“Well, Paul’s is a two-bedroom and we were paying just over six hundred a month.”
“Can you swing that on your own?”
“I think so.”
“Well, if you need help, you ask. Do you hear me? Don’t be too proud to ask. Your father and I are always here if you need us.”
“Thanks, Mom.”
Bryn rose and hugged her mother.
“A grandbaby,” Keri said, smiling. “I’m going to be a grandma.”
“Yes, you are.”
“My baby is going to be a mommy.”
Bryn smiled.
“Well, let’s go get some lunch,” Keri said. “And then let’s do some serious shopping. I haven’t been baby shopping in years. Oh, this is going to be fun!”
Bryn arrived home that evening just before dinner.
“Hey!” Bob grinned at her from the front porch. “How did it go?”
“Actually, it was great! I can’t believe how well she took it.”
“Good!” he said. “It looks like she bought out a store or two.”
Bryn dropped the four large bags she carried on the ground.
“I think this kid has enough clothes to last till kindergarten,” she said. “And you should see what’s in my trunk. She bought a car seat and a baby swing and a porta-crib. I think she may actually have gone insane.”
Bob laughed and hugged her.
“I’m glad it went well,” he said. “I told you, a baby makes everything right with the world.”
He picked up the bags and carried them into the house, Bryn following.
“Where are the boys?” she asked. The house was strangely quiet.
“They’re having a night out with Wendy’s parents. Carla called today and asked if they could see them.”
“Is that okay?” Bryn asked. “I mean, they won’t take the boys back to Wendy, will they?”
“No. They don’t see Wendy at all anymore. They’re pretty much appalled at what she’s doing.”
“I don’t blame them,” Bryn said. “It’s pretty appalling.”
“So, I guess it’s just the two of us for dinner. There’s some leftover stew in the fridge.”
“Sounds good. Let me just change into my sweats, okay? I’m ready to relax.”
Bryn carried the bags of baby clothes to her room. When she reappeared, in gray sweatpants and a red shirt, she carried a tiny sleeper. “Isn’t this just the cutest thing you ever saw?”
Bob smiled. “Pretty cute.”
“Hey,” Bryn said, plopping down on the couch. “Do you mind if we ask Corrie to eat with us?”
“Sure,” Bob said. “Is Mark out of town again?”
Bryn took a deep breath.
“No,” she said. “He’s in town. He’s just not at home.”
Bob raised his eyebrows.
“Corrie told him about what happened with Daniel.”
“Oh lord,” he said. “I bet that went over well.”
“And that’s not all,” Bryn continued. “Bob, Corrie is pregnant.”
Bob’s eyes widened.
“Oh my God,” he said. “Is the baby Daniel’s?”
“She doesn’t know for sure.”
Bob leaned his head against the wall. “What a mess,” he said.
“Yeah,” Bryn agreed.
“Does Mark know she’s pregnant?”
Bryn nodded.
“And he’s left her?”
She nodded again.
Bob sat down heavily in the recliner and shook his head.
“I can’t believe this,” he said. “Corrie’s so . . . she’s just so good, you know? She never breaks the rules. She always does the right thing. And now, it just doesn’t seem fair.”
“I know,” Bryn said. “She’s torn up about it.”
“I’ll bet. Does she know that I know about Daniel?”
Bryn nodded.
“Well, you call her and tell her to come for dinner. We’ll do what we can to cheer her up.”
Bryn rose and kissed the top of his head.
“You really are the dearest man.”
He grinned at her.
“You call, and I’ll start heating up the stew.”
34
Corrie arrived bearing a large bunch of chrysanthemums and a loaf of sourdough bread.
“Hey,” Bob said, wrapping her in a hug. “You all right?”
She leaned against his chest for a minute.
“No,” she said. “Not really.”
“You will be,” he said. “It’s going to be okay.”
“Hi!” Bryn called from the kitchen. “Wait till you see all the stuff my mom bought for the baby.”
She walked into the dining room carrying a large pot of hot stew.
