Hand of Thorns by Ashley Beale

little jealous. I know it's not my baby, but I am carrying the child. Another thing I need to work on- my jealously issues. I have no reason to be jealous. I chose this, so again, I blame the hormones. After all, Marney did tell me I'm going to feel emotional, vulnerable, and many other things throughout the pregnancy, especially the first and last trimester.
    Sitting up, the doctor starts to talk about my next appointment, and which ones will be the most important to all of us. When we're finished, the doctors and technician step out, and in walks Marney with a bright smile on her face.
    "How exciting was that?" she asks, looking first to Ellie then to me.
    Ellie has tears in her eyes, which I hadn't noticed until now. My heart sinks over the fact I've been feeling so uptight about her. Maybe she isn't so bad after all. She obviously has a heart, and it's in the right place, and that is what truly matters, whether she is normally fake acting or not.
    "So wonderful," Ellie states emotionally. "Beautiful. I loved it. I thought I was excited before, but now I have this whole new anxious feeling. I can't wait to meet the little potato."
    Leon reaches for her hand, holding it while she leans into him, smiling ear to ear. He stares over at the monitor, then to Marney. For what seems like the first time, he isn't looking at me.
    I look at Marney as well, just as she gives me a questioning look. "How do you feel?"
    "That was incredible," I tell her. "It definitely is an intense feeling."
    "I'm happy you feel that way. It's good to know when our surrogate moms feel a connection to the baby."
    I don't know what more to say to that, so I smile at her while climbing off the exam table. I sit in the chair to put on my shoes.
    "Oh, those can't be comfortable," Ellie states. I look up to see if she's speaking to me or not. "Those shoes. They've got to be ages old."
    Looking down to confirm I am in fact wearing my new sneakers Dad bought me a month before he passed, I glance back up at her. "They're pretty new, actually. Comfortable too."
    "I don't know," she questions. This is the Ellie I dis-like. The high maintenance one that can't keep a thought to herself. "I think that you should make your way over to Margaret Joanne's, they can custom fit shoes to you, to make sure you're not adding too much pressure to different parts of your feet. I would hate for your ankles to swell due to wearing cheap shoes."
    I continue to stare, blinking a couple times, while feeling three inches tall. After a moment of overall silence, I finally give in her to insult. "Sure. I can do that this week."
    "Oh, good. That'll make me happy. I'll even help pay for them. Only the best for you and our peanut."
    Marney closes up the appointment by going over some of the things the doctor already talked about, mainly what I need to be doing to stay healthy for the baby, things to eat and avoid, limit my stress, and a million things I already know. Then she tells us, as the previous doctor, what to look forward to at the next few visits.
    "So how soon will be know the gender?" Ellie asks.
    "Typically seventeen weeks, sometimes it's harder with a first pregnancy, so we may have to try for twenty weeks."
    "Oh, I thought you could take blood and figure it out with science."
    Marney nods her head. "We could, but we try not to. Even so, that wouldn't be until another seven or eight weeks, since we are technically six weeks into the pregnancy."
    "Can we leave it open as an option?"
    "Certainly. Another thing Monica will have to agree on though."
    They both look to me, and I feel like I'm caught with my hand in the cookie jar. I shrug, unsure how to answer. "I don't care how you find out the gender."
    Without a thank you or anything, Ellie continues to speak with Marney. "Lastly, for the next three weeks I'll be in New York City for work. I know the next appointment isn't for four weeks, but if there happens to be any reason for Monica to be in office, would you please Face