Midlife Baby (Small Town Lovers)

My thoughts wandered to the hospital, and I wondered if she was all right. Adults didn’t just pass out for no good reason, it was usually a sign that something was very wrong.

Or she passed out because the stubborn woman is too damn concerned about her figure. It was a fine figure for sure, slender and curvy in all the right places, but it wasn’t worth starving herself for.

“Not my problem,” I grunted to shut off the endless stream of thoughts that revolved around Margo and made my way up to bed, where she appeared in my dreams, naked and sweaty and screaming my name, begging me for more.

Chapter 9

Margot

“I’m sorry, but you’re going to have to repeat that, because I couldn’t have possibly heard you correctly.” I shook my head at the doctor standing at the foot of my bed with a sympathetic smile on his face.

“Margot,” he began with an indulgent smile.

“No,” I folded my arms in stubborn refusal. “I hit my head, and you’re making me stay overnight, so you’re going to have to say that again.” My heart raced as the silence between us stretched, and I knew it wouldn’t return to normal until the doctor confirmed he was joking.

“It’s possibly a mild concussion Margot, not exactly an injury that produces memory or hearing loss.” His lips twitched, and if my head didn’t hurt so bad I might have lunged across the bed to put my hands around his neck. “But I’m happy to give you the news again. You, Margot, are pregnant. About eight weeks based on your hormone levels, but you should see an OB to be sure.”

“That’s not possible, Dr. Hines. I’m forty-seven.” I whispered my age as if the doctor didn’t have all of my information on the chart in his hand.

“I’m aware of how old you are Margot, but I am also aware of what the blood test indicates, and elevated hCG is a pretty good indicator of pregnancy.”

“Pretty good?” I hopped on those two words like a drowning woman. “So not an absolute guarantee? It could be something else,” I said, satisfied that more tests would likely be needed, because as much as I wanted a child, this was not how I pictured it, or how I wanted to bring a child into the world.

The doctor sighed, but he did a good job of concealing his frustration. “No. You’re pregnant Margot. If this is an unwanted pregnancy we can talk about that, but don’t fool yourself into thinking this is something else. It’s not. Do you have any questions?”

“Only about a million of them,” I nodded. “Is it safe to get pregnant at my age? Am I, or the baby at risk of…anything?”

He grinned. “There are certain risks associated with a geriatric pregnancy of course, but you’re in good health with age being your own risk factor. An obstetrician can answer these questions better than I can, and I recommend you make an appointment right away.”

“Geriatric? Did you seriously just say geriatric to me?” I knew I sounded hysterical, but I couldn’t help myself, the words pregnant and geriatric felt wrong in the same sentence.

“It’s just a term used in reference to a pregnant person over the age of thirty-five.”

“Thirty-five! That is the most absurd thing I have ever heard! Thirty-five is like a baby, it’s the age you should be having children, and you’re telling me that even then it’s already too late for something I’m doing many, many years after the age of thirty-five?”

“Margot, calm down.”

“I am as calm as I can be considering the words that keep coming out of your mouth, Doctor.”

The door opened at that moment, and Carlotta strolled in carrying my Louis Vuitton overnight bag. “What’s all the noise? Is something wrong?” Her gaze bounced between me and Dr. Hines. “Is she okay, Dr. Hines?”

“No Carlotta, I am not fine,” I answered angrily. “Not only am I pregnant, but apparently I’m having a senior pregnancy,” I growled.

Dr. Hines cleared his throat. “I didn’t say senior, I said geriatric.”

Carlotta gasped and turned an angry glare at the doctor. “That is not better. Apologize, right now.”

His brows dipped in confusion. “Apologize for giving her medically necessary advice?”

“Yes. You’ve just given her shocking news, and on top of that, you called her old as dirt.”

“Now that is not what I said,” he shot back and took a step towards the door before he turned to me. “You need to know the risks Margot. If you want to carry this pregnancy to term you must be realistic about what that means.”

My shoulders slumped in defeat and I fell back against the bed. “I know, and I’m sorry, but this isn’t what I was expecting to hear.”

Carlotta snorted. “I mean you obviously have had sex recently, so it shouldn’t be that unexpected. Protection is necessary, but pregnancy is always a possibility.”