Midnight Sun (99 page)

“
Are
you
the
father?
”
S
he
looked
up
at
Marcus
and
smiled
flirtatiously
at
him.
He
was
taken
aback
and
flustered
by
her
brazen
look.

“
Yes,
I
am,
”
h
e
said.
“
She
’
s
my
wife.
”

“
Hmmm
…
you
got
a
good
one
there
,
Mrs
.
Johnson.
He
’
s
a
hottie.
”

“
Yeah,
he's
been
getting
that
reaction
from
a lot of
women
lately
.
”

“
Well,
it
looks
like
he
got
that
reaction
from
you
too
.
”
S
he
winked
and
flashed
a
smile
toward
Marcus,
her
chubby
cheeks
balled
up
on
the
sides
of
her
face
making
her
look
like
a
C
abbage
P
atch
D
oll
with
clown
makeup.

Marcus
was
uncomfortable
near
her.
He
moved
to
the
other
side
of
the
bed,
putting
Lonnie
between
him
and
the
rotund
nurse.
Lonnie
lay
back,
barely
stifling
a
burst
of
laughter.
The
nurse
reminded
her
of
the
secretary
on
T
he
Drew
Carey
S
how
from
the
nineties.
Marcus
’s
reaction
to
her
was
almost
as
funny
as
the
woman
herself.

“
O
kay
,
let
’
s
get
started
here
.
”
Nellie
grabbed
a
tube
of
lubricant
from
the
shelf
under
the
machine
and
squirted
some
into
her
rubber-gloved
hand.

“
If
you
could
pull
your
shirt
up
,
honey,
just
over
your
belly.
Don
’
t
need
Mr.
Stud
there
to
get
too
much
of
an
eyeful.
”

She
slid
her
hand
onto
Lonnie
’
s
belly.
The
baby
jumped
at
the
contact.

“
Oh
,
boy
—the
baby
’s
certainly
alive
,
ain
’
t
it?
The
lotion
is
going
to
be
a
little
cold
,
honey,
but
it
makes
the
wand
work
a
whole
lot
better.
”

Nellie
rubbed
the
lotion
over
Lonnie
’
s
belly
until
it
was
evenly
spread
,
then
switched
on
the
wand
and
put
its
tip
against
the
lower
part
of
her
distended
belly.
The
screen
on
the
ultrasound
machine
immediately
lit
up.
Marcus
looked
at
the
image,
a
smile
stretching
across
his
face.
A
clear
picture
of
the
baby
’
s
face
came
into
view.
The
baby
stretched
as
if
craning
its
neck
to
get
a
better
view
through
the
window
of
the
machine.
It
was
sucking
its
thumb,
the
other
arm
wrapped
around
its
middle.

“
Wow,
”
Marcus
said,
a
look
of
wonderment
on
his
face,
“
it
looks
like
it
is
alive
already,
like
I
can
just
hold
it.
”

“
Well
,
that
’
s
because
it
is
alive
,
silly
man,
”
Nellie
replied.
“
That
right
there
is
a
totally
viable,
totally
alive,
ready
-
to
-
conquer
-
the
-
world
baby.
You
want
to
know
the
sex?
”