The Whittiers by Danielle Steel

Author:Danielle Steel [Steel, Danielle]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Published: 2022-11-22T00:00:00+00:00

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The next day, Caroline took Annabelle to the obstetrician. Annabelle hadn’t liked the one she’d called randomly, recommended by a friend. Caro suggested going to the practice she went to, and Annabelle was open to it. Caro’s own OB/GYN wasn’t taking new patients, and Annabelle was seeing one of her partners. His name was Ted Kelly, and Caro had never seen him before. Annabelle wasn’t sure how she felt about having a male doctor, but he was the only one in the practice taking new patients.

They spent half an hour in the waiting room, while Annabelle filled out forms. She frowned when she read one of the questions on the clipboard, and pointed it out to Caro.

She was signing in as an obstetrical patient and the question was if she used drugs. “How do I answer that?” she asked her sister, who didn’t hesitate.

“Honestly. He needs to know, in case the baby has a problem, or a defect.”

Annabelle looked pale as she nodded, and wrote in “Previously. Not now.” She listed what she had used, and when, as closely as she remembered. She had stopped once she knew she was pregnant, but had smoked marijuana before that, drunk alcohol, and listed cocaine use twice.

When she handed back the forms, a nurse took them to an exam room, and Annabelle undressed and put on a gown.

“Do you want me to go?” Caro asked her, and Annabelle looked panicked at the thought.

“No! What are they going to do?”

“Probably just examine you. Maybe more blood tests, give you vitamins, all that stuff. And he’ll have the results of the sonogram.” Annabelle nodded and looked scared. And five minutes later, a tall good-looking man with blond hair and blue eyes, wearing a white coat with a stethoscope in his pocket, strode into the room and smiled at them both. He introduced himself, and Caro explained that she was Annabelle’s sister and she was there for moral support. He could see that Annabelle was young, and he was relaxed and friendly as he asked her pertinent questions and made notes on a chart.

“You’re not using drugs or drinking alcohol now?”

She shook her head and looked embarrassed.

“I stopped when I found out. I didn’t know I was pregnant before. My periods are never regular, so I just thought I missed one or two…or three.” He nodded and seemed casual, but Caro could tell he was paying close attention. “I’m not keeping the baby,” Annabelle added in a soft voice. He looked serious then and nodded.

“Have you been to an agency and started the process?” he asked her, and she shook her head. “I can give you some names of attorneys and agencies we’ve worked with.” He didn’t seem judgmental to Caro, and kept his attention focused on the patient. After he examined her he said everything seemed fine. He had seen the sonogram, and the baby was healthy, had no visible anomalies, and was the right size for the due date they had given her.

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