Two Steps Back Read Online Free Page A

know what to think or feel or say. The horses felt like they were hurtling through her body rendering her nervous and mute. After weeks of trying not to think of the blob as a person, but rather an unfortunate inconvenience, she was completely caught off guard by this moment.
    That’s my baby? That’s my baby? That’s my baby? Jaylah turned the question over in her brain again and again hoping to find an answer.
    While Dr. Lawson moved the probe around Jaylah’s belly trying to catch a glimp se of the fetus, Jaylah grabbed her phone and dialed Johnny.  She did not know what she would say, or why she was even calling him given their recent blowout. But she needed to share this moment and it was only fitting that it would be with him.
    “Jaylah?” he answered with a sigh, “Look, I’m still at the office and don’t want to argue.“
    She put him on speaker. “Can you hear it?”
    “Hear what?” he asked, sounding annoyed. “It’s late and I need to get out of—“
    She moved the phone closer to the machine. “Listen.”
    The team of horses picked up their pace, seemingly spurred on by their voices. After a few seconds of drumming, she heard Johnny’s voice catch in his throat.
    “Can you hear it?”
    “Yes, yes, my God, yes,” he said. “It’s so fast.”
    “And strong,” Dr. Lawson said. “And look at that. There it is.”
    “What? What?” Johnny asked, slightly panicked. “Everything okay?”
    “Everything’s fine,” Dr. Lawson and Jaylah answered in unison.
    “See that? That’s the fetus,” Dr. Lawson said , pointing to the blob on the screen.
    “It’s so tiny, ” Jaylah whispered.
    “Yeah, about the size of a kidney bean. Less than an inch. Judging from the size of the fetus , and the date of your last period, you’re about eight weeks along.”
    “That far?” Jaylah gasped. “That’s two months!”
    “It’s still very early. A typical pregnancy lasts for about 40 weeks, so you have quite a lot of time to go if you decide the fetus to carry to term. But you need to make up your mind quickly, okay?”
    Jaylah nodded. “Okay.”
    “Great. You can get dressed. Do you want me to send your mom back in?”
    Jaylah shook her head.
    Dr. Lawson chuckled. “I don’t blame you.”
    She left the room and closed the door. Jaylah stared at her phone and got lost in the deep crevices of her mind.
    “Thank you,” Johnny said, bringing her back to the moment.
    “What?”
    “Thank you for letting me hear that. It was,” his voice cracked, “beautiful.”
    “What are we going to do, Johnny?” She was asking herself just as much as him.
    “You’re going to come home, we’re going to get married, and we’re going to raise our baby,” he said firmly.
    “Married? You’re already married.”
    “ Yes, but not for long.”
    “We shouldn’t rush into anything, Johnny. The timing couldn’t be worse. We’ve only been together a few months, I just got a job, and—”
    “Thin gs don’t always go according to plan, Jaylah. But we can make it work.”
    “How do you know? It didn’t work with your wife.”
    “Can you stop saying that? This is totally different.”
    “How? You guys got married because she was pregnant. How is this any different?”
    “Because I want to be with you , Jaylah,” he said, exhaustion creeping into his voice. “Can’t you see I’m crazy about you? I want to build a life with you, and I want to marry you.”
    “Because I ’m pregnant.”
    “Because I love you.”
    Jaylah rubbed her temples and let Johnny’s words hang in the air. She knew he loved her, knew that he meant well, but was that enough? Could love sustain them through a pregnancy, his divorce, and whatever else that would come their way?
    She appreciated his sense of duty, but she wasn’t convinced that they were the exception—the couple who could overcome a troubled start and crazy drama to live happily ever after.
    “ Are you still there?” he asked.
    “Yes, I’m here. I don’t