Her attention was caught by a shimmering bouquet of colorful balloons hovering above the small desk Everly used to hold her laptop and a few personal effects. The large center balloon read “Happy Birthday!”
“Is today your birthday?” Jasmine asked.
“I’m sorry. What?”
Everly sounded distracted. Jasmine saw her hand pressed against her stomach.
“I noticed the balloons,” Jasmine said. “Are you feeling all right?”
“Oh.” Everly looked in the direction of her desk and smiled. “Yes, it’s my birthday. Cole insisted that I had to keep my balloons where I could see them while I’m working. And yes, I’m fine. You ready to get started?”
“Happy birthday, Doc. And of course I’m ready. Let’s do this.”
“Great. Let’s check on your progress since last time.”
Jasmine was familiar with the routine. Not only had she gone through seven months of PT before her second surgery, she had been seeing Everly for nearly five months now. She followed Everly’s instructions while she used her instruments to evaluate Jasmine’s range of motion and balance, then moved onto the exercises Everly tasked her with.
They were in the middle of some plyometrics exercises when Everly excused herself and made a rather hasty retreat to the bathroom. Jasmine found it odd, but she didn’t get too suspicious until it happened again while Jasmine was on the treadmill.
When Everly returned, Jasmine stopped the machine and asked, “Is there something I should know?”
Everly’s cheeks filled with color. “I’m so sorry. I guess there’s really no getting around letting you in on a little secret.”
“You’re pregnant?”
“Yeah. Lucky me, I’m getting my morning sickness in the afternoons. It’s making it tough to get through my later appointments.”
Jasmine felt for her. The interference with her dancing was just one reason—the most important one—that she didn’t have any desire to have a child of her own anytime soon. That didn’t mean she didn’t know what she was supposed to say at times like these.
“Congrats! When are you due?”
“Mid-September.”
Doing some quick math in her head, Jasmine hazarded, “A post-Christmas surprise?”
Everly laughed. “Exactly.”
“That’s nice. I’m sure it’s a wonderful gift.”
“It is, thanks. Why don’t you get back to the treadmill?” Once Jasmine complied, Everly adjusted the machine’s settings and said, “I’d appreciate you keeping this under wraps for now. We’re not announcing anything until after the traditional twelve weeks.”
“Of course.” Jasmine started moving when the machine kicked into gear. “Cole knows then?”
“Oh, yeah. He’s been holding my hair back most evenings these days.”
“Aww.” That visual was both gross and sweet at the same time. “Is he happy about the coming baby?”
“Over the moon. He’s been talking about a little brother or sister for Grace since before she was born. Now that he has a taste of fatherhood, he can’t seem to get enough.”
Jasmine smiled. “Just tell him to never get as protective of your kids as Katie’s father was today. Yikes.”
“Oh, Will’s a good guy.” Everly studied Jasmine’s mobility and jotted something in her notebook. “He might take being a single dad to a new level sometimes, but he loves Katie to death.”
“He’s a single dad?”
Everly’s troubled expression made Jasmine think she was worried she had said too much. “Yeah. Anyway, I didn’t want you thinking you were going to come down with some plague because I keep running to the bathroom. I promise, you’re fine.”
Sensing that the chit-chat was over, Jasmine nodded and returned her focus to her therapy.
At the end of the appointment, Everly sat with her in the two chairs situated across from the desk. It was Everly’s routine to spend a few minutes with her clients at the end of every session to discuss progress and goals for the next one. Jasmine waited for her to finish reviewing the numbers she had noted throughout the session. The grave look in her blue-green eyes dampened Jasmine’s mood.
“Let’s hear it, Doc,” she said.
“There’s been a little progress,” Everly said, setting her notebook aside. “Not the impressive strides you’re looking for, but even a little progress is good. It tells me you’re working on your exercises on your own at home. I expected no less after getting to know you.”
“Is my progress on par with what you’d expect to see for me to reach my goal of dancing professionally again by summer?”
Everly folded her hands in her lap and paused before she answered. “Jasmine, the injury you suffered…it’s very difficult to overcome. We’re working on it, and I promise to continue putting forth my best effort to get you where you want to be.”