Annie's Song by Catherine Anderson Page B

stomach. “Tummy ache?” He kneaded gently with expert fingers. As her parents had forewarned, her abdomen was slightly distended. He took gentle measure of the swelling, then pulled the quilt back up to her waist and smiled at her, “Everything seems to be in fine order to me.”
    The distrust in her eyes told Daniel that unless he used restraints, an internal examination would be nigh unto impossible. Undaunted, he bent to open his black bag and withdrew his stethoscope. He hadn’t been working in this profession for over forty years without learning his way around shy patients. After cupping the stethoscope’s receiver between his hands to warm it, he placed it just beneath her collarbone and made a great show of listening to her heart, gently flattening his palms against her chest as he did so.
    When she didn’t protest, he moved the instrument lower, then lower still until he had it positioned over her small breast. While pretending to listen, he quickly palpated the area, his heart sinking when she winced and he felt how swollen she was.
    Without doing a thorough exam, he couldn’t be absolutely positive she was pregnant, but the distension of her abdomen and the tenderness in her breasts were two undeniable counts against her. He sighed as he returned the stethoscope to his bag. Given the cessation of her menses, he felt ninety-nine percent sure her parents were correct in their diagnosis. He didn’t relish the thought of relaying the news to them. Edie would no doubt shriek and carry on, which would only alarm the girl all the more.
    Straightening, he regarded Annie with saddened eyes. What was to become of her? he wondered. A home for unwed mothers, at best. Possibly a nightmarish stint in an asylum. The thought nearly broke his heart. She was a wild little creature, accustomed to running free in the woods. Being locked up anywhere would be hard on her, especially when she couldn’t be made to understand it was only for a few months.
    Acting on impulse, Daniel smoothed her dark hair back from her face. The loveliness of her delicate features made his breath catch. He drew a piece of hard candy from his breast pocket and enfolded her hand around it. “Maybe you’ll feel like a sweet in the morning, hmm?”
    Long after the doctor doused the lamp and left her room, Annie lay still, staring at the shadows on the ceiling. The candy in her hand was beginning to melt, and it felt sticky against her palm. Dimly she could remember the doctor coming to see her when she was small. His hair had been black then, not gray, and his face hadn’t been so lined. But try as she might, she couldn’t recollect his bringing her sweets. That he Generated by ABC Amber LIT Conv erter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
    had done so tonight was a puzzle. She hadn’t missed the concern in his expression when he felt her stomach. If her growing fat had everyone so worried, why would he bring her a treat that would only make her grow fatter?
    There was a strange feeling in the air tonight, like right before a lightning storm. Occasionally she felt vibrations emanating from the floor and walls and wondered what made them. Doors opening and closing? Footsteps? She wanted to sneak from her room and peer over the banister to see what was happening downstairs, but she was afraid her mother might catch her. Sometimes Annie could watch the goings-on without getting into trouble, but she sensed that tonight wasn’t one of those times.
    Rolling onto her side, she placed the piece of candy on her bedside table. Then she licked the stickiness from her palm, savoring the sweetness and hoping such a small amount of sugar wouldn’t make her any fatter. She’d never seen her parents so upset, not even the time she’d run up to the front of the church to touch the organ.
    Drowsy, Annie drew the quilt up to her chin and closed her eyes. Tomorrow, she vowed, she wouldn’t eat anything but a small breakfast and dinner. In no time at all,