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“You started it,” Laura teased and Maddie chuckled once more.
“That I did.” Maddie let out a long sigh. “Are you okay? I mean, really okay? This…sailor. He’s being good to you?”
Now, the tears welled up in Laura’s eyes once more. “He’s being wonderful.” That’s not the problem.
“So why do you sound so sad?”
Laura walked out on Mark’s patio and slumped into a deck chair. She stared out to the ocean, watching the waves roll in on the pristine sandy beach. She was in paradise, she was pregnant and she was finally starting to believe that maybe, just maybe, she’d been forgiven for her past sins, and yet, somehow she was still not happy.
She hated to admit to her sister that she was pregnant. She knew Maddie would get on her high horse and talk about how she was being irresponsible again and about how she needed to be more of an adult. But at the same time, Laura had been bottling up this secret for so long, she didn’t know how much longer she could keep the news to herself.
“Well…will you promise not to scold me? Promise not to say I told you so?”
Maddie sighed, already seeming to try not too hard to hide the what-now tone. “Of course.”
“We had one time when we—didn’t use protection. Maddie…” Laura sucked in a deep breath. “I’m pregnant.”
The confession was met with a long pause on the other end of the line. Laura’s stomach clenched. Would the lecture begin now? Would Maddie tell her all the ways she was messing up her life? Again?
“Oh, Laura. I’m so happy for you. A baby is what you’ve always wanted. How far along?”
“Nine or ten weeks. I think.” Laura felt stunned. Her sister was actually happy for her? This might be a first. “But…I thought you’d be mad. I’m not married and haven’t been dating Mark that long and—”
“Do you love him?” Maddie interrupted.
“Yes.” Laura had no doubts about that.
“Does he love you?”
She swallowed hard. “Yes, I think so.”
“Then what’s the problem? Get married. Start a family. This is great news!” Laura could feel Maddie beaming through the phone. “I told you that you’d get pregnant again. Didn’t I tell you that this would happen?”
“Hey—I said no I-told-you-so’s.”
Maddie laughed a little.
“But there’s another problem,” Laura said. “I haven’t told him. About the baby.”
Now Maddie made a sound of exasperation. “What? Why not?”
“First of all, I don’t even know if I can carry a baby to term. I might lose this one, too.”
Maddie sniffed. “So, you’re just going to wait until the delivery to tell him? He might notice before then.”
“And he lost a son and told me he doesn’t want more children.”
“So? He might change his mind once he knows he’s going to have one,” Maddie said matter-of-factly. She had an answer for everything. She always had.
“It’s not that simple.”
“Tell me why it’s not.” Laura could almost envision Maddie standing with her hands on her hips, daring her to try.
“It’s just…he plans to win this sailing race and then sail around the world. It’s not like he can do that if he’s got a wife and new baby.” This was the hard truth that Laura didn’t even like admitting to herself.
“He doesn’t want commitment, then,” Maddie said.
“I don’t think so.” Laura bit her lip. She didn’t know where he stood, actually. She wasn’t sure.
“You have to change his mind.” Maddie made it sound so easy, like all Laura had to do was snap her fingers and it would be done.
“How am I supposed to do that?”
“Use your wiles. Women have been doing that since the beginning of time.”
Laura rubbed her stomach even as a seagull swooped down and landed on the roof of Mark’s workshop. It stared at her with beady eyes.
“You make it sound like all I need to do is throw on some sexy lingerie, and he’ll ask me to marry him.”
“Might not be a bad plan,” Maddie joked.
“Thanks. You’re a huge help.” Laura rolled her eyes.
“That’s what I’m here for,” Maddie said. “But seriously, Laura. Talk to him. You’ve got to at least try.”
Laura heard Mark arriving back home then and quickly wrapped up her call with Maddie. Her heart sped up a little. She knew she had to talk to Mark, but how would she even tell him?
Mark came into the condo and unloaded a few bags of groceries.
