Two Steps Back Read Online Free

or…”
    “Definitely or,” Jaylah huffed.
    “Gotcha. When was your last period?”
    “The third week in July,” Jaylah said, remembering how she’d bee n so excited about her new city, and then caught up in the news that Johnny was married that she didn’t even realize she’d missed her cycle. “I noticed I was late in August and took a pregnancy test.”
    “ Okay, let’s see what’s going on here. Assume the position,” Dr. Lawson said, smiling.
    Jaylah put her legs in the cold, metal stirrups and tried to relax. She hated getting pelvic exams, didn’t like anyone probing around in her ladyparts unless they were trying to get her off, but Dr. Lawson made the situation slightly more bearable. She would walk Jaylah through the process and explain exactly what she was about to do, even though they’d both been down this road several times before.
    “I’m just going to insert the speculum, so I can do the pap test first, okay?”
    “Umm hmm,” Jaylah responded, willing her mind to think about other things, happier things.
    “Now I’m just going to use the little spatula to obtain a cell sample from your cervix to make sure everything is alright. You may feel a slight discomfort.”
    Jaylah winced and resisted the urge to snap her legs shut. She closed her eyes and counted backward from 100. By the time she got to 70, Dr. Lawson was done.
    “Everything looks fine. I’ll have the results of your pap in a few weeks. Now, let’s see if we can figure out how far along you are. Be right back.”
    Dr. Lawson left the ro om, but quickly returned with an ultrasound machine that looked like a compact computer workstation. She motioned for Jaylah to open her gown, and then smoothed a thick coat of cold jelly on her torso.
    “We may not be able to see or hear anything, especially if you’re less than six weeks along, but hopefully we’ll get lucky,” Dr. Lawson said.
    Jaylah s tared at the ceiling, unsure she wanted to see the blob in action. She’d been trying not to think of the mass as a little person growing inside her lest she be clubbed over the head by attachment.
    B ut she was curious.
    As Dr. Lawson ran the probe over her belly Jaylah stared at the screen, straining to catch a glimpse of the blob swimming inside her.  She thought about ringing Johnny on Skype so he could also see the blob fluttering about. It would surely make his day, and after their argument about his wife’s reappearance and Jaylah’s ultimatum, they needed something to soothe the anger and hurt feelings.
    But she resisted, calling him would only further complicate things.
    Jaylah refocused her attention on the f lorescent lights above her head and pretended to be 5,000 miles away from the exam room that felt like the walls were closing in and she was going to suffocate. In her mind, Jaylah was back on the Tube, zipping through the tunnel on her way to go shopping in Oxford Circus, wandering around Camden, or meeting Jourdan for drinks at the Satay Bar.
    As she fell further down the rabbit hole of her imagination, Jaylah pictured herself back in her flat in Highbury typing away on her column while Johnny tries to lure her away from the computer with kisses and the promise of Jamaican take out. After finally giving in, the pair cackle like they’ve known each other for years, not months, and their playful flirting turns into steamy love making on her couch.
    “Hmm…” Dr. Lawson said , cutting Jaylah’s daydream short. “I think we may have something. Hear that?”
    Jaylah closed her eyes and focused on the faint drumming coming from the machine. Dr. Lawson turned up the volume and a team of horses galloped out of the speakers and straight to Jaylah’s heart.
    “Is that…” she asked, breathless.
    “Yup, that’s the heartbeat! Now, let’s see if I can actually get a look at the fetus.”
    “Oh my God,” she mumbled, gobsmacked. “That’s really it?”
    “Yeah, it sounds very healthy , too.”
    Jaylah didn’t