The clinic smelled of alcohol, baby powder, and fear.
Dr. Salinas greeted me gently.
“Did someone come with you?”
I shook my head.
“My husband says this baby isn’t his.”
The doctor did not judge me.
She did not make a face.
She simply asked me to lie down.
The gel was cold.
The screen lit up.
I held my breath.
First, there was a shadow.
Then a tiny moving dot.
Then a heartbeat.
Strong.
Fast.
Alive.
I covered my mouth and cried.
“Hello, my love,” I whispered.
Dr. Salinas smiled softly.
Then she moved the transducer again.
Her smile faded.
She frowned.
She zoomed in.
She checked the date of my last period.
Then she looked at my chart.
“Mrs. Laura… when did you say your husband had the vasectomy?”
I went cold.