“You told her?” Corrie asked.
“Yep.” Bryn nodded, setting the pot on the table.
“How did it go?”
“So well! I can’t even believe how well it went.”
“Bryn, that’s great. I’m so glad.”
“I know! It was almost like, ‘Who are you, and what have you done with my mother?’ ”
Corrie laughed. “I always liked your mom. I know you didn’t, but I always did.”
“She’s okay,” Bryn said. “She’s mellowed a lot in the last few years.”
“Maybe you have, too,” Bob said.
“Maybe.”
They sat at the table and Bob raised his glass.
“A toast,” he said. “To good friends.”
“God knows what we’d do without them,” Bryn said.
They touched glasses.
“Thanks for having me tonight,” Corrie said. “I really hate being home right now.”
“You should stay the night,” Bryn said. “We’ll have a slumber party!”
Corrie smiled and shook her head. “I have to work in the morning. And I think Wendy might just die of a heart attack if yet another woman moves in with Bob.”
“Serves her right,” Bryn said.
“I filed the divorce papers today,” Bob said quietly.
“I’m so sorry.” Corrie put her hand over his. “I know that must be so hard.”
“Thanks,” he said. “I just want to get it over with and move on.”
“Well, we are quite the trio, aren’t we?” Bryn said. “Two pregnant ladies with no husbands, and a husband with no wife.”
Bob grinned ruefully. “If you had told me a year ago that we would be here today, I wouldn’t have believed you at all.”
“I feel like I’m living someone else’s life,” Corrie said. “Like I’m in a soap opera or something.”
They sat in silence for a moment.
“Well,” Bryn said finally, “it could be worse.”
Corrie raised her eyebrows.
“How could it be worse?” she asked.
“We could be back in Biology 101.”
They all laughed.
“God, I hated that class,” Bob said. “Jenkins was such a bad teacher.”
“I know,” Bryn agreed. “That’s why I had to copy from you.”
“I only got through that class because Daniel tutored me every single day,” Corrie said.
Immediately, she regretted the words. They sat in awkward silence for a long minute. Corrie’s cheeks reddened.
“Does he know about the baby?” Bob asked.
She shook her head.
“Are you going to tell him?”
“I don’t know,” she said. “Right now, all I can think about is Mark. He came to the house this morning and packed up a bunch of his stuff. He’s getting an apartment.”
Bryn reached over to squeeze Corrie’s hand.
“He just needs some time to sort things out,” Bob said. “But Mark loves you. He’ll come back.”
“I don’t know,” Corrie said. “If this baby is Daniel’s, I don’t know if Mark can ever get past that.”
“How soon can you find out?” Bryn asked.
“I’m not sure. I looked online, and I
think they can’t do testing until at least ten weeks,” Corrie said.
“Have you been to the doctor yet?” Bob asked.
Corrie shook her head. “I can’t bring myself to go into Dr. Ping’s office and tell him, ‘Hey, I’m finally pregnant. But oh, by the way, Mark might not be the father.’ ”
“You should see Dr. Reynolds,” Bryn said. “She’s really nice.”
“Maybe,” Corrie said.
“Actually,” Bob said, “you probably should see your own doctor. He’s got all your history. And I’m sure you’re not the only patient he’s ever seen who wasn’t sure about her baby’s paternity.”
“God!” Corrie said. “I can’t believe I’m in this position. This isn’t me. I don’t cheat on my husband and get pregnant with someone else’s baby. This is not how it’s supposed to be.”
She dropped her head into her hands and felt the tears sting her eyes.
Bryn rose and wrapped her arms around her friend.
“It will all work out,” she crooned. “I know it doesn’t seem like it now, but it really will be okay.”
Corrie leaned into her and cried. “How is it going to be okay? How will it ever be okay?”
“Because, Corrie, you’re going to be a mommy.”
“I’m going to be a single mom. That’s not what I wanted.”
“Coriander Bliss!”
Bryn’s raised voice startled Corrie into looking up.
