An Unexpected Baby

by Shadonna Richards

  “Oh, hi there!” an achingly familiar voice called out to her.

  Emma jumped around dropping the book on the ground.

  Oh, my God!

  ***

  Evan sat in a chair across the room looking at his father lying on the hospital bed at the Dan Baker Center.

  Old man Fletcher looked out of it as he slept soundly but Evan’s thoughts kept swinging back to his newly pregnant wife, Emma.

  Emma. Emma. Emma.

  “Can I get you anything, Evan?” a nurse in orange scrubs came in with a syringe filled with medication.

  “No, I’m good, thanks. Just spending time with my old man. What are you giving him?”

  “Oh, this is his routine pain medication.”

  “But he’s sound asleep. He doesn’t look as if he’s in pain.” Evan’s brow raised a fraction.

  “Yes, I know. That’s the reason why he looks sound. Because the medication is used as a preventative action. To prevent pain. After his fall a few weeks ago and his hip fracture, he’s been having excruciating pain.”

  “Right,” Evan said, his voice trailing off. It had struck him again that he may not have all that long with his old man. After his terrible fall and serious hip fracture, he had to go to Mercy Springs Memorial Hospital for two days to have surgery then recovery before returning to the center. It had been a torrential downpour of emotions for Evan. Dealing with changes in the business, his new wife, his wife’s grandfather who now lived with them and caring for his own father. He’d wondered if he’d taken on too much too soon. His father had looked so broken and bruised a few weeks ago, he thought he was going to lose it. His father had been in and out of delirium for a while. The doctor said that he also had an enlarged prostate, which didn’t help, but Evan wanted him to stay at the center where the staff patient ratio was better than at a regular hospital. He also hired a private duty nurse to stay at his father’s side but she was on break when his father had climbed one of the side rails that was up and fallen hard on the hospital floor. He and Emma had been back and forth since then. His father never really gained consciousness since then only opening his eyes once in a while when touched then closing his eyelids again.

  He was losing his father. Evan was losing the one man who was his only close relative and there was nothing he could do about it. It was a blessing and a God-send that Emma got pregnant. He’d feared he couldn’t have kids for some strange reason like his cousins and some friends he had but Emma proved that untrue. That’s the only thing that was currently saving his sanity.

  Hope.

  The baby Emma was carrying gave him hope. A new beginning. A new life. A new member of his family.

  His own child.

  He would make sure nothing would mess that up.

  That was why it tore him up inside when Emma didn’t want him to follow her to her first doctor’s appointment since becoming pregnant.

  Still, he would give her space for now. Maybe it was that hormone thing. Whatever it was, he would have to try a bit harder to be understanding because Emma was giving him something all the money in the world couldn’t buy.

  A life.

  He needed to be a father himself to his own little child more than ever. He would stop at nothing to ensure Emma and his baby were safe.

  8.

  Emma stood frozen in the book aisle at Walmart at the sight of the woman who stood before her.

  Lucinda from the office. The office gossip and her sworn enemy.

  And there it was on the floor face up with the front cover title in bold:

  Instant Conception: 100 Proven Techniques to getting pregnant fast!

  “Oh, what have we here?” Lucinda reached down to pick up the book.

  Emma was dumbstruck. Mortified. She tried to reach down to scoop the book up first but it was too late. Her secret weapon was now in Lucinda aka Loose-Lips-Lucinda’s hands. Ugh.

  Emma was busted!

  What could she say now?

  “Instant Conception?” Lucinda read out loud the bright colours of the text on the front cover of the book, eyeing Emma then glancing back down to read. “One hundred proven techniques to getting pregnant fast! Hmm. That’s interesting,” she continued, her voice laced with sarcasm.

  “Oh, is that what it is?” Emma said, trying to feign innocence.

  Emma then gave a nervous chuckle. “I must have picked up the wrong book.”

  “Oh, really?” Lucinda’s voice sounded dubious. “Well by the way, congratulations on…well, expecting. I heard you and Evan are having a baby,” Lucinda said in a bright voice, yet her facial expression remained stone cold.

