Premeditated Affection

When I am thirty-eight weeks pregnant, an early rupture of membranes leads me to be wheeled into an operating room for a cesarean section.

My anaesthetist turns out to be my ex-boyfriend who I broke up with eight months ago!

OMG! Why him? Can I have another doctor here?

I left him with his baby and now I don't want his baby to be delivered in front of him!

......

I am now in an ambulance whose siren is still wailing, heading for a cesarean section.  

With me are my mother Geraldine Clemens, and my sister, Roberta Clemens.

My sister Roberta is a general practitioner who works at my family's clinic. When she is giving an intravenous drip to a patient, I feel a warm stream coming out of my lower body. Quickly after that, I am put on the bed with my butt and legs lifted a little bit.    

My pants are all wet. Don't ask me where my husband is. I have a baby but no ring. I am a single mother.

But if knew my anaesthetist would be my ex-boyfriend who I broke up with eight months ago, I would rather have persuaded my baby not to come out so quickly.

After all, I am just 38 weeks pregnant now.

Arriving at the hospital and having an ultrasound, I am told that the baby is not in my pelvis yet but the water is not enough for it!  

The fetal monitor shows that the baby is in a dangerous situation with risks of losing breath!  

My doctor then makes a decision, that is, cesarean section!

In the operating room, while Morton Evans is giving me an anesthetic and checking the monitor, he looks at me and says, "Esther Clemens, if I could, I'd like to give you more shots of it."

He is gritting his teeth.

"No, you can't. It is against the law," I say to him.

Morton sneers coldly, "If my memory is correct, we just broke up eight months ago. Right?"

When I finished the relationship with him, I had been pregnant for a month. Thinking carefully, I decided to keep the baby, especially because Morton is the father.  

"Yes, you are right," I reply to him calmly.

Morton must misunderstand that the baby is another man's but I don't know how to explain.

I don't know what I should say if he asks me why I keep this baby without telling him.

Usually, the anesthetist would talk to the patient during the operation but Morton doesn't seem to bother to have a word with me.  

Even the surgeons, assistant doctors, and the nurses notice the embarrassment between Morton and me.

Thinking about the past, I find that my relationship with Morton is pure serendipity.  

When I was a junior in the college, a hit mobile game was very popular among the youngsters. Like others, I was looking for the player whose ID was 'A handful of salt' being my virtual lover.  

To my surprise, he chose me as his game lover.

We did game tasks together every day and he helped me level up my in-game character. When I was attacked by other characters in the game, he would protect me with his unbelievable skills.  

One day, this game lover of mine, 'A handful of salt', sent me a message, "Would you like to go out to meet each other? I am also in San Francisco."

I walked forth and back in my dorm for about half an hour but still couldn't make up my mind. It was my roommate who took my phone and replied to him, "Yes, I'd love to see you in person."

One of my roommates Cornelia said, "Esther, his voice sounds sexy. I guess he must be a hot guy!" Another roommate Lena agreed, "She's right. If you're afraid to meet the man alone, we will go with you and protect you without letting him notice us."  

Then, I was urged by my roommates to meet this hot guy.

He and I were going to meet at a coffee shop near my college.

My two roommates and I were all dumbfounded when we saw Morton sitting by the window of the coffee shop and enjoying the cup of coffee in his hand.

Morton Evans, a graduate student in the Department of Anesthesiology, at Stanford Medicine, was a widely-acknowledged golden boy and the hardest-to-get man.

It was said that during his college years, he'd never been in a relationship because he was picky.

So it was understandable that I couldn't believe Morton was my lover in the game. Was I so lucky to meet Morton who seemed to show little interest in women?

Lena behind me pushed me forward and said quietly, "Go! Go! Go!" Then I staggered in front of Morton, saying, "Morton, is your game ID 'A handful of salt'?"  

"Yes, are you 'Brownie'?"

"Yes, I am."

The so-called hardest-to-get man was sitting right opposite me, drinking coffee and talking with me about video games and studies.    

But I was like a good girl, sitting straight and not daring to take a deep breath.

After a pleasant talk with him, I stood up and was about to leave but Morton stopped me with a serious voice.