Reunited After 25 Years: Amniocentesis

Andrea closed her eyes and tried her best to think of lying in the sun relaxing as the needle plunged into her abdomen. Because of the increased risk of bearing a child with Down's syndrome or another chromosomal abnormality at her age, Dr. Keller had recommended that she undergo an amniocentesis. She felt Anton's hand covering her own tighten, and they both held their breaths as they watched the movements of their unborn child on the screen while the needle entered its amniotic sac.

"Now, that wasn't so bad, was it?" asked the technician as she bandaged Andrea's abdomen.

"I'm just glad it's over," Andrea replied.

"Rest as much as possible for the remainder of the day, and don't go to work tomorrow," the technician told her. "We'll have the results in a couple of weeks."

Anton helped her off the table, and they slowly walked hand-in-hand to the car. "Do you want the radio on, Andrea?" Anton asked quietly.

"There's a Carpenter's cassette in there," Andrea replied. They rode home listening to the soft strains of 'I Won't Last A Day Without You.'

Once inside the house, Andrea put her arms around Anton's waist and buried her face in the front of his shirt. He embraced her and ran his fingers through her hair.

"You can go back to work," she told him. "I'll be OK."

"I would be no good at work, Andrea. I could do nothing but worry about you all day."

Secretly relieved that she'd have her husband's company for the rest of the day after all, she clung to him, enjoying the sensation of his fingers rubbing her back.

She sat in the recliner, and Anton brought her lunch. After they'd both eaten, she watched afternoon TV while Anton worked in the yard.

The winds of March had given way to the sunshine and new growth of April, and Anton was busy getting his greenhouse ready for the new spring. He'd also planted a wide variety of flowers bordering the driveway, and many pots containing flowers or ferns hung from the eaves of the porch or were ensconced in the windowsills. "You should see my mother's home and yard," Anton laughingly told his wife when she admired his green thumb.

Andrea wasn't familiar with any of the daytime soap operas, so she turned the dial to the public TV channel and watched an instructional program about quilting and a documentary about ancient China. She fell asleep toward the end of the documentary, and when she awakened, she saw that Anton had come back inside and placed two wildflowers that he'd picked onto her abdomen. She looked at him and smiled.

"One for you, and one for the baby," he told her.

"We must talk, Andrea," Alexei said after dinner the following night.

"About what?" Andrea felt a tiny bit of trepidation.

"About what we should do if the test shows that there is something wrong with the baby."

It was the subject Andrea tried hardest not to think about. "Well, even if there is a problem, it might not be anything serious. It might be either something minor or something that can be corrected by surgery."

"But what if it is not, Andrea?" Anton's voice was tender as he took Andrea's hands into his own and gazed into her eyes. "Do we have right to bring a child with a serious disability into the world?"

"What do you mean, the right? It's our child, Anton."

"Yes, and we have the responsibility to do what is best. Do you think it would be best for a badly damaged child to be born?"

"But no matter how badly damaged it is, we'll still love it, Anton. It'll still be our child."

"Of course we will love it, Andrea. But love is not the only thing to consider. We must also consider the quality of life of the child, also the effect on society. Lifelong care for a severely damaged child is very expensive."

Andrea felt the caress of cold, prickly fingers on her spine. "So you're saying that if there is something wrong, I should get an abortion just to save money?"

"Not just to save money, Andrea. For the welfare of not only the child, but society as well."

"Society? How can you say such a thing? That's horrible!" Andrea ran into the bedroom and slammed the door shut behind her. A moment later, she heard a soft rap on the door.

"Andrea? Please open up!"

She went to the door and opened it to see Anton looking very repentant. "Andrea, I am so sorry. I did not mean to upset you."

"It's all right, Anton." She shook her head. "I overreacted. Sometimes I just have a hard time remembering that you were raised in a completely different culture with completely different values than the one I was raised in."

Anton smiled. "Of course I will not make you have an abortion if you do not want to, Andrea. After all, it is your body."

"And maybe we're putting the cart before the horse and have nothing to worry about, after all."

A couple of weeks later, Andrea received a telephone call from Dr. Keller's office. "I'm calling to let you know that the results of your amniocentesis are back."

"And?" Andrea held her breath.

"And all the tests came back negative. Everything is completely normal."

"Oh, thank God!" Andrea cried.

"I can also tell you your baby's gender, if you'd like to know."

"Yes!" Andrea crossed her fingers while feeling guilty for doing so. I know it's a lot to ask, but please...