“Jorge Perez.”
“Right.” The harried young woman answered a ringing telephone, listened for a moment, then held her palm over the receiver. “I think he’s in his office—you can go on back.” She gestured toward a door to the left of her desk. “Through that door, down the hall, fifth door on the right.”
“Thank you.” The heavy oak door to the left of the reception area opened on to a long hall lined with offices. The doors to three of them stood open, and Allison glanced into them as she walked past. One was empty, two had men in shirtsleeves and ties talking on the phone, seated behind large desks. All of them had overflowing in-boxes and stacks of files and law books piled on every available flat surface.
Two women in dark suits, briefcases in hand, moved quickly past Allison and through the door behind her, giving her distracted nods as they hurried off. Somewhere down the hall, phones were ringing and a burst of laughter made Allison suspect that the secretarial support staff probably had their offices there.
The fifth office door on the right was closed. Allison smiled with anticipation and with a quick rap of knuckles on the thick oak panel, turned the knob and pushed the door inward.
She gasped, her hand frozen on the doorknob, unable to move, unable to breathe. Jorge stood across the room, the early afternoon sunshine pouring through the window to frame his body, his arms wrapped around a slim blond woman. Her face was buried against his chest, and she glanced over his shoulder, her blue eyes misty, at the same time that Jorge looked up and saw Allison.
He looked stunned. For a long moment Allison felt frozen, as if the three of them were a trio of statues. Then pain shafted through the shock, making her shudder from the impact, nearly sending her to her knees. Her first instinct was to run, and she obeyed it without question. Curiously detached, she moved swiftly down the hall, vaguely aware that Jorge called her name. Then she was out of the office, in the main hallway, where an elevator was just beginning to close its doors.
“Wait!” She ran across the marble floor and slipped inside. As the doors eased shut, she caught a quick glimpse of Jorge, just opening the hall door of the D.A.’s office, his face dark with anger.
She shivered, the cold chill reaching through the numbness and ice that encased her emotions.
No. She pushed the pain away, refused to feel. Not now. Not until she was alone, someplace where strangers wouldn’t watch her fall apart.
But the shiver had cracked the ice that protected her, and Allison could feel the shield breaking up. She knew that the cold numbness was the only thing keeping her from falling apart. She looked frantically at the floor indicator and realized that she was several floors up from the main lobby and escape from the building.
The elevator eased to a stop, the doors slid open. Allison joined the exodus on to the third floor, searching frantically until she located a sign listing the offices on this level and the location of the women’s rest room. She moved down the hall as swiftly as possible on legs that felt distinctly unsteady, turning the corner and quickly entering the sanctuary of the ladies’ room.
A solitary occupant, washing her hands at one of the porcelain sinks, looked up. Allison couldn’t manage to answer the woman’s polite smile, needing all her concentration to reach the safety of a stall. Her fingers fumbled the latch closed, and she leaned her forehead against the metal panel, body tense, eyes closed as she drew in deep breaths in an attempt to control her sobs.
The outer door opened, then closed with an audible thud as the other woman left the room. Allison sagged against the door, giving in to the tearing sobs that shook her body while tears poured down her face.
Dear God, it hurts. She hugged her arms around her midriff, the ache physical and much too agonizing. Who was the woman?
Too late to worry about whether she might fall in love with Jorge. Much too late, she realized. She’d already fallen.
And he didn’t love her. The tender expression on his face as he’d looked down at the woman in his arms had been all too revealing.
The knowledge sent fresh pain slicing through her heart.
Allison lost track of time. The tearing sobs that shook her slowly subsided and she wiped her eyes, blew her nose and glanced at her watch, relieved to see that she still had plenty of time before her doctor’s appointment. She left the stall, wincing when she saw her red-rimmed, swollen eyes reflected in the mirror above the row of white sinks. She folded paper towels and ran cold water over them, applying the cool, wet towels to her eyes and flushed cheeks until the swelling subsided and the red eased to pink. Then she carefully applied makeup, and at last, satisfied that the casual observer wouldn’t find anything startling in her appearance, left the ladies’ room. She’d been in the bathroom for more than forty minutes, and though she doubted that Jorge would still be searching for her, she was nonetheless relieved when she exited the building and caught a cab without seeing him.
