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“You’resureit’s just the flu?”
“Fairly certain. I’ve treated a number of patients in the past couple of weeks with the same symptoms.”
“Do you want to get together for a drink?” Jordan asked. “I know it’s short notice, but there are a few things I’d like to talk over with you.”
“Sounds like a good idea. Why don’t you come by the house. Mary would love to see you. In fact, she’s been wanting to ask you about a contractor. We’re planning to have an extension built.”
Forty minutes later Jordan pulled up in front of Doug and Mary Anderson’s three-story brick home.
Mary answered the door and greeted him like a long-lost relative. Jordan regretted having allowed their friendship to lapse. He’d always liked Doug andMary and couldn’t remember the last time he’d talked to them. After Jeffrey died, and Molly moved out, there hadn’t been room in his life for anything other than work.
Mary insisted on giving him dinner. Jordan had forgotten how good it was to sit down at a table with friends. The Andersons’ three boys were all teenagers. They were tall, well-mannered, good-looking kids, busy with their own lives. Judd at eighteen was the oldest. After greeting Jordan, he grabbed a chicken leg off the platter in the kitchen, kissed his mother’s cheek and left, claiming he needed to go to Angela’s to study for an important test. Peter and Adam had eaten earlier, following football practice, and after shaking hands with Jordan, disappeared.
Jordan found it almost painful to watch Doug and Mary with their sons. This was what it would’ve been like for him and Molly had Jeffrey lived, he mused. He could picture his son as a teenager, interrupting Molly’s scolding with a peck on the cheek and a promise to be home before ten. He could see himself handing his son the car keys so he could study for a test with a girl named Angela.
After dinner, Doug and Jordan had coffee in front of the fireplace. “I’m worried about Molly,” Jordan admitted. “We haven’t been on the best of terms lately.” He hesitated, then added, “Mostly that’s my fault. I’ve had a hard time with this pregnancy.”
“It’s difficult, I know.”
Jordan was sure Doug had plenty of experience with couples who’d lost infants to SIDS, but only someone who’d lived through this agony could fully appreciate it.
From what Molly had told him, Doug was closely monitoring her pregnancy. He was pleased that his friend had taken special care with her, although he knew Doug would have done so with any patient who’d lost a child.
“I remember how I felt when we learned Mary was pregnant after we lost Joy.”
Jordan’s head snapped up. “Joy?”
“We lost a daughter to SIDS nearly twenty-three years ago. I thought you knew.”
Jordan shook his head. Perhaps he did remember Doug and Mary saying something to him at Jeffrey’s funeral, but he’d been in so much confusion and pain it hadn’t registered.
“She was only three months old,” Doug said. “It nearly destroyed Mary. Trust me, Jordan, I’ve walked in your shoes. In some ways I’ve been in Molly’s, too. Because we’re both in the medical profession, I know the torment of doubts she suffered. I felt there must’ve been something I should have done, should have known. All those years in medical school, and I couldn’t save my own child.”
“How long did it take to get over it?”
Doug sipped his coffee. “I can’t really answer that—not in terms of months or years, at any rate. We both got on with our lives, but we waited nearly five years before we decided to have Judd. In many ways it took me longer to come to terms with Joy’s death than it did Mary.”
“Molly seems to have dealt with it better than me.” This was the first time Jordan had openly discussed Jeffrey with anyone other than his wife.
“I think it takes a man longer to process grief,” Doug said. “We aren’t as likely to express our emotions. I envied Mary her ability to cry.”
“How did you feel when you learned Mary was pregnant with Judd?” Jordan leaned forward in his chair, anxious to hear the answer.
“Terrified. I’m not going to tell you it was easy for either one of us, but it was time to move forward and we both knew it. Molly’s going to do just fine with this child, and so are you.”
Jordan wished he was as confident as his friend.
“By the way,” Doug said casually, “we’ve done two ultrasounds of the baby. Molly’s been adamant about not wanting me to let her know the baby’s sex, but if you’re curious I’ll tell you.”
Jordan felt the weight of indecision; he couldn’t help wanting to know, but at the same time he wasn’t sure. “All right,” he found himself agreeing, “tell me.”
“You’re going to have a little girl.”
A daughter.
For some reason, certainly not one he could explain or understand, Jordan had assumed their baby was a boy. Molly had always referred to their baby as “him,” and he’d believed she’d said so knowingly.
“Congratulations,” Doug said, sending him a wide grin.
