Stuck in the Middle

"Maria, it's our turn", Lana says, waking me from my thoughts.

"Sorry, I was distracted, let's go...", I nervously answer.

Hand-in-hand we walk to the office we are directed to. We enter the little room with an examination chair in the middle. The nurse tells me to sit down in it and tells Lana she can sit down in a chair next to it. I tell the nurse she doesn't speak Dutch and I translate for her. Lana sits down as I asked her and so do I. The doctor enters the room and asks me to lift my shirt. She asks if I have any questions. "When will we know the gender?", I ask. "Well, after today, I'll be able to tell you, would you like to know?" I do and Lana and I talked about this. We really want to know the gender of this little bean. Would be easier to refer to 'him' or 'her' instead of 'it'. And we can start picking our baby's name.

"We do want to know", I answer.

I already explained in an earlier appointment that I was raped and that this baby was a result of that. I was examined and the results came back that both the baby as myself were healthy. I hope for the same results this time...

The examination was long and Lana calmed me down when I got stressed. We are now waiting for the results to come back. "Congratulations, your little girl is very healthy and growing perfectly!", the doctor says, entering the room. I feel tears running down my face and I look at Lana who's having the same reaction. She gets up and hugs me tightly. "I am so happy", I say to her. "So am I, darling, So am I..."

With the happiest feeling of all, we walk to the car. We get ready for name-picking of our little girl.