Authors: Cat Johnson
She
pursed her lips and looked mischievous. “You’ll just have
to make it up to me next weekend when you get off.”
“
That’s
a deal.” His cell phone, which was limping along on nearly zero
battery power because he hadn’t charged it since Friday,
started to vibrate on the coffee table. He reached for it
automatically. “Hello.”
“
So
did you get yourself some Maddie this weekend?” Troy asked.
Antonio
glanced over at Maddie. “I’m not going to answer that.”
“
I’ll
take that as a yes.”
“
Was
there something you needed, Troy?” Antonio asked, anxious to
get him off the phone.
“
You’re
with her right now, aren’t you?” Troy asked way too
loudly in his ear.
He
looked at Maddie. “Um…”
“
Oh,
for god’s sake. Give me that phone.” Maddie grabbed the
phone from his hand. “Troy? It’s Maddie. You can tell
your cohorts that your matchmaking scheme worked. But since I have
less than twelve hours left with Antonio before we both have to go
back to work and I can’t see him for five long days, he has to
hang up now. So you have a lovely evening. My best to Amy. Good
night.”
She
flipped his phone shut and handed it back to him. She raised an
eyebrow. “You have a problem with that?”
Antonio
shook his head, laughing as he pictured the look that must be on
Troy’s face right now.
“
Not
at all.” He put the phone back on the table and hooked an arm
around her neck. “Only twelve hours, huh? We better get
started.”
Chapter 6
She
was late.
Maddie
looked at her calendar again, recounted the days and confirmed that
she was very late. Three days late, to be exact when she’d
never ever been late before in her life. She’d been so busy
with Antonio and singing again, she hadn’t even noticed she
missed her period. In fact, if she weren’t filling in the dates
of her upcoming gigs in her calendar, she probably wouldn’t
have noticed now.
What
the hell was this about? She couldn’t be pregnant. Could it be
menopause? That must be it. But damn, she was only thirty-one.
Somehow that just didn’t seem fair. For the first time since
Alan, she could imagine a happy future for herself. That future could
possibly include Antonio. His two kids, hopefully one day a baby of
their own, even if she had to try invetro fertilization to get one.
Now
she was in menopause? The thought was far too depressing for words.
Even more depressing than the gray hairs she discovered last year
right after her divorce. She blamed Alan for each and every one of
those. But whom could she blame for this?
She
slid out of the booth at Xavier’s, stowed her calendar and her
purse behind the bar and walked over to the band. “Can I see
the set list?”
The
guitarist handed the list of songs for the night to her and she
looked it over. A black mood settled over her. “Can I have a
pen? I have a few changes.”
A
couple of melancholy hours later when she was about to leave, the
owner came over to her. “I have to tell you, Maddie, you’ve
been bringing in bigger and bigger crowds every time you sing here,
but what the hell was up with you tonight?”
She
watched the other three members of the band exchange worried looks.
“I know, Peter. I was a little off tonight. I’m sorry.”
“
Don’t
get me wrong, your singing was great as usual. But the songs, one was
sadder than the next. I think you even made one customer cry.”
She
grimaced. She’d seen that too. “I’m sorry. It won’t
happen again. I promise.”
“
But
actually, the bartender says he’s never sold so much liquor, so
maybe keeping the crowd depressed is the way to go. I’ll give
it some thought and get back to you.”
Always
the businessman, that Peter.
“
Great,
glad I could help.” Maddie seriously hoped the sarcasm wasn’t
lost on him.
~
Antonio
sat at the firehouse, eagerly waiting for the last hour of his shift
to pass so he’d be free. He’d have to wait for Maddie to
get off work for the day, but as long as he could see her later, he
was happy. Two weeks they’d been together, and he still felt
the thrill every time he saw her face or heard her voice.
In
fact, he found he couldn’t wait. He’d barely gotten home
and changed when he missed her so he couldn’t stand it, so he
picked up the phone. He dialed her work number, only to be told she’d
called in and said she’d be late. That was funny. She didn’t
mention that last night when they talked. Although come to think of
it, he hadn’t talked to her for very long because she was
singing. He just hoped she wasn’t sick. They never did figure
out what Alyssa had a few weeks ago. Hopefully she didn’t pick
up that nasty little bug.
Concerned
now, he dialed her cell phone. He felt a bit of relief when she
answered. “Hey, sweetie. Are you all right? They said you
called into work.”
She
hesitated a beat. “Yeah. Fine. I just had an appointment I
forgot about. That’s why I didn’t tell you.”
“
Maddie,
you don’t have to report to me. I was just worried you were
sick or something. So, when will you be done? I off now and if you’re
not going back into work today, maybe I could come over early.”
He could hope. It seemed like forever since he’d seen her.
“
Um,
actually I’m not sure. Can I call you?” Maddie sounded
very strange.
“
Okay.
I’ll talk to you later. And Maddie?”
“
Yeah?”
“
I’m
looking forward to seeing you.”
“
I’m
looking forward to seeing you too,” she said softly, but as he
hung up the phone, Antonio’s sixth sense told him something
wasn’t quite right.
~
Maddie
closed her cell phone and concentrated on the traffic surrounding
her.
After
being concerned she was in menopause, she did some research online
and found she was probably way too young for even perimenopause. So
she called early this morning and made an appointment with her
gynecologist, afraid now that she may indeed somehow be pregnant.
