Page 25 of Doctor’s Surprise Twins

Maggie

Traffic passedby the small corner café just three blocks from the hospital. Gypsy and I had taken lunch together privately. I needed to talk and I didn’t want anyone else to hear, and Gypsy and I had grown a bit closer over the past few months working together. After leaving town for so long to attend college, I found myself having zero friends, and this wasn’t the sort of thing you talked to your brother about. So Gypsy it was.

The sun overhead was hot, late June finally showering us in the warmth we deserved. We sipped lemonade and swapped patient stories while we ate. But what I had to talk about weighed on my thoughts so much that Gypsy could see right through me. She had asked me at least five times if everything was okay, and each time, I forced a smile and told her it was.

It wasn’t, and I was about to explode.

“So you keep lying to me, telling me you’re okay, but I can see that something is bothering you. You keep stabbing your pasta like it’s going to jump off the plate and attack you. And if your smile gets any faker, I’m going to think you’re practicing to be in the Ms. Universe pageant.”

Gypsy slurped her lemonade, making gurgling sounds as the liquid in the cup ran out and air chased the last drops into her mouth. She reached across the table and grabbed my wrist, stopping me from murdering the linguini. I felt tears brimming already and knew exactly why. My typical strength of being able to shut down emotion, compartmentalize, and move on had eluded me for the past few weeks.

“Tell me what’s wrong.”

“I’m pregnant.” There was no point in trying to put it eloquently. I was a hormonal mess, and before I finished the words, the tears were rolling. I’d never felt so weak in my life.

She released my wrist and grabbed her napkin, shoving it into my hand. “Fuck, girl. When did you find out? How far along are you? Did you tell Dr. Holt? Are you going to see him?”

“No!” I snapped. I shouldn’t have snapped. It might have given me away, but it was a knee-jerk reaction. “No, Gypsy. I’m not seeing Derek as my doctor, and I would appreciate it if you didn’t say anything to him—or to anyone, for that matter.”

She nodded but looked confused. I wiped my face and blew my nose, my desire to decimate my linguini finally gone. It felt like the dam had burst and I was two hundred gallons lighter.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to snap at you. I’m just so fucking emotional right now.” I tossed the used napkin to the table and sipped my lemonade before continuing. Gypsy sat waiting patiently, her ear tuned to my heart. “I don’t want Derek to know because he’s my brother’s friend, and I’m not ready to tell my family.” It was as good a lie as any, and it was one hundred percent true.

“Sure, I get that.” She took my hand again, offering her sympathy. “You want to talk about it? You know who the dad is?”

“Yeah, I know exactly who it is. I’ve only slept with one guy in the past year, so there is no mistaking it. The problem is that he made it very clear to me that all he wanted was sex. I can’t go tell him I’m pregnant. I mean, the relationship is pretty much over anyway, but if I tell him this, I’m not sure what he will think.”

More tears streamed down my face, but there were no more clean napkins to dry them up. I swiped at them furiously as Gypsy tried calming me with comforting words, but nothing stopped the torrent once it started. A friendly stranger passed by and laid a pack of travel-sized tissues on the table and patted my shoulder before walking away. She said nothing, but the feminine bond all women share was felt.

“Okay, so you’re on your own right now. That’s not horrible, Maggie. You’re a very strong woman. You are capable and smart. You will be a terrific mother.”

But would I? Gypsy continued talking, but suddenly, my thoughts turned to what should have been my very first reaction the moment I took that damn test. My period was over a week late, which wasn’t unheard of with my insulin imbalance. Sometimes, it was just late because my hormones got off. But when Derek and I had sex and my boobs were tender, then I started feeling sicker and sicker, the last straw was my period being late.

I freaked out about him, about what he’d think. I hadn’t even stopped to realize that I had no idea how to be a mother. Mom died when I was so young that there were times I forgot her voice, her scent, or the things we did together. For all intents and purposes, I had no mother. How was I supposed to be a good mother?

“Maggie!” Gypsy snapped her fingers in front of my eyes and called me back from my silent inner obsessing. She plucked a tissue from the donated travel pack and put it in my hand. I had to be a wreck. My makeup was probably smeared everywhere, giving me racoon eyes, but what did it matter right now? “Listen, you need to tell the father. If you can’t tell me who it is, that’s fine. But first of all, he deserves to know. And second of all, he needs to take financial responsibility for this.”

“I can’t, Gyps. You don’t understand.”

I shook my head firmly and blew my nose again. There was no way in hell I was telling Derek. At least, not any time soon. I knew him. He’d either freak out entirely, or he’d demand that we “do the right thing”. I didn’t want him to feel obligated into a relationship or pity me for the situation I was in. I wanted him to love me the way I loved him, and it was obvious to me that he didn’t.

“Why not? It’s not like he isn’t aware that you’ve had unprotected sex...” Her eyes grew large. “Please tell me he’s aware that you were not on the pill.” She sighed and leaned in, whispering very loudly, “Maggie, he knows, right?”

“If you’re asking whether I planned this on purpose, the answer is no. I did not. We had unprotected sex at least half a dozen times, but he never asked if I was on the pill. We just sort of... did it.”

I shrugged. It had been the last thing on my mind, anyway. When we had sex, I had always been in the moment. And it wasn’t like I was trying to get pregnant.

“I wasn’t accusing you. It’s just something that people think about when they start having sex. You know? You didn’t think of this?”

“You’re making me sound like I’m totally irresponsible. I’m not. When we had sex, it was at times I believed myself not fertile. Like, I track my ovulation and shit, but maybe the stress of the move, the new job, you know... maybe it threw my cycle out.”

I had been so obsessed with him, seeing him after all these years, reconnecting. He was so fucking hot, and even though I had one hundred percent confidence in my appearance, it wasn’t often that a man that attractive would fall for a big, beautiful woman like me. It was an ego boost, and it blinded me to some of the crucial details I should have thought of.

“Just help me.” I scowled and buried my face in my hands.

“I’m here. Okay? I’m not going anywhere. You’re like the closest thing I have to a best friend, Mags, and if you’re going through this, I’m going through it with you. Alright?” Gypsy’s hand on my back comforted me as she rubbed in a circular motion. She was right. I had to tell Derek. And I would have to eat my words when I had to come clean and tell Gypsy that he was the father, but he deserved to know before anyone else.

I piled all the trash onto my plate and stood, tucking the travel tissues into the pocket of my scrubs as I walked to the bin. Gypsy followed a few steps behind.

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