The next two months were long and hard and horrible. My dizziness, nausea, headaches, and weakness continued occurring more and more often. We saw the doctor and after numerous meetings and talking about our choice and the effects it would cause we made arrangements to have the procedure. Test after test after test was done to prove that not only was I physically capable of having a healthy egg, but that Nick had healthy sperm and Pollyanna could carry a child.
I was exhausted and scared and nervous about the whole thing the day Polly went in for the procedure. Howie still hadn’t spoken to us though the others had been nothing but supportive and kind. After all was said and done we sat by Pollyanna’s bedside and waited for the doctor. We held our breath when she came in finally.
“Well the procedure went well. Now it’s up to Pollyanna’s body,” the doctor said, smiling at us gently.
“Well Polly, let’s pray your body wants a baby,” I teased, smiling at her.
“I want to see you make here in three weeks, Pollyanna and we will know if this worked. Deal?” the doctor asked.
“Deal,” Polly answered, smiling.
She walked out and I turned back to Pollyanna.
“Have I told you what this means to me?” I asked her.
“I have a vague idea,” she teased.
“Oh Polly, I wish I knew the words. This means so much to me, so much more than I could ever tell you. Even if this doesn’t work, thank you for at least being willing to try, to give me, us this final miracle,” I said, the tears burning my eyes as I held her hand. “Thank you so very much.”
“Riley, don’t cry,” she begged, crying as well. “I want to do this as much for you as for Nick. Maybe even for myself. I’ll be miserable without you but maybe I’ll be a little less miserable if I can see you every day in this child.”
I looked back at Nick and smiled. “So what do you think, Daddy? Think in nine months you’ll be holding a little Nicky,” I joked.
“More like a little Riley,” he teased back, smiling as he took my hand.
“Have you two thought about names?” Pollyanna asked, smiling as she watched us.
“Gabriel Nicholas Carter,” I answered, grinning. “Because he’ll be an angel.”
“Star Riley Carter,” Nick added. “Because she’ll be as bright and never fading as her mother.”
“You two are so mushy,” Polly teased.
The next three weeks were worse than the previous two months. Every single moment was spent thinking of the outcome. We wondered and hoped and prayed, but we also dreaded and feared and hide from the outcome. We wanted so much to know everything had worked and that in nine months Polly would bring our baby into the world but we also were scared to know that it hadn’t worked, that we had essentially failed.
Three weeks later we were back in the doctor’s office and we were waiting on the results of Polly’s pregnancy test. With Pollyanna on the table, I held her hand with my right and Nick held my left. We held our breath and we waited.
I searched the doctor’s face as she walked back into the room for any sign of the news she had. Her face was passive though, showing no emotions good or bad.
“Well?” Nick urged, as nervous and anxious as I was.
This child we had come to hope for so much had suddenly come to mean so much to him. A child he had once fought not to have was now a child he yearned for almost as much as I did. Many nights he had lay awake in my arms talking about the things he would teach our child, the stories he would share, the songs he would sing. He had so many dreams for this baby and I was so relived and happy to know he know wanted him or her as much as I did.
“I’ve got your test results, Ms. Dorough,” the doctor finally spoke.
“Yes?” Pollyanna urged, squeezing my hand in suspense.
“Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Carter, Ms. Dorough. You’re going to be parents,” she answered, suddenly smiling.
“I’m pregnant?” Polly asked, stunned.
“We are pregnant,” Nick corrected, smiling as he pulled me into his arms. “Congratulations, Mommy.”
“Congratulations, Daddy,” I said, smiling as the tears slipped down my cheeks. I hadn’t been that happy since the day I married Nick.
“We are going to have a baby,” Polly said, smiling at us as she lay a hand over her stomach.
“Polly, I love you. I will never be able to tell you what this means to me. Thank you. Thank you so much, “ I cried, hugging her.
“Congratulations, you guys,” she said, pulling Nick into our hug.
“We’re gonna be a family,” Nick added and I felt his tears as well.
“Come on, you two. Let’s go home and call the rest of our family,” I said, smiling as we left the office.
That night as we lay in bed Nick held me and whispered to me in the dark. We had called his family as well as the other guys and they had all be so happy for us. Even Jane and Bob had been thrilled at the thought of a grandchild even though Nick was so young. Brian and Kevin had been constant in their support and A.J. had been overjoyed at the news telling us he was going to spoil our child rotten.
“We’re really going to have a baby,” he said. His voice betrayed his amazement and wonder at the thought.
“Are you happy?” I asked him.
“No, it’s more than happy. It’s indescribable. I don’t know how to explain it. It’s amazing,” he answered, pulling me closer. “Thank you.”
“For what?” I asked, looking up at him in the dark.
“For convincing me that I would missing out on this miracle. I love you, goldie locks.”
“I love you too, sunshine.”
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