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Collapsing back across the bed and staring at the ceiling fan as it slowly made circles in the warm air, Libby couldn’t pretend, even to herself, to be surprised by the confirmation of her pregnancy. Her hands instinctively covered her stomach. There was no physical sign but in her heart she was already protective of her baby. Even in the pharmacy as she’d purchased the test that afternoon, she’d thought her action was redundant.
She had been feeling nauseous for almost six weeks and she had eaten more olives, fish and bread than she cared to remember in the preceding days. Which for anyone else might not be odd, except Libby detested olives. But, like a woman possessed, she had driven to the late-night supermarket close to midnight in search of black olives. They had to be Kalamata olives. And artisan bread. And that week she had started visiting the fish market and she ordinarily hated the smell of fresh fish.
Her cravings were Mediterranean, just like the father of her unborn child. The man who had shattered her heart and her trust.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the front door, breaking through the jumbled thoughts that were threatening to send her mad.
‘Hello...anyone gorgeous at home? Other than me, I mean?’ the voice chirped loudly.
She recognised the voice of her best friend, Bradley. The rock in her life since nursing school. She had been expecting him but was clueless as to how he would react as he hadn’t known she had even been interested in someone and Libby had never kept secrets from Bradley. Slowly she sat up and then climbed to her feet. Her legs were still shaking and her mind racing.
‘The door’s unlocked and I’m in my room, Bradley... There’s something I need to tell you.’
* * *
Thirty minutes later, they both sat staring in silence at their empty iced tea glasses. Bradley had moved Libby into the kitchen and insisted that she have a cool drink and something to eat. He had brought home two cupcakes from the local bakery and there were now only crumbs on their plates. She suspected that he needed something to calm his nerves as much as her. Learning about her pregnancy had come out of left field for him.
‘He’s a lying, deceitful bastard on every level.’
‘I feel so stupid. I mean, I didn’t really know him, not outside work, but we just clicked. We talked for hours literally and it seemed right. But it was so wrong. And I don’t have that much dating experience, not in last few years anyway. I guess I read too much into it.’
‘He clearly wanted you to read into it. He’s a dreadful excuse for a man.’
‘I’m an idiot.’
Bradley patted her hand with his. ‘You’re not an idiot. Love just makes us do crazy things. Heaven knows, I’ve fallen for the wrong man more times than I care to recall.’
Libby nodded. She was done with talking about the man who had broken her heart. And there would be no more tears either. She had shed enough in the weeks since he’d left to last her a lifetime and now she needed to focus on herself. And her baby.
‘I know it’s a lot but we’ve got this,’ he said with his chin definitely jutted and his hands on his hips. ‘I’m in this with you, all the way.’
‘That’s so sweet, Bradley, but I made a mess of everything. Not you. You’ve got a whole wide world out there. You don’t have to tie yourself down to me and...’ Libby paused as her gaze dropped to her stomach. ‘And my baby.’
‘What sort of gay best friend walks away from his best friend for ever and her baby? Not me, that’s for sure,’ he retorted, standing and reaching for both cups. He walked to the dishwasher, put them both inside then spun on his heel to face her with a look of determination. ‘You will be the most amazing mommy ever and I will be the most awesome, stylish uncle that any little poppet ever had. Ooh, I wonder if the baby will have your stunning red hair? Here’s hoping as I can see the tiny wardrobe already, hues of green and copper and, of course, yellow. Goodness, there’re so many choices ahead of us...’
‘What would I do without you?’ Libby cut in.
‘You’ll never know ’cos I’m not going anywhere. This baby will be loved and cherished. And my adorable niece or nephew will have anything in life that he or she wants.’
Everything except a father, Libby thought, but said nothing as she swallowed the lump in her throat and blinked away the last of the tears stinging the corners of her eyes.
‘And we will throw the best birthday parties ever!’ Bradley continued, his face animated with excitement and his hands moving around wildly. ‘I can see them now. Like tiny carnivals with rides and cotton candy and a petting zoo.’
Libby’s lips began to curl upwards as her spirits lifted just a little. ‘You’re spoiling the baby and we still have seven months to meet him or her.’
‘Of course it’s my responsibility as Uncle Bradley. I’m in your baby’s life for ever.’
Libby felt a stab in her heart, wishing the father of her baby would be in their lives for ever too, but that would never be. She had no clue where he had gone. The hospital could not give Libby a forwarding address and he had not mentioned leaving to anyone other than his short, and apparently sudden, resignation email.
Clearly, she meant nothing to him. Neither had their time together been as special as she had imagined. It had all been in her head. She had romanticised the entire affair. She feared he might feel the same about the child they had created but she would never know because there was no way for her to tell him.
* * *
As he sat staring out across the brilliant blue water Dr Daniel Dimosa’s thoughts unexpectedly returned to the gorgeous redheaded nurse who, only months earlier, had unknowingly made him forget about the uncertainty of his future, if only for a few short weeks. She was sweet and kind and the woman he’d wanted but knew he couldn’t have. Not for ever, at least.
Daniel had fought the attraction over the time they had spent together while he had been Acting Head of ER. He had valiantly attempted to keep their relationship professional. But he had failed. Her nursing skills, genuine empathy with patients and wonderfully warm, kind manner was nothing he had witnessed before. She would work past her shift to allay the fears of patients and their families, go the extra mile to transfer her knowledge to inexperienced medical students, and make all the medical team around her feel included and important. And against everything he had promised himself, he had begun to fear he was close to falling in love.
No matter how much he’d tried, Daniel couldn’t ignore his feelings for her. He would look for excuses to spend time with her even over a coffee in the early hours of the morning at the twenty-four-hour cafeteria, but he’d still kept the conversation about their mutual love of medicine. Nothing about the past and nothing about the future.
