Lucy Gordon - The Pregnancy Bond

‘I have to go home. Sorry, Olympia. I’m not-very good company-tonight-’

‘It’s not your fault,’ she said in a voice of concern. ‘You tried to do too much too soon.’

‘Right,’ he muttered, hardly knowing what he said.

‘You’re still worse than we thought.’

‘Right.’ He would agree to anything if only Kelly would arrive soon.

‘I think you should go back to the hospital,’ she said firmly.

‘Not-hospital-Kelly.’ He gasped the words out, one by one.

‘Come and sit down.’ She steered him to the sofa, where he almost collapsed.

Olympia left him for a moment while she collected her scattered clothes and vanished into her bedroom. While there she made a phone call.

Jake stared at something on the floor, wondering what it was and what he was supposed to do with it. At last it registered as his shirt, which he must have discarded some time before. He couldn’t remember it. Using all his concentration he lifted it and put it back on. The effort exhausted him and he slumped on the sofa, fixing his attention on the wall opposite. If he watched the pattern hard enough he could avoid thinking about the monster that was fighting to break out of its cage in his mind.

It was strange how perfectly regular the pattern was-one, two, three-how long would it take her to get here?-four, five, six-when had he phoned her? He’d lost track of time-seven, eight, nine-but, please God, let her be here soon?

He reached the end of the row and started again. One, two, three-how would she come? In a cab?-four, five, six-it was such a distance-such a vast distance from Kelly to Olympia-an unbridgeable distance-why did he think of that now? Seven, eight, nine-

He kept his eyes closed, trying to shield his inner self from Olympia’s curious gaze. There was only one person he trusted to see deeply into his heart and soul, but she wasn’t here. She had promised to come to him, but where was she? The monster was growing stronger, smashing against the bars, threatening him with unspeakable horrors. If she didn’t get here in time…

The doorbell broke into his terrors. His forehead was damp with relief. Now everything would be all right.

But it wasn’t Kelly. It was two men in grey sweaters and trousers.

‘Are you the lady who called the ambulance?’ one of them asked Olympia.

‘That’s right.’

‘What the devil have you done?’ Jake demanded harshly. ‘Who asked you to call anyone?’

‘Darling, you need help.’

‘And I’ll get it when Kelly arrives.’

‘I mean real professional help.’

Jake turned on the two men, gasping. ‘Who are you and where do you come from?’

‘Forest Glades,’ one of them said. ‘The best private rest home in the business.’

‘Be damned to you and your “rest home”. I know what that means.’

‘It’s all right,’ Olympia soothed. ‘The company will pay the bills.’

With a tremendous effort he pulled himself together. The next words came out sounding strange to his own ears, harsh and dead, like a robot. But they made a sort of sense.

‘I’m going home with my wife. She’ll be here in a moment.’

The two men looked at Olympia, who gave an awkward laugh.

‘Darling, you don’t have a wife. You’re divorced.’ An ominous concern shaded her voice. ‘Surely you remember? Of course I know you’ve been a bit forgetful recently-’

‘I haven’t forgotten the important things,’ he said, still in the same harsh voice. ‘Divorce or no divorce, Kelly is still my wife, and she always will be.’

‘Jake, really-’

‘And if you want proof of that, she’s having my baby.’

The paramedics looked at him, then at Olympia. Jake was alive to the nuances but he was beyond caring. Every fibre of his being was concentrated on seeming normal until Kelly arrived. He could feel his control slipping, but if he could just hang on a little longer…she could handle everything…she was strong…she had always been strong…

‘Excuse me,’ came a voice from the doorway. The paramedics had left it open and Kelly was standing there, smiling and apparently at ease.

‘Jake, dear,’ she said, coming forward to him, ‘I got here as soon as I could. Are you ready to come home now?’

‘Yes,’ he said hoarsely.

‘Excuse me, miss-ma’am-’ it was one of the paramedics ‘-can you confirm that you’re his wife?’

Eyes wide with apparent naivety, Kelly declared, ‘Of course I am. But you already knew that. He told you.’

So she’d heard, Jake thought. Everything was reaching him from a distance, but he registered that Kelly was totally in control.

The other paramedic was a puritanical young man. Eyeing Kelly’s very obvious pregnancy with outrage he said stiffly, ‘I’m sorry to tell you, ma’am, but we found your husband with this-lady.’

Her disconcerting response was a ripple of laughter. ‘Haven’t you given up yet, Olympia? I suppose you thought your best chance was to pounce now, while I’m pregnant. It doesn’t seem to have worked, does it? Never mind, better luck next time.’

‘You mean you don’t mind?’ the young man asked, gaping.

‘Mind about her? What for? She’s no threat to my marriage. Sorry, Olympia, but the truth is the truth, even when it hurts.’

‘I think you’d better leave,’ Olympia said through clenched teeth.

‘Glad to,’ Kelly said promptly, slipping her hand through Jake’s arm. ‘I’m sorry you two gentlemen were called out for no reason. Ready, darling?’

‘One moment before you go,’ Olympia said acidly, vanishing into the bedroom. She returned a moment later and held out her hand, bearing Jake’s cufflinks. ‘Don’t forget these.’

‘Thank you,’ Kelly said, taking them. She met her gaze. ‘Poor Olympia,’ she said softly.

The murderous look in the other woman’s eyes provided one of the great moments of her life.

A FTERWARDSJake had very little memory of leaving Olympia’s apartment, or of getting home. The ride down in the lift blended into the cab Kelly had left waiting outside the building, getting into the back, taking refuge in Kelly’s arms. She held him close, rocking him gently, murmuring words of comfort to ease an agony that she didn’t understand. When they reached the flat she thrust money at the driver, still holding Jake’s hand in her own, and drew him quickly into the building. When they were safely home she enfolded him again in a passion of protectiveness.

‘You’re shivering,’ she said.

‘I can’t stop,’ he said through chattering teeth.

‘I’ll put the heating on.’

‘No, it’s not that kind of shivering.’

‘Jake, can you tell me what happened?’

‘I don’t know,’ he said hoarsely. ‘I don’t know. Suddenly everything was dark and there was nothing in the world but fear and despair. But then I remembered there was you, and I knew if I reached you I’d be safe. Hold me. Hold me!’

‘Yes, darling, yes-’ The word slipped out without her knowing. ‘I’m here. Hold onto me.’

She too was in a kind of shock, stunned by the suddenness with which the world had turned on its head. She’d sent him off to Olympia, telling herself that she was doing the best thing for both of them. In her mind she’d followed every step of his evening: the romantic candlelit dinner, the journey back to Olympia’s apartment, the soft music as they undressed and went to bed.

She’d tried to shut her thoughts off at this stage but it had been impossible. She knew Jake’s body as nobody else would ever know it. She knew how he made love, the little caresses that excited him. She’d known him both as a tender, considerate lover, and a fiercely thrilling one. Which would he be with Olympia?