Her career!
“I can’t be pregnant.” The room seemed to swirl around. She closed her eyes against the dizziness.
Tanner! Oh God. He would kill her when he found out. She had told him there was no danger of getting pregnant. He’d used a condom, it broke. She told him not to worry, she couldn’t have a baby. How could this happen?
The doctor was looking at her with compassion. “Actually I believe the prognosis was it would be highly unlikely for you ever to conceive. Obviously even doctors make mistakes.” He smiled at her. “I know this is a surprise, but a happy one, I hope.”
“I would like a second testing please.” She could not let her hopes be raised. The disappointment would be too great.
She had been in love in a college, had even been asked to marry her sweetheart—Jason Donalds. But when Jason found out she was unable to have children he’d ended their relationship so fast she hardly knew what hit her.
Since graduation, she had focused on her career to the exclusion of any long-lasting relationships. Her parents had urged her to be more open to men who were interested in her. Not every man wanted children. Adoption was an alternative if they did. But the trauma of losing Jason because she couldn’t have a baby was almost too much to overcome. She was not going to risk her heart that way again.
And somehow she could not blurt out at the first introduction, “Hi, I’m Anna and I am unable to have children, you still want to date?”
The thought that she could be pregnant after all these years, after all the tests, was unfathomable. It had only been one night.
Despite the prognosis, she had always practiced safe sex the few times she’d felt close enough to a man to take the step into the bedroom. Never in a hundred years would she have suspected she could get pregnant.
Tanner was going to be furious. When she told him. Or if.
The doctor complied with her request to conduct a second set of tests. It was late morning by the time he rejoined her to confirm his original diagnosis. He spent several minutes talking with her about prenatal care, what changes she could expect in her body as pregnancy progressed and what risks were present for a woman of her age to be pregnant for the first time. With the uterus scarring, it may prove impossible to carry the child to term. He wanted to monitor her closely as the pregnancy progressed. They set up weekly appointments.
For more than half her life Anna believed she could never conceive a child. To learn she had was hard to grasp. On the way home the reality gradually seeped in. By the time she reached her apartment she was cautiously thrilled. She knew there was no guarantee, but if she’d come this far after conceiving, surely she could deliver a full-term baby.
Hurrying to the phone she quickly dialed her mother’s number.
“Mom you need to sit down, I have some amazing news.”
Ginny Larkin quickly raised a question about Anna’s transfer.
“It’s not that. I’m pregnant!” Anna blurted out.
There was silence at the other end for a long moment. Then her mother asked, “How could that be?”
“It’s a miracle is how,” Anna said. “I didn’t believe it when the doctor told me, so I had him run the tests a second time. It’s true I am pregnant. Isn’t that the most amazing thing? After all these years, I’m going to have a baby!” Anna burst into tears. She felt no different from how she’d felt that morning, still feeling nausea, still tired beyond belief and a bit achy. But she didn’t have the flu; she had a baby beneath her heart.
The fabulousness was beyond belief. She wanted to share the miracle with the whole world, starting with her mother. But caution took hold. She needed to wait until she was used to the fact herself and knew better if chances would improve to carry this child to term. The next few weeks would see how she progressed. The doctor had warned her to take things easy, get plenty of rest and call him if there were any signs of complications. He’d given her something for the nausea and stomach pains and urged her to eat healthy and frequently. He’d given her a prescription for prenatal vitamins. And scheduled her for an ultrasound in a month—to check the viability of the baby.
“I can’t believe it,” Ginny said again. “After all this time. All the doctors said it was impossible.”
“The doctor is backpedaling now—saying it was highly improbable. Of course it’s not impossible—I’m pregnant!” She wanted to shout it from the rooftop!
Then her mother asked, “Who’s the father? I didn’t know you were seeing anyone special.”
Her bubble burst. Anna squeezed her eyes shut, but saw Tanner’s face. She could imagine the fury when he discovered she was pregnant. Yet, there was nothing she could have done differently.
“He’s a really great man, Mom. We were involved this summer. But he had a new job assignment and had to move on. We aren’t seeing each other anymore.” Not in the same way.
Her mother asked, “Is there any chance he’d marry you—just to give the baby a name?”
“Oh, Mom, please. I’m a competent woman. I’ve been on my own for years. I’ll be heading up the European office of the company in a couple of months. I don’t need a man to raise a baby.”
“Of course you don’t need one, but babies do well with both parents,” her mother responded. “Are you still going to Brussels? That’s so far away. How often can I see my grandchild if he or she is five thousand miles away.”
“You’ll probably rack up frequent flier miles. I’ll get a big enough place to have you stay over for weeks at a time.”
“And your father. Your sister and brother and their families will want to see the baby. Can you take leave from work to return to have it here?”
“It’s complicated, Mom. I haven’t worked anything out. I just learned of the baby about an hour ago. Give me some time to get used to it and make plans.”
“Well, of course. And I’m happy to help. Come home this weekend.”
“I’m not sure.” She wasn’t feeling any better for knowing she didn’t have the flu. Added to that was the stress that grew as she contemplated telling Tanner he was going to be a father. Nothing had been said in all the times she saw him about a long-term affair and especially not children.
“Tell me how you’re feeling. When is it due? When will you know the sex? Have you thought of any names? I can’t wait to see you. Oh, honey, I’m so delighted. I never thought—Wait until I tell your father!” Ginny’s enthusiasm came across the lines like a balm to Anna’s jangled nerves. She began to relax as her mother started to admonish her about eating well, sleeping extra hours and keeping up an exercise program. She urged her to take time away from work as much as possible to store up sleep—she’d need it when the baby came.
The two chatted for almost an hour. At the end of the conversation, Anna extracted a promise from her mother not to tell anyone else in the family—she wanted to share than news in a couple of weeks at the Thanksgiving holiday when everyone would be together. Reluctantly Ginny agreed.
“But how I’m going to keep this
