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“Physically,” explained Dr. Knightly, “there’s nothing wrong with you. Yet you’re experiencing cramps, muscle strain, and symptoms that potentially could, if we don’t put a stop to them, endanger your pregnancy. There’s nothing else I can tell you, Alicia. Whatever strain you’re putting on your life now, it needs to stop.”
“I can’t believe it,” I said.
“Well, think about it with me,” said Dr. Knightly. “Anything stressing you out right now?”
“Well, the father of my child is having some trouble at work,” I said. “And we’re co-workers, I guess.”
Dr. Knightly nodded. “Anything else?”
“We’ve been … I mean … this is really personal.”
“Try me,” said Dr. Knightly, through a thin smile.
“I’ve … we’ve … been getting threatening messages. From a stalker.”
“A stalker?” Dr. Knightly didn’t sound convinced. “Have you seen them?”
“Well … no,” I said. “But I got a scary text … it was about my pregnancy.”
“Really?” said Dr. Knightly. “Just one?”
“No,” I said uncertainly. “Jake got a call, too.”
“How do you know it was the same person?”
“Pardon me?”
“How do you know it was the same guy?”
“I mean … we don’t, but …”
Dr. Knightly shook her head. I could tell that she was thinking very seriously about something for a little while. When she finally spoke, it was measured, even-handed, seemingly calm.
“Alicia,” she began, “what I’m about to say falls outside the remit of my medical practice. It could even get me into trouble. But I’d like to give you some advice if I can. It’s based on personal experience and I really, really hope you can hear me out on it.”
“Sure thing,” I said.
“I think,” she said, “that we don’t need to dance around the point any longer. Firstly, let’s put one thing on the table. The man who came to pick you up from my office, Jake Ryder? He’s the father of your baby, right?”
I nodded.
“Now,” continued Dr. Knightly, “you and Mr. Ryder are in the formative stage of … some kind of relationship, wouldn’t you say? That seems obvious enough to me. If you’re both being targeted by this person there’s a good chance neither of you would have known if you hadn’t been together. And there aren’t many other reasons for the owner of an airline and one of his flight attendants to be spending enough time together to trust one another with that kind of information.”
“Damn, you’re smart.”
“Alicia, I hate to tell you this, but there’s an extent to which Jake is … not the right person for you to have in your life, during this pregnancy.”
My eyes widened. “What do you mean?”
Dr. Knightly sighed and turned her head to one side, a little sympathetically.
“Jake is destructive. He’s not a good person. And, between you and me, you’re not the first nice girl he’s gotten pregnant and worked for this company.”
I was shocked. Stunned, in fact. “How do you know that?”
“I treated her. Three years ago.”
I couldn’t believe it. “He can change, though,” I said, uncertainly.