Despite her shattered emotions, she was determined to get through the day without falling apart again. And she was just as determined not to let Jorge know how badly she’d been hurt by seeing him with another woman.
He only married me because of the baby, not because he cares about me. She repeated the words over and over, hoping that the reminder would force her to accept the unwanted truth. Until she opened the door and saw him with his arms around the pretty blonde, she hadn’t realized how much she’d been hoping and dreaming that he would come to feel more than responsibility toward her.
She managed to smile pleasantly at the nurse in the reception area and make appropriate replies as she was weighed and her blood pressure checked. Then the nurse left her while she changed into a blue paper gown. Allison clutched the gown around her and climbed onto the exam table, tucking the white sheet up to her waist. Brooding, she stared at her bare feet dangling above the floor, toenails painted hot pink, and wondered how long she would have to wait before the doctor arrived.
The door opened and she looked up, forcing a small smile.
But it wasn’t Dr. Kenyan that entered. It was Jorge.
Her smile disappeared. “What are you doing here?”
“You’re having an ultrasound. I told you last night that I’d be here.”
“I wish you’d leave.”
His eyes were turbulent, the hard bones of his face clenched. “I knew you jumped to the wrong conclusions. That wasn’t what you thought it was, Allison.”
“What wasn’t what I thought it was?” She refused to make this easy for him; she wanted him gone. She was terrified that she was either going to throw something at him or burst into tears. Either option was appalling.
“What you saw when you walked into my office.” He shoved his hands into the pockets of his suit slacks, his big frame tense. “The woman you saw was Mrs. MacAfee and she’s the widow of the victim in a murder case I’m handling. I’d just told her that the man who murdered her husband confessed and would be going to prison.”
“I see.” Allison looked away from him, staring at her fingers where they gripped the edge of the white, hospital-issue cotton sheet.
“No,” he ground out. “I don’t think you do. She broke down and cried when I told her, and I was comforting her. That’s all, Allison. There was absolutely nothing sexual about what you saw.”
Allison was torn. She badly wanted to believe him, but the sight of him holding another woman in his arms had shattered her fragile trust in him and her belief in her own role as a woman he desired.
“Allison, I have no interest in other women. I don’t want you to stay with me just to make a home for our baby. I want us to have a real marriage.”
She stared at him helplessly, wanting desperately to tell him that she loved him and wanted him to truly be her husband, but unable to voice the yearning that filled her. He hadn’t said that he loved her, and her bruised heart badly needed to hear the words. “I…I don’t know—”
A brisk rap on the door interrupted her, the sharp sound quickly followed by the
doctor’s entrance.
“Good afternoon, Allison.” Dr. Kenyan’s keen gaze swept her and Jorge, shrewdly assessing their tense figures. “And who is this?”
“I’m the father—and Allison’s husband.” Jorge managed a tight smile for the friendly doctor and held out his hand. “Jorge Perez, Dr. Kenyan.”
“Ah. Delighted to meet you.” Dr. Kenyan shook Jorge’s hand, and she smiled at Allison. “I understand that we’re going to do an ultrasound to determine if you might be carrying twins, is that right?”
“Yes.” Allison didn’t look at Jorge, focusing instead on the doctor’s kind face. “I’ve just recently learned that Jorge has twins on his father’s side of the family.”
“I see.” Dr. Kenyan flashed a grin that lit her pleasant features. “So, there’s a history of multiple births in your family, Mr. Perez?”
“Yes,” Jorge confirmed. “Two sets of twins, actually.”