  Wait a minute, why was Emma afraid of this gossip cow? So what if Lucinda had been at Fletcher Advertising long before she came on the scene. She worked her butt off from reception to account coordinator and earned her step on the corporate ladder. Lucinda had always had it out for her, always taunted her, saying despicable things behind her back while smiling in front of her face. That passive-aggressive, two-timing troll.

  Emma was not afraid of her or anyone. She didn’t know why Evan kept Lucinda. She had the worst receptionist skills she’d ever seen. Who chews gum while answering the phone? He felt obligated to keep her on because she’d been there from the beginning. But whenever anyone in the office gets promoted, she starts a secret hate campaign against them from openly criticising their clothes, their hair, the way they walk--all behind their backs but in front of other staff members—and she does it under the guise of a joke, too, so it wouldn’t look too bad. But Emma knew all her tricks. It wasn’t as if Lucinda had to stay at reception when Emma got into part time evening business classes at the local college to upgrade, she had encouraged Lucinda to join her but Lucinda declined. Emma moved on and got papers behind her name in addition to her hard work, that’s why she progressed. That and being respectful to all her co-workers. Lucinda just didn’t get it, did she? Well, Emma now had another position. She was married to the CEO, so Lucinda may only see her as the rogue receptionist who came on the scene years ago, but that was definitely not who she was today. She’d better have more respect.

  Emma learned tons of stuff from her dear old gramps and that was “people will treat you how you allow them to treat you.”

  Emma was about to stop letting Lucinda treat her like a piece of crap. She snapped the book from Lucinda. “Thank you for picking this up for me.” Emma quickly shoved it back on the shelf in a cool fashion and picked up the book beside it: What to Expect While Expecting. “That’s what I was looking for!” Emma said tossing the book in her cart. Ignoring the fact that she already had a copy in her cart.

  “Well, it was nice seeing you, Lucinda. I trust that you’re just finishing up your lunch break?” Emma cocked a brow as if to cue Lucinda.

  “Oh…um…well, yes. I’m returning back to the office now.” Lucinda had a confused expression on her face as if to say what the hell just happened? She met up with Emma the incompetent and was leaving Emma the conqueror.

  Emma strolled the trolley quickly around to the next aisle with her chin up and a nonchalant expression on her face. She was the boss’s wife—better start acting like it and not feeling apologetic to snatching up the most eligible bachelor in town even if it all started with a guilt-trip she had over her own grandfather’s situation.

  ***

  “I’m so busted.” Emma practically broke down when she sat with Gina at the local café later that day.

  “Are you sure? It seems as if you handled yourself well, girl. Go you!”

  “I don’t know about that,” Emma said, cradling the mug of hot chocolate topped with whip cream, one of her favorites. “I mean, Lucinda’s pretty sharp. Even if I didn’t put the book down, she’d think something was up. You should have seen the way she looked at me. Shit! Why couldn’t the damn book have been on Kindle, then I wouldn’t have to go in public hunting for it in disguise. I knew people from the office would recognize me. If word ever got out to Evan.”

&nbs
p; “But it won’t. They’d be stupid to-”

  “No. You don’t know how those busy body ladies work at the office. Especially Lucinda. She’d casually talk about it in the break room loud enough for Evan to hear or the VP. That’s the kind of person she is. I hate Lucinda having anything over me. I…I can’t let Evan find out through her. He’d kill me.”

  “Well, what are you going to do, girlfriend?” Gina said, leaning in closer to her best friend.

  “Come clean!”

  “What? Now?”

  “I’ve got no choice. I mean, he’s bound to find out sooner or later. I just don’t know if I can keep this up.”

  “But you were supposed to be at the doctor’s today. What are you going to say? That you sprung by the local Walmart instead to see if you can deceive him by finding a book on how to get knocked up fast?”

  “That’s not funny, Gina!”

