1105 Yakima Street - Debbie Macomber [58]
“A girl would make me just as happy,” he murmured.
“Me, too,” she whispered.
The technician continued. “We have ten fingers and ten toes.”
“You’re sure that’s not another finger you’re seeing?” Chad teased.
“Trust me, Daddy, that’s no finger.”
Chad laughed, and Gloria relaxed. To her surprise, he reached for her hand in a simple gesture of comfort and sharing. It helped ease the tension between them.
The ultrasound only took a few minutes. The physician would be reviewing it for any abnormalities, but Chad—as a doctor himself—assured Gloria that all looked well.
The technician cleaned the sticky substance off Gloria’s abdomen and left the room.
“Have you thought about names?” he asked as she sat up.
“A little…I thought if it was a boy, I’d choose Roy for the middle name.”
Chad nodded.
“Do you have a suggestion for a first name?” she asked, adjusting her clothes.
“DiMaggio.”
“What?” Gloria asked. She couldn’t have heard him correctly.
“DiMaggio. After Joe DiMaggio. I’m a big baseball fan.”
“Couldn’t we just call him Joe?”
Chad shook his head. “Too boring.”
“I am not subjecting our son to a name like DiMaggio. He’ll grow up hating us for that. What’s your dad’s name?” It suddenly occurred to her how little she knew of his life before Cedar Cove, his family, his childhood….
“Robert.”
“Rob Roy. Oh, no.”
“My granddad’s name was Simon,” Chad said.
“Simon Roy,” she repeated. “Well, let’s think about it.”
“Okay, we’ll do that.” They walked out of the office together. “I can hardly believe we actually agree on something.” Chad smiled. “Or almost agree, anyway.”
Chad had good reason to feel that way, and Gloria felt the need to show her appreciation for the fact that he’d come. “I’m glad you were here,” she mumbled, looking down at the pavement.
“I am, too.”
“I should’ve mentioned it earlier… .”
Chad shrugged. “I traded days with a friend. He owes me.”
Neither spoke as he walked her to her car.
“You read the books?” he finally asked, breaking the silence.
“All three, cover to cover.” She grinned. “Including the name book, but the only thing I learned from that is how hard it is to make a decision. I found the pregnancy books really useful, though.”
“I often recommend them.”
“I can see why.”
They stood there, facing each other. It seemed that neither was ready to leave.
“I’m on desk duty now,” Gloria told him.
“I heard,” he murmured. “I bet you hate that.”
She motioned with her hands, unsure what to say. When she’d first been assigned to administrative work and the phones, she’d expected to be bored. But that hadn’t turned out to be the case. “It’s actually okay,” she said. “What about you? Do you like being an E.R. doctor?”
He made the same noncommittal hand motion she had. “It’s not that different from what I did at the Cedar Cove clinic.”
She pushed the button to unlock her door.
“You’re feeling good?”
Gloria nodded. “Too good. I’ve gained five pounds.”
“We both want a healthy baby, Gloria. I don’t want you to worry about gaining weight.”
“I won’t,” she promised. While she didn’t want this conversation to end, she did need to get to work. “I’d better go.”
“Me, too.”
“Thank you,” she whispered, and leaned forward to hug him.
Chad returned her hug. “Gloria?” he said in a low voice.
“Yes?”
“I think you should know I’m still seeing Joni.”
Eighteen
Rachel waited inside the Cedar Cove movie theater for Bruce, looking at her watch every few minutes. Their Friday-night dinner date the week before had gone well—almost like the way things had been when they’d first started going out. It felt good to laugh with her husband again.
What hadn’t felt good was leaving him at the end of the evening. They’d each driven off in opposite directions. But before they parted, they’d made plans to meet again. Rachel had suggested a movie. She’d already seen this particular romantic comedy on one of her late-afternoon excursions, but she knew Bruce would enjoy it, too. They needed more reasons to laugh together. They hadn’t communicated since last Friday and she worried that