“For as long as I’ve known you, you’ve wanted a baby. Even when we were freshmen, you’d stop to play peek-a-boo with kids at the mall. You were meant to be a mother. And now you’re going to be one. After all this time, it’s kind of a freaking miracle. And no, it’s not how you imagined it. That’s life, honey. It never turns out just how you planned it. Sometimes you just have to go with the flow.”
Corrie wiped her eyes and stared at Bryn.
“Do you think this is how I planned my life?” Bryn continued. “I was supposed to be a world-famous artist by now, and I don’t even have a place to call my own. I’m thirty-two years old, and I don’t even have my own apartment.”
“You’re braver than I am,” Corrie said softly.
“That’s bullshit and you know it. You are brave enough and strong enough to get through this. Your perfect little world has been shaken. And oh well, life happens. But you’re going to have a baby, and you’re going to love the baby, and you’re going to make a good life for you and the baby. Because you are Coriander Bliss Philips. You survived your rotten childhood, and you can survive this.”
Corrie sat silently staring at her friend. At last, she smiled weakly.
“I love you,” she said.
“I know,” Bryn said. “I’m just a lovable person.”
Bob laughed then, and they all relaxed in their chairs.
“Now seriously,” Bryn said. “You have to come look at the stuff my mom bought today. I am going to have the best-dressed kid Middlebrook has ever seen!”
35
“Congratulations!” Dr. Ping smiled as he entered the exam room. “You are officially pregnant!”
Corrie managed a small smile.
“Are you all right?” Dr. Ping asked. “I thought you’d be over the moon.”
“I’m just . . . well, to be honest, I’m not sure the baby is Mark’s.”
The words hung in the air between then. Dr. Ping said nothing for a long minute.
“Oh,” he said finally. “Oh.”
“I made a really stupid mistake.” Corrie’s cheeks were the color of bricks. “Just once, but . . . but now I don’t know who the father is.”
She buried her face in her hands and let the tears come.
“Does Mark know?” Dr. Ping’s voice was gentle.
“Yes, I told him.”
“I’m very sorry, Corrie. I know how much you’ve wanted a baby. And I can’t imagine how painful this must be for you and Mark.”
“Thank you,” she whispered.
“Are you going to continue with the pregnancy?”
“Oh yes,” she said. “I want this baby!”
“Well, good then. I know it’s not the way you wanted things to work out, but sometimes life just throws us a curveball.”
“Doctor, how soon can we find out if the baby is Mark’s?”
“Well, that depends.” Dr. Ping sat down across from Corrie. “We can do an amniocentesis after the fourteenth week. That’s where we use a long, thin needle through your abdomen to draw out a little bit of amniotic fluid.
“Or, we can do chorionic villus sampling at about eleven weeks. In that case, we use a long, thin tube through the vagina to gather a bit of tissue from the wall of the uterus.”
“Okay,” Corrie said firmly. “Let’s do the one at eleven weeks.”
“Corrie, I have to tell you there are risks involved with either of the procedures. With either, there is a small chance of miscarriage.”
“How small?” Corrie wrapped her arms around her stomach, as if to shield the baby inside.
“With amnio, about one in four hundred. With CVS, it’s one in one hundred. The only really risk-free method is to wait until the baby is born, draw blood, and do the test then.”
Corrie shook her head. “I can’t wait that long. Mark is in hell, I’m in hell. We need to know.”
“All right.” The doctor made a note on his chart. “Then let’s decide which procedure is your best option. Because the risk is significantly lower, I’d recommend an amniocentesis. It’s only three weeks longer to wait, and it’s statistically safer for you and the baby.”
“So, fourteen weeks?”
“Can you wait that long?”
Corrie took a deep breath and nodded.
“Okay, I’ll go ahead and schedule you for mid-December. It’s an out-patient procedure. We’ll do it here in the office. In the meantime, I’m writing you a prescription for prenatal vitamins. I want you to get lots of rest, eat healthy meals, and try hard not to worry too much. Okay?”
“So, when do you think I’m due?” Corrie asked.
