pierre took out Selena’s ultrasound scan photo to show it off to Charles. “This is ours. How does it look? Doesn’t it look nice and clear?”
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Daddy, Chasing Mommy Back is On Us!