  “Not trying to be, Ems. I’m just saying.”

  Emma gave pause and moved the mug away from her as she slouched back in the leather booth.

  “I’m going to tell him the truth. Now. And face the consequences when I get back home. And that’s that!”

  ***

  When Emma turned the key in the lock to her front door, she was stunned.

  There was Grandpa Wiggins and a few gentlemen in the room dressed in jeans and black t-shirts. On the t-shirts it read: Conquer Cancer Series. The Real Survivors!

  “There she is.” Grandpa Wiggins turned around in his wheelchair when he saw her come through the foyer. “There’s my expecting grandchild. My miracle. The reason why I’m still alive. She gives me such hope! Come here, pumpkin! Come and meet the producers for the documentary.”

  Oh, no!

  “Oh, sure!” Emma hesitated as she slugged the Walmart bag down on the floor beside the main door. “Hello,” she said as she waved to the men in the room.

  “Well, hello there!” One of the men with white hair and dark black eyebrows reached out to shake her hand. “I’m Kyle. I’ve heard so much about you. Your grandpa has told us a lot. By the way, congratulations!”

  “Thank you so much,” Emma said sheepishly.

  “Listen, we know you just got in and we’re not going to keep you but we’d like to speak with you when you get a moment, just to ask a few questions to put in the lead up. We just need to get a little more background information. Your grandfather is really a true warrior and an inspiration to all survivors out there.”

  Emma wanted to cry but she contained herself. She then felt warm arms around her belly hugging her from behind. “Hey, baby.” It was Evan’s deep, silky voice.

  She turned her head around. “Hi, honey. I didn’t see your car outside, I thought you were out.”

  “Car’s at the garage.”

  “How’s your dad doing?”

  “Still the same.”

  She hugged him back. She was just glad that he wasn’t icy cold with her anymore. Not after the way they’d left things this morning.

  “I’m sorry about this morning, baby,” he continued, whispering in her ears. “I know you’re in a delicate condition. Whatever I can do to help or not do, just let me know, okay?”

  Oh, gosh! Emma really was in for it now.

  “Sorry to interrupt, Mr. and Mrs. Fletcher,” Kyle gently said. “We’re going to be interviewing your grandfather right now just the preliminary but I just wanted to ask you Emma, when is your due date? We just need it since that is the focus of your grandfather’s motivation. Looking forward to living to see his great-grandchild being born.”

  Shit!

  “Um…” What was she going to say, she should have just come back from the doctor. Evan looked on expectantly.

  Emma’s entire body went stone cold.

  9.

  “Are you sure?” Kiku the accounts payable administrator sounded doubtful as she responded to Lucinda.

  The two sat in the lunchroom alone at Fletcher Advertising. Lucinda had just come back from the local Walmart with a new Nora Roberts novel and a large salad with a bottle of water.

  “Damn sure, I am! It was a book on how to get knocked up,” she said curling her lip in disgust before shovelling in another mouthful of salad.

  “But why would she buy a book on getting pregnant? She’s already pregnant!”

  Lucinda gave a wry smile. “Maybe that’s what she wants everyone to think.”

  “Lucinda!”

  “Come on, Kiku! You yourself even said just a few weeks ago that the marriage was probably not going well since Evan has been spending late nights here a lot. He goes out of town every chance he gets. It’s like he doesn’t wanna be home.”

  “That’s not necessarily true, Lucinda. My husband was a born workaholic and just was addicted to being at the office. It’s not like he wasn’t happy at home. He was just addicted to work. It happens, you know.”

  “Well, I think, Evan is unhappy at home. Think about it—she tells the world she’s pregnant and bam! He’s home more. He cancels his trip to Dallas and sends Dale instead. I mean, come on. Dale?”

  “Yeah, that’s true. I was surprised when he told me he was going to cancel going.”

  “Yeah, to spend more time at home. Pull-ease! That girl is tricking him and I know it.”

  “So?”

  “What do you mean by that?”

