But that weekend, days before Drake was to return, Meg was at the department store shopping with Jessie when a thought crossed her mind. When was the last time she’d had her period?
Her heart jerked. She started digging in her bag for her pocket agenda and flipped immediately to the calendar at the back. She’d always been regular, had never been more than a day or two late. But now? She rubbed her forehead as she checked the days. Dear Lord, let her be wrong. Maybe it had come last month and she’d been so busy she’d forgotten?
“Mommy, can I get this baby bubble bath? It smells like strawberries.” Jessie held up a teddy bear shaped bottle, cutting into Meg’s thoughts.
“Not now, Jessie.” Meg ran her fingers along the little boxes on the page, counting the days. Then she looked up and her eyes glazed over as she stared straight ahead. Holy goodness. Holy Jeez. She was late by all of sixteen days. How the heck had she missed that?
“Mommy, I’m hungry.”
Jessie’s plaintive wail brought Meg back to the present. Hands trembling, she returned the tiny book to her bag and took her daughter’s hand. “I’m sorry, honey. Mommy…was just a little distracted. Let’s go pay for our stuff and then we’ll get something to eat.”
“Okay, Mommy.” Jessie looked up at her with huge eyes, almost as if she knew something had gone wrong.
And a lot had. Because there was no way she could tell Drake Duncan he was going to be a daddy.
******
What the hell was going on? This was the third message Drake had left on Meg’s cell phone and still she had not returned his call. Could she be out of town? He glanced at the clock on the nightstand. Eleven thirty-seven. No, he could not call again. Definitely not at this hour.
He’d been back in Chicago one day now but it felt like a week because he'd been in the same city with Meg a whole day and still had not seen her. She’d become so important in his life that he would be with her every day if he could.
He lay back in the pillows and folded his arms behind his head. He would just have to be patient. They had their final meeting scheduled for tomorrow and, feeling like a schoolboy with a crush, he could hardly wait.
But the next day ended up being one of the strangest of Drake’s life. One o’clock finally came and Meg walked into his office looking elegant and composed as she always did. But this time there was something different about her. She’d greeted him warmly, giving him a smile and a nod but she seemed distant, even cool. It was as if that night they’d shared had never happened.
When she handed him his final package he’d expected jubilation, maybe a celebration, but not this aloofness that had him frowning and practically scratching his head. Then when she got up to leave and he walked her to the door as he’d done so many times before, she dropped her eyes and dipped her head, hiding her face from view but not before he’d seen an expression that made him pause. She’d almost looked like she wanted to cry.
“Meg, are you all right?” The door he was holding was half open but he refused to let her through. He needed answers.
It was only then that she lifted her head and looked him in the eyes. “I’m fine,” she said quietly and then she smiled. And as beautiful as that smile was, it was tinged with a sadness that squeezed his heart.
But he could see that she didn’t want to talk. Now was not the time. Somehow, although he didn’t know in what way, he knew that he’d hurt her…again.
For today he would leave things be and give her some space but next time he saw her he would expect answers.
******
December fifteen. On that day Meg was due to become a mother for the second time. But this situation was so different from the first. How could she tell Drake he was going to be a father when she’d assured him she wouldn’t get pregnant? I’ve been on the pill a month, she’d said, so everything will be fine. Drake had trusted her and then she’d gone and messed up by getting pregnant with his child.
What made it worse, he’d already been deceived by a woman who’d used pregnancy as her weapon of choice. And, she knew, that was exactly what he would think of her. To him she would be nothing more than a seductress who he’d probably think was after his money.
Meg sighed. She would have to tell him, of course. But not now. Not until she was strong enough to deal with the condemnation in his eyes and the reproach she knew would come. Until then she would stay away from him for as long as she could.
******
Two days was enough space, right? It had been hard but, not wanting to crowd her, Drake had deliberately held back from calling Meg. But it was Saturday morning now so she should be more relaxed, probably back to her normal self. He would take the chance.
Drake dialled Meg’s home number and waited. Three rings, four rings, five rings. It was probably going to switch to the answering machine next. He was just about to hang up when he heard a click and then a tiny voice on the phone.
“Hello?”
“Hi, Jessie, it’s Drake. How are you?”
“I’m fine, thank you,” came the faint reply.
“May I speak to your mommy, please?”
“Mommy can’t come to the phone. She’s not feelin’ too good. She’s in the bathroom bein’ sick again.”
“Being sick?” A feeling of alarm shot up Drake’s spine. Something was wrong with Meg. That was why she’d been behaving strangely. Then a thought came to him. Nausea. Jessie had said she was being sick. Holy…was Meg doing chemotherapy?
“Who’s helping her, Jessie?”
“I am. I took her a towel.”
“I mean, is there another adult in the house?”
“No, just Mommy.”
“Okay, tell Meg…your mom…I’m coming right over.”
Within half an hour of the phone call Drake was at Meg’s door. As soon as Jessie opened the door he stooped to her eye level and smiled. Not wanting to scare her, he said, “I’m here to help your mommy, Jessie. Can you take me to her, please?”