California Girls

You do.

The thought was so unexpected, she tried not to fall over from shock. No, no and no. She was not interested in Daniel. No way, nohow. She had flaws but she wasn’t an idiot. Not only were there a thousand reasons not to get involved with her ex-fiancé’s brother, it was an awful way to repay someone who had only been nice. Super nice. Nope, she wasn’t into him at all. Not even a little. Really.





Chapter Thirteen


“Your blood work results are excellent,” Dr. McQueen told Zennie. “You’re not on birth control, you’ve tested negative for any STDs. From a health perspective, there’s no reason to think you can’t carry a healthy baby to term.”

“But?” Zennie asked her gynecologist. “I sense a ‘but’ coming.”

Dr. McQueen was a sensible-looking woman in her early forties. She’d been Zennie’s doctor for the past five years. Zennie dutifully saw her for a checkup every twelve months or so, turned down an offer of birth control pills or an IUD and went on her way. She wasn’t due for a baseline mammogram for years, never had any “girl” issues and hadn’t much thought about getting pregnant until a couple of weeks ago.

“Pregnancy is natural and the majority of women go through their time with only minor inconveniences. Having said that, it is a stress on the body. There are major physical and hormonal changes that require support and lifestyle changes. Once you deliver the baby, you’ll feel like your old self in a few months but your body will take a full year to heal. There are also risks with pregnancy—I would assume minor risks in your case, but risks nonetheless. And at the end of the day, you will have gone through all that just to give your baby to someone else and it will biologically be your baby.”

She softened her words with a smile. “Zennie, what you’re offering your friend is amazing, but you have to be sure.”

“I appreciate the honesty,” Zennie told her. “I really do, and you’re right—it’s a lot for my body to go through. But I love Bernie and I want to do this for her and Hayes. I’m young, I’m healthy and I have no plans to have kids myself, at least not right now. So I don’t think giving up the baby is going to be hard for me. I want to do this.”

She’d signed the paperwork and dropped it off with Bernie. Now all she needed was a clean bill of health and she would be good to go on getting pregnant.

Dr. McQueen smiled at her. “Sounds like you’ve made up your mind. All right. I’ve given you my best ‘are you sure?’ lecture, so let’s move on. I’ll meet you in the examination room. After double-checking you’re physically good to go, we’ll figure out when we next expect you to ovulate. There are a couple of options and we’ll go over them. How does that sound?”

“Perfect.”

Twenty minutes later, when Dr. McQueen finished the exam, she didn’t look happy.

“What’s wrong?” Zennie asked. She’d just had her annual four months earlier. Her Pap had come back completely normal. What could have changed in that short a time?

“Nothing’s wrong,” her doctor assured her. “It’s just...” She smiled. “Zennie, my best guess is you’re ovulating right now. Not to rush you, but the lab is here. We could confirm you’re ready with a quick ultrasound, have your friend’s husband come in and make a deposit, so to speak. After the lab does their thing, we could make an attempt right now.” Her voice softened. “Or we could wait a month if you need time to process all this. I know it’s very quick.”

The news was a little disconcerting, but if she was going to do this, why wait another month?

“Let’s find out if I’m ovulating,” she told the doctor. “After that, I’ll decide.”

A little warm gel and time with a wand later, she had her answer. Zennie’s heart thundered in her chest. She was both scared and excited.

“I want to do this,” she told Dr. McQueen. “I’m going to call Hayes right now and have him get over here.”

Dr. McQueen grinned. “I’m going to leave you alone for that conversation,” she said with a chuckle.

Zennie got her phone and dialed. Hayes’s assistant put her through right away.

“Hey, Zennie, what’s up?”

Zennie drew in a breath. “Hayes, I know this is really fast, but I’m at the doctor’s office. She gave me a clean bill of health, and it turns out I’m ovulating right now. So if you want to get started today, you have to get here right away.”

There was a moment of silence. Hayes cleared his throat. “So you’re saying I would be, ah, providing the sample.”

Zennie sighed. Men were so delicate. “I’m sure they have a room here where you’ll be able to make that happen. No pressure.”

“Oh, there’s pressure. Right now? Okay. I’ll clear my calendar and be on my way.”

She gave him the address and hung up, then went to tell Dr. McQueen’s nurse Hayes was on his way.

Zennie looked at the clock on the wall and knew Bernie would still be at school. Zennie texted her the information, along with the address for the doctor’s office, then prepared to wait.

Less than three hours later, Zennie lay flat, with her feet slightly elevated, Bernie holding her hand.

“I can’t believe this is happening,” her friend told her. “Zennie, thank you so much.”

“You know it could take a couple of tries, right? I’m unlikely to get pregnant the first time.”

“I know, but still. You just did it, you didn’t even think about it.”

“I’ve already said I want to do this. Why would I wait?” She looked at the door. “Hayes isn’t joining us?”

Bernie grinned. “He went home. I’m not sure he wants to face you right now.”

“It was kind of weird. I did my best not to think about it while it was happening.”

They both giggled.

“How do you feel?” Bernie asked. “I heard there could be cramping after artificial insemination.”

“There’s barely anything. A slight achiness, but it’s already fading.” She looked into Bernie’s eyes. “We’re doing this. We’re making you a family.”