My obstetrician had ordered the scan because my measurements at the previous visit needed another look.
The scan showed reassuring growth.
Only when I heard my daughter’s heartbeat did my hands stop trembling.
Marlene sat beside the table with her bag on her knees.
When the technician printed a photograph, she waited for me to offer it.
“You can hold it,” I said.
She accepted it with both hands.
Afterward, a billing coordinator met us privately.
With my permission, she reviewed the payment history while Marlene showed her the transfer receipt.
The money had gone to Gavin’s personal checking account four months earlier.
Beside the transaction, Marlene had written: Baby expenses—Audrey and Gavin.
“We haven’t received an eight-thousand-dollar payment,” the coordinator said. “Your recent visits were submitted to your insurer. We’re still reviewing which claims may become your responsibility.”
I stared at the receipt.
Gavin had told me his mother refused to contribute.
I had cried in our kitchen that night, embarrassed that I’d asked him to ask her.
“What did he say this money was for?” I asked.
“Your deductible and the hospital balance,” Marlene said. “He said you wanted it handled before the birth.”
“He told me you said no.”
She lowered the ultrasound photograph to her lap.
Gavin waited outside the office.
When he saw us, he stood with his phone already in his hand.
“The money’s in the baby account,” he said before either of us spoke. “I moved it there until the bills arrive.”
“Then show me.”
“Audrey, I have to be at the airport.”
I took out my phone.