“Well, that might increase your chances.” The doctor tucked her pen in the pocket of her lab coat and slid Allison’s file on to the counter. She snapped off the overhead light before perching on the high stool beside the exam table. “I’ve discussed the procedure with Allison, Mr. Perez, but so you’ll understand what we’re going to do, let me explain.”
Jorge listened intently as Dr. Kenyan explained the painless procedure, nodding at intervals.
“Do you have any questions?” the doctor asked, finally.
“No, it seems fairly straightforward.”
“Good.” She nodded emphatically. “You might want to step a bit closer so you can have a clear view of the screen and see what Allison and I see.”
Jorge complied, and Allison stiffened as his coat sleeve brushed her bare arm.
Dr. Kenyan finished turning knobs and adjusting dials, and with efficient movements, bared Allison’s midsection, the sheet and gown modestly covering all but her tummy.
“The gel is going to feel a little cool, Allison,” the doctor warned, just before she placed the slippery wand on Allison’s stomach.
“Oh!” Allison flinched at the odd sensation. It felt as if the doctor were smoothing Jell-O over her skin.
“All right?” Dr. Kenyan scanned Allison’s face.
“Yes. It just feels strange.”
Dr. Kenyan smiled. “I know. Now just lie still and we’ll see what we can find.”
She continued to move the wand over Allison’s tummy, watching the screen and adjusting knobs as she did so.
Allison and Jorge stared at the screen the doctor focused on, but neither could make out anything that looked like a baby.
“Aha,” the doctor murmured with satisfaction.
“What?” Jorge and Allison spoke in unison.
“You were right. There are two babies.”
Jorge’s hand closed over Allison’s where it lay atop the sheet, and she instinctively turned her palm up to his, her fingers gripping him tightly.
“You’re sure?” she asked, staring at the screen and its black-and-white smears and waves. “I can’t see babies.”
“Let me see if I can get a clearer view for you.” Dr. Kenyan moved the wand.
Allison and Jorge collectively held their breath.
“There we are.” The doctor’s voice held satisfaction. She traced the forefinger of her free hand over the screen as she spoke. “You see these two very dark oblong sections outlined in white? Inside each of these is this tiny lighter area, shaped rather like an upside-down Kewpie doll—those are your two babies.” She turned, smiling widely. “Congratulations, Mommy and Daddy, you’re having twins.”
Allison jerked upright on the table. Her gaze flew to meet Jorge’s and saw awe, shock, delight, all mixed with the same faint panic that she felt.
“Twins,” he repeated, his voice rough with emotion. He shook his head and looked at the doctor. “You’re sure? There couldn’t be any mistake?”
“No mistake. There are definitely two babies.”
“Oh, my goodness.” Allison’s voice was faint. She didn’t realize that she still gripped Jorge’s fingers tightly until he lifted her hand and pressed a kiss against her knuckles. She could only stare at him, torn between the panic and joy that filled her at the thought of having two babies instead of one, and the unresolved argument that lay between them.
“If you’ll have a seat in the reception area, Mr. Perez, I’m going to do a pelvic exam of Allison, and then we can meet in my office, where I’ll be happy to answer any further questions you might have.”
Jorge shot back his cuff and frowned at his watch. “Will it take long, Doctor? I have a meeting with a judge and defense counsel in a half hour and they can’t proceed without me.”
“We’ll probably be fifteen or twenty minutes.”
Jorge looked at Allison. “Then I’m afraid I can’t stay. Can we have an appointment later this week to discuss the twins?”
“Of course.”
“Thank you, Dr. Kenyan.” His fingers tightened over Allison’s. “I’ll see you tonight.”
The words were a promise as well as a question, and Allison could only nod.
Jorge searched her pale features, his gaze intense, before he reluctantly released her, nodded to the doctor and abruptly left the room.
Allison sighed, frowning at the closed door. Had he meant what he said earlier about wanting a real marriage? How did he really feel about having two babies instead of one?
