Margaret dropped the phone back into its cradle and stared at it. Slowly she stood and headed into Leo’s office.

“Leo?” she called softly, nibbling the inside of her cheek as she waited for him to acknowledge her.

“What?” he growled, his eyes still staring at the computer screen.

“I’m going to take a late lunch.” She swallowed hard as she remembered the doctor’s words. “I’d like you to come in and see me immediately about your tests.” It was enough to send the fear of God through her.

“We’ve just got back from the convention.”

“I know, but I have an appointment.” She hoped he wouldn’t ask questions. The last thing she needed was to have to explain to Leo about women’s problems.

Leo waved his hand in dismissal. “Fine. But be prepared to work late.”

Margaret sighed in relief as she returned to her desk. In two hours she would have some idea what the urgency was.

*******

The cab ride had taken twenty minutes and Margaret had been oblivious to her surroundings as she imagined the worst.

The receptionist had taken her name and directed her to a row of plastic chairs.

Margaret picked up a magazine and thumbed the pages, not really reading anything, her eyes glancing towards the door at regular intervals.

Finally her doctor appeared in the doorway and smiled reassuringly. “Margaret, come in.”

Maggie Reynolds was the politician’s dream woman. Happily married for twenty years, with two children, a flourishing career and earnings in the upper wage bracket. Everything in fact Margaret had wished for at eighteen.

Picking up her purse, Margaret followed Dr. Reynolds into a small green room and sat down on yet another plastic chair. Fleetingly, she wondered if that was a catalyst for haemorrhoids. Maybe they could test that on rats.

“Margaret?” the doctor said, and by the tone in her voice Margaret realized it wasn’t the first time.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. After I put the phone down, I realized I may have spooked you.”

“I’m easily spooked. Toby crept into my apartment at two a.m. the other morning and I nearly jumped out of my skin.”

“Toby?” the woman doctor asked, raising one eyebrow.

A gorgeous smile lit up Margaret’s face. “Toby’s my. . .,” she struggled for something appropriate.

“Your boyfriend?”

“I suppose he is,” Margaret agreed, nodding her head, shyly.

The doctor scribbled something on her notepad and looked back up. “How long have you and Toby been together?”

“Three months.”

Maggie cleared her throat, “And how long have you been sleeping together?”

Margaret flushed scarlet and stared at her hands folded in her lap. “We, um…,” she mumbled. She lifted her head slightly. “We use protection. Condoms.”

Maggie shook her head and sat up straighter. “Margaret, have you ever had an accident, one split, run out, anything like that?”

It wasn’t that she hadn’t had sex before, it was just that Margaret wasn’t used to talking about it. She listened to the girls joke in the Mess but didn’t really join in. All sorts of terrible scenarios ran through her head. “What’s going on?”

“Margaret, you’re pregnant,” Maggie said softly, watching Margaret’s face for any signs that this was bad news.

“Excuse me?”

“You’re going to have a baby.”

Her mind went blank and her mouth gaped open. She was thirty-two, dating a guy who was committed to his job and now she was going to have a baby. “Are you sure?”

Maggie nodded. “Is it a bad thing?”

“NO,” Margaret replied firmly, without thinking. Her smile faded as her thoughts turned to Toby. He was going to yell a little, hell he was going to freak, as CJ put it. She couldn’t even speculate what would come out of his mouth, except he wouldn’t want a baby. Everyone knew he pined for someone else.

“How will Toby take it?”

Margaret looked at her blankly.

“Margaret, honey,” Maggie prompted. “Are you okay?”

She bobbed her head unconsciously, opening her mouth to speak but finding herself unable to form a sentence. Fleetingly, she looked on the bright side, no more cramps, then she thought of the two men in her life and cringed. She wasn’t sure who was going to react the worst -Toby or Leo.

“We need to get you on pre-natal vitamins and you should try to eat a little more.” Maggie typed up a prescription and pushed it across the desk. “I have some questions. Are you up to answering?”

Margaret nodded again, as she twisted her purse straps in her lap.

“Is there any history of complications during pregnancy? Pre-eclampsia, high blood pressure, miscarriage?”

“No,” Margaret managed to answer.

“That’s good. How about multiple births? Any twins?”

Margaret’s eyes widened and her face took on a panicked expression. “TWINS?”

“I just need to be prepared, honey,” Maggie said, shaking her head. “I’ll take that as a no. Any idea how far along you might be?”

An image of their first morning after sprung to mind. “The first time was two months ago, the last, last night.”

“Well you’re certainly more than four weeks. We’ll know for sure when we do the scan,” Maggie announced, making more notes. “You do want to keep the baby?” Maggie asked, a little unsettled by the continuing silence. Her patient had never been quite this quiet.

Margaret bit down on her bottom lip and stared back at the doctor. “I need some air.”

“Okay. I’ll see you again in two weeks. Bring Toby if you can.”

The door slammed behind her as Margaret grabbed the papers off the desk and bolted through the building. She found herself in the nearest washroom throwing up.

Sinking to her knees she began to tear up.

She didn’t have time to fall apart she told herself. There was Leo to look after, the campaign, and now a baby. The doctor had said something about Toby and twins, that much she was sure of, the rest of the conversation had been a blur.

Sitting on a washroom floor wasn’t going to clear her desk, Margaret concluded.

With a groan, she managed to stand. “Come on little one, we’ll grab a muffin on the way back,” she mumbled, smiling and rubbing her stomach unconsciously. She came to a halt suddenly and stared at her mid drift. “Or should that be little ones?”

Shaking her head at the very idea, she left the washroom and went to enquire about a cab.