Nine

 

 

It was nine minutes to five when Molly checked her watch.  She was sitting in the doctor’s exam room after the nurse escorted her back from the office lab over twenty minutes ago. 

The doctor wanted to give her the results of her bloodwork and urine sample before she went home. Although this was unusual, Doctor Howe was old school. Molly knew she was going to miss his attention and care when he retired in a few years.

Sitting in the chair by the desk, Molly eyed the hard examination table with more than a little desire. She wanted to lay down, curl up and sleep, something she’d been doing a lot of lately. That and feeling nauseous.

The door opened and Dr. Howe and his nurse came in. She was carrying a cupcake with a candle in it and he held up a tiny banner that read congratulations.  As he got closer, Molly noticed that the words were make up of tiny baby paraphernalia – all held up by storks.

The world shifted and softened around her. She couldn’t catch her breath. The last thing she saw before a misty gauze fell over her eyes was the nurse’s face. Her mouth was working, but there was no sound. Then everything disappeared.

When she came around, the only sound she could hear was her heart – kathumpa-thumpa-thumpa and the blood rushing through her veins. It took a few seconds for other sounds to come back. They started softly before growing to normal decibels. She opened her eyes to see Doctor Howe’s worried expression.

“I’m so sorry Molly,” he said as he patted her hand. “You and Matt have been trying for years for a baby. I thought you’d be on cloud nine with the news.”

Molly tried to sort out her thoughts. She and Matt had been trying for years. But then they stopped. They stopped trying, they stopped talking and Matt stopped coming home every night. Molly cried, Molly stewed, she made ultimatums, but none of it changed how dysfunctional their relationship became. She grew lonely and one night, nearly three months ago, she succumbed to temptation.

Josh was a co-worker, a few years younger than Molly. He flattered her – he made her feel pretty and when he asked her to go for a drink, she went. She drank more than she usually did, so her inhibitions were down and when he kissed her, she kissed him back.

She tore off his clothes when they got to his apartment. He took his time with hers. She wanted to feel loved, she wanted to feel sexy, she wanted to feel. When it was over, recriminations swept over her. She grabbed her clothes, sobbing her apologies as she scurried home. Under a hot shower, she scrubbed herself until her skin was raw. Then exhausted, she fell into her empty bed and cried herself to sleep.

Molly called in sick for a week. Josh called her for the first few days and then he gave up. When she went back to work, she avoided him, and he seemed happy enough to ignore her too.

This baby was not Matt’s. They hadn’t been intimate in nine months, maybe more. What was she going to do? There was only one thing she could do – she’d get an abortion.

The minute that thought entered her brain a fierceness raised up inside her – the fierceness of a lioness. She knew that she wanted this baby – damn the consequences.

Assuring Dr. Howe that she was just taken by surprise after all the trying, Molly left the office and went home.  Matt for once was there – sipping on a beer and frying himself some bacon and eggs. Molly gagged and ran for the toilet.

Back in the kitchen several minutes later, she held a cold cloth to her forehead as she sank to the chair opposite her husband.  He was eating with gusto – like he’d been starving for weeks. “Molly – I’ve been thinking…” he began.

Molly held her hand up and Matt stopped talking. “No, I have something to say first. Then you can tell me what you think” She waited a moment and then blurted it out. “I’m pregnant.”

Matt’s fork dropped from his hand. He looked at his wife incredulously. “Oh God, Molly – are you sure?”

Surprised by his words, Molly nodded and waited.  Matt flew across the room and dropped to his knees by Molly’s chair.  “This is so terrific.  I was going to tell you that we should find a donor – I knew the problem was me – I got tested a while ago and it made me sick to think I couldn’t give you the one thing you wanted in this world – a baby. Now – like a miracle from God – you’re pregnant and I am so happy for you – well for us. And I’m sorry I’ve been an ass this past year – really sorry – but I love you and I want this baby – well – if you do.”

Too stunned to talk, Molly simply nodded and then they were tangled together – laughing and crying and praising the universe for the miracle they had been given.

Months later, a baby girl was born to the couple – they named her Jessie after Molly’s mother. Matt loved her like she was his own. He never asked about the miracle and Molly never told him.  Josh had moved on anyway – to another city and she never thought about him or that night.

Life is funny. You never know what’s around the corner and you never know what’s in someone’s heart. Matt and Molly were lucky – they had each other – and the miracle of birth is always nine months in the making.