“I have the distinct impression that the two of you aren’t in accord about your pregnancy. Does he have reservations about the two of you becoming parents?”
Dr. Kenyan’s blunt statement caught Allison’s attention, yanking her back to the present with a vengeance.
“Oh, no, Jorge is looking forward to being a father. He’s been wonderfully supportive.” Allison shoved her fingers through her hair and pushed it away from her face. “I’m the one that’s having second thoughts.”
“You’re considering terminating the pregnancy?”
The calm question shocked Allison. “No! Oh, no. Absolutely not.”
The doctor smiled at her vehement, instant response and settled more comfortably onto her stool, eyeing Allison. “Then suppose you tell me what’s worrying you.”
“I’m not sure I’ll be a good mother,” she said cautiously.
“And why is that?” The good doctor didn’t appear shocked. In fact, her kind face reflected only interest and good humor.
“Well, for one thing,” Allison said slowly, “ever since I took the pregnancy test, I’ve noticed that I’m crying over the smallest of things. And I’m having mood swings—one minute I’m perfectly happy and the next I’m horribly blue. And for no good reason.” She frowned unhappily at the doctor. “I don’t know how Jorge can bear to live with me, Doctor. It’s awful.”
“Are these normal occurrences for you, Allison? Did you have mood swings before you became pregnant?”
“No. I’ve never been like this.”
Dr. Kenyan laughed and patted Allison’s clasped hands where they gripped the white sheet. “Then I feel safe in saying that what you’re experiencing is quite probably a case of your hormones struggling to adjust to the pregnancy.”
“Then I won’t be like this forever?”
“No.”
Allison heaved a sigh of relief. Although she’d often heard the nurses and other staff at Manhattan Multiples talk about the emotional highs and lows that could afflict a woman during pregnancy, she’d been convinced that what she was feeling was radically out of the normal range. “Thank goodness. I thought I might be suffering some sort of emotional breakdown.”
Dr. Kenyan queried her further and after several moments, smiled gently. “I think what you’re feeling is heightened by the stress of being a newlywed. The less stress you have, the better it is for you and for the baby. Are you and your husband having any problems? Because if you are,” she added when Allison hesitated, “perhaps you might consider that with your hormones struggling to adjust to the baby, y
our perspective is likely to be slightly skewed.”
After speaking with the doctor for a full half hour instead of the fifteen minutes she’d predicted that the exam would take, Allison had much to think about.
Still mulling over Dr. Kenyan’s words, Allison returned to the office to find the staff in an uproar. Josie shrieked with delight when Allison walked through the door, but Allison couldn’t understand her.
“What is it? What’s happened?”
“Leah had her babies!” Josie’s smile beamed, her eyes misty with emotion.
Chapter Nine
“When?” Allison was shocked. “I’ve only been gone from the office for a few hours!”
“I know. Isn’t it exciting?”
“Yes, very exciting.” Allison realized belatedly that Josie was wearing her coat. Lara Mancini hurried down the hall and joined them, her green eyes sparkling with delight.
“Allison, did you hear?”
“I just told her,” Josie put in.
Tony Martino pushed open the outer door and peered in, a warm jacket covering his broad shoulders. “Anybody want to share a taxi?”
“Absolutely.” Lara slung her purse over her arm and walked quickly toward him.
“Where are we going?” Allison asked, feeling a step out of sync with the others.
“To the hospital.” Josie pulled on her gloves and grabbed her purse from the top of her desk. “Eloise left as soon as she heard that Leah had delivered the babies, and she told the rest of us that we could lock up and join her, unless we had appointments that couldn’t be canceled.” She glanced down the hall at the dark offices. “And I think just about everybody else raced out of here. We may be the last to leave.”
“I can’t wait to see the babies,” Lara commented, as Allison and Josie joined her and Tony in the hall. Josie locked the doors behind them, and they hurried toward the elevators.
Practice Makes Pregnant Page 16