  “I mean, butt out of it, Lucinda. They are a married couple. Don’t interfere.”

  “Interfere? Evan is our boss. We don’t want him to be unhappy, do we?”

  “It’s not your place to say anything. Besides, you really don’t know for sure if she is faking it.”

  “Trust me, she is. You should have seen the mortified look on her face when I caught her in the book section reading that book. She was about to place it in her shopping cart. Not to mention she had pregnancy tests in her cart, too.”

  “Lucinda! You really don’t like her, do you?”

  Lucinda was silent and turned her head away momentarily as she gazed at the coffee machine on the counter.

  “Lucinda? Is there something you’re not telling me? We’ve been friends for how long now?”

  Lucinda swore she would never tell a soul about her passionate night a few years ago with Evan and how she thought she was pregnant but it turned out to be a false alarm. Or how much she really wanted Evan more than any other man and if Emma hadn’t strutted her wide-ass hips on the scene maybe Evan and Lucinda could have had something. But she kept that to herself. She didn’t want it to go around the office that she had slept with her sexy, hot boss, Evan. Not that it did her a world of good where promotions were concerned. But still, whenever she called in sick a lot or got complaints from clients over her phone manner, Evan would turn a blind eye. Maybe he just kept her around because he didn’t want one of those sexual harassment scandals to come out if she were the type of vindictive woman who would twist what happened between them on that night of the office Christmas party at the hotel. Boy, was Evan really drunk that night. She’d walked him up to his hotel room insisting that he would not drive home and the rest was history.

  “Lucinda?”

  “Listen,” Lucinda said getting up. Anger was seething through her now. “I’ve got work to do. Check you later.” She threw her food carton in the garbage and grabbed her new Nora Roberts novel. Good thing she went looking for the novel in the book aisle or she would have missed Emma’s scheme. Sure she had work to do. But not the kind that involved advertising work or reception. She was going to stop Emma once and for all. Something she should have done years ago. And she just thought of the perfect plan.

  10.

  “June the first?” Gina’s jaw fell open as she eyed her best friend Emma the next day. “You gave them a due date of June the first? But you’re not even pregnant!”

  “Yeah, but I had to think of something. I mean, they put me on the spot.” Emma gazed out the window at the cloudy sky outside as she sat down in the eat-in kitchen of her best friend’s apartment. It only seemed li
ke yesterday when they were neighbours until Emma married Evan six months ago.

  “Oh, boy! What a tangled web we weave…”

  “Stop it, Gina! It’s not my fault. I tried to break it gently. I tried to tell them but…”

  “But what, hon?”

  “Every time I wanted to spill the truth, it was like…the wrong time!”

  “Is there ever a wrong time to tell the truth?”

  “Yes. Like when it could destroy someone’s hopes and dreams. Someone you love.”

  Gina sighed. “Okay. So you have no choice but to really try to get pregnant. You say he insists on using condoms now that you’re…ahem…pregnant. Have you considered poking holes in the condoms with a sterile pin?”

  “Gina!”

  “What?”

  “That is sooooo dishonest!”

  “Uh…and pretending you're freaking pregnant isn’t?”

  “Okay. Okay. Listen, let’s not get in over our heads here.”

  Gina sipped her coffee and gave a thoughtful look as she leaned against the kitchen counter. “Okay, kiddo! So now you have everyone anticipating and marking their calendars for the first of June and you haven’t even been seen by an obstetrician yet. So how did you work out June the first?”

  Emma placed her cup of hot chocolate on the table and drew in a deep breath. “Well, you know that most pregnancy tests can detect a pregnancy at three weeks gestation. Some as early as seven days.”

  “Oh?”

  “I read that the hCG hormone…”

  “What’s an hCG hormone, hon?” Gina took another gulp of her coffee.

  “Some human chorionic gonadotropin or something. I’ve been doing my homework, don’t worry. Anyway, it is produced very early in the pregnancy and serves several functions to support the developing baby including stimulating progesterone and estrogen production.”