“We’ll call it June tenth. How does that sound?”
“Good,” she said. “That sounds very good.”
The doctor took her hands and spoke firmly. “You are going to need as much support as you can get. Have you told your mother yet?”
She shook her head.
“I hope you’ll do that right away. And get some good friends around you. And . . . and just take care of yourself, Corrie. Will you do that?”
“Yes, Dr. Ping,” she said. “I will.”
Corrie turned her phone on as she left the doctor’s office. She had a voice mail.
She stopped in the lobby to listen.
“Hey.” Mark’s voice was low. She sat down in the nearest chair, her knees shaking.
“I just wanted to let you know that Sarah had the baby last night, a girl. They named her Grace. They’re both fine. I just thought you’d want to know.”
Corrie gripped the phone tightly and listened to the message again.
They’d named the baby Grace. That would please Mark’s mother. Of course, they couldn’t very well have named her Corrie. Not after what she’d done.
She sat for a few minutes. Should she go see Sarah? Would Sarah even want to see her?
Finally, she stood, put her phone in her purse, and walked from the medical office building to the hospital next door.
“I’m here to see Sarah Burton,” she said to the woman at the reception desk. “She had a baby last night.”
The woman checked her computer and smiled. “She’s in room 248, in the east wing.”
Corrie stopped at the gift shop and bought a bunch of pink balloons and a small pink lamb. When she knocked on the open door of room 248, Sarah’s husband raised his head.
“Oh,” he stammered. “Um, hi, Corrie.”
“Hi, Kevin.” Corrie smiled. “Congratulations.”
“Thanks,” he said. In his lap he cradled a tiny, pink-blanketed bundle.
> “Sarah’s in the bathroom,” he said, nodding toward the closed door.
Corrie walked to his side and gazed at the baby asleep in his arms.
“She’s beautiful.”
“Yeah,” he agreed. “She is, isn’t she?”
“Corrie?” Sarah stood in the doorway, her hand on her belly.
“Hi,” Corrie said. “I hope it’s okay I came.”
“Sure.” Sarah walked to the bed and lowered herself slowly onto it. “It’s fine. I’m glad you came.”
“Here.” Kevin laid the baby in Sarah’s arms. “I think I’m going to get a cup of coffee. Do you want anything?”
“No,” Sarah said. “I’m good.”
“Okay then.” Kevin edged toward the door. “I’ll be back in a little while.”
An awkward silence ensued. Finally, Corrie said, “She’s really beautiful, Sarah. She looks so much like Laurel.”
“She does, doesn’t she? You should see the two of them together. Here . . .” She lifted her phone from the nightstand and did a quick search. “Look.” She held the phone up so Corrie could see a picture of three-year-old Laurel holding tiny Grace in her lap.
“Oh my God,” Corrie breathed. “That’s precious.”
She touched the top of the baby’s head with her finger, felt the fine fuzz of blond hair. Tears stung her eyes.
“Are you okay?” Sarah asked.
Corrie nodded. “Just . . . just happy for you.”
“Mark told me what happened,” Sarah said.
“I’m so sorry,” Corrie whispered. “I’m so damned sorry.”
“I know.” Sarah reached for her sister-in-law’s hand. “I’m sorry, too.”
“Thank you.” Corrie squeezed her hand.
“I mean, I’m really mad at you,” Sarah continued, holding Corrie’s hand tight. “I don’t understand how you could cheat on Mark. But you are still my friend, my oldest friend. And no matter what, you’ll always be my sister.”
Tears brimmed in Corrie’s eyes and a lump filled her throat. She didn’t deserve Sarah’s friendship. “I love you,” she finally managed to say.
“I love you, too.” Sarah shifted in the bed. “Do you want to hold her?”
“Can I?” Corrie reached for the baby, kissed her head, breathed in the intoxicating aroma of spit-up and baby shampoo.
“How’s my granddaughter?”
Corrie’s mother-in-law stopped in the doorway when she saw Corrie.
The Weight of Small Things Page 20