She
swallowed hard. How had this happened?
A
vision of her and Antonio’s numerous and very creative recent
sexual escapades flashed before her. Okay, she knew
how
it
happened, but why now after trying for so long?
What
the hell kind of cosmic joke was this? She tried for five years to
get pregnant. She had her husband get his sperm checked…
Her
heart started to beat faster as a horrible new theory hit her.
“
That
bastard.” Maddie swung the car around in a very illegal u-turn
and headed for her condo. She’d have just enough time to run
home and look around before her appointment. And if she was right,
what the hell would she do then?
She
pulled practically sideways into her parking slot, threw the car in
park and flung open the door. After sprinting up the walk, she
struggled with the lock. With the keys still hanging in the door, she
ran to the room she and Alan had jointly used as a home office.
Alan
was absolutely anal about keeping every piece of paper he ever
touched and his file cabinet full of stuff was still here. She
grabbed at the drawer and nearly ripped her fingernails off when she
discovered it was locked.
Determined
one little lock wasn’t going to stop her, Maddie tore open desk
drawers one by one. She found a key in the corner of one. Good thing
the guy didn’t have a creative bone in his body. He hadn’t
even tried to hide it.
With
shaking hands she unlocked and yanked the top file drawer open. She
ran her fingers over the top tabs of the folders. She thanked God
that his obsessive-compulsive habits included an addiction to the
label maker as she pulled out the file clearly marked “Medical”.
Maddie flung the folder open on the desk and began sifting through
medical bills and insurance forms that spanned from the year they
were married until the day he left. She flipped until she reached one
page that stopped her dead.
“
That
fucking bastard.” She gritted her teeth. Closing her eyes she
tried to process the information on the page before her, then
realized she still had to get to the doctor. Now her visit was more
important than ever.
Maddie
glanced at her watch as she stormed out of the room. She was going to
be late. She’d just have to deal with her lying ex later.
Even
running late, she arrived at the doctor’s office and checked in
at the front desk with five minutes to spare. She was so angry with
Alan, she must have been speeding. Still flustered, Maddie hung up
her coat and sat in the waiting room, too agitated to bother flipping
through the year-old magazines spread out on the table. She was
tapping her foot rapidly against the coffee table and most definitely
annoying the other occupant of the waiting area, judging by the looks
she was getting, when the door opened and in walked both her brother
and Alyssa.
In
a panic, Maddie glanced around the waiting room for someplace to
hide. Unless she was willing to leap behind the couch and squat on
the floor behind that large Tonka toy truck, she wasn’t going
to be able to avoid being seen.
Great.
Weren’t there any other doctors in this town? All she needed
now was for maybe Troy and Amy to walk in. That would be cozy. They
could all discuss how she got herself pregnant with Antonio’s
baby after she assured him it was safe.
Maddie
tried to calm down as Brad and Alyssa stopped at the front desk to
check in and then turned toward her in the waiting area.
Brad
stopped dead when he saw her. “Maddie. Uh, hi. What are you
doing here?”
“
Hey,
you two. Time for my annual checkup.” She put on her happy face
and greeted them but the excuse sounded pretty lame even to her.
“
Yeah,
uh, Alyssa too. What a coincidence, huh?”
“
Huge
coincidence.” Alyssa nodded, looking a little paler than usual.
She couldn’t still have that bug. That was weeks ago.
Maddie
shifted over one seat so Brad and Alyssa could sit next to each
other. The three sat in awkward silence for a few minutes until the
nurse came out carrying a stack of charts. She glanced down at the
top one. “Ms. Morgan?”
“
Yes.”
Both Maddie and Alyssa stood up.
The
nurse frowned and glanced down at the chart again. “Alyssa
Morgan.”
“
That’s
me.” Alyssa stepped forward and Maddie sat back down.
“
The
doctor will examine you first, then your husband can meet you in her
office to go over pre-natal care instructions.” The nurse
continued.
Alyssa
shot Brad a look as she was whisked away to the back.
Maddie
turned to him. “Pre-natal? Brad! Exactly when were you going to
tell me?”
“
I’m
sorry, Mads. Alyssa has this superstition and didn’t want us to
tell anyone until she was three months along. I really did want to
tell you. God, I hinted enough when she was throwing up after dinner
that time you should have guessed. Good thing you’re an
attorney and not a private investigator. Jeez.”
Maddie
scowled, but got over her hurt quickly and hugged him, tears in her
eyes. “I’m very happy for you two.”
Brad
hugged her back, looking a little teary-eyed himself. “Thanks.
And listen, I know you really wanted kids too, Maddie, and it didn’t
work out, but you’ll be the best aunt ever. I know it.”
Just
then the nurse reappeared. “Now. Madeline Morgan.”
Maddie
stood and glanced down at Brad. “Gotta go.”
He
nodded.
The
nurse opened the door for Maddie and held it, waiting for her to walk
through. “Based on what you said on the phone when you made the
appointment, the doctor wants a urine sample to run a pregnancy test.
Bathroom is second door on the right. The specimen cups are inside.”
Maddie
cringed. She didn’t miss Brad’s shocked expression as the
door to the waiting room slid closed. She really did have the worst
timing ever.
She
went to the bathroom and then delivered the sample to the nurse,
expecting to be led to an exam room.