Sorry guys... this has to happen before we can heal.
What the…?
"There they are!" Dr. Perkins said with a smile on her face.
"They?" Mac asked suspiciously. This was her first ultrasound. She was eight and a half weeks pregnant and she couldn't wait to hear her baby's heartbeat. But Dr. Perkins couldn't really be saying what she thought she heard.
The doctor smiled. "Yeah... they," she said as she turned the monitor towards Mac and pointed at two pulsing blips on the screen.
Mac squinted at the monitor but couldn't really make anything out. "Okay shine a light on this for me wouldyou. I didn't go to medical school."
"That's your uterus, " She said as she outlined a fuzzy gray shape with her finger. "And there are your babies. One here... and one there."
Mac stared, her mouth agape. She was in total shock. What the hell was she gonna do with two babies by herself? "I'm having twins?"
"Let me make sure there aren't more…" The doctor said jokingly and Mac nearly jumped out of her skin.
"WHAT?" she shouted.
"Relax Ms Allen, it's just a joke."
Mac didn't respond. How was she going to tell Rod that she was pregnant? Not once, but twice. A million thoughts flooded her mind at once. Twins were so delicate… "Are they okay? Are they identical?"
"Your twins are fraternal. They seem to be fine. It's still early though. But if we need to, we can do more tests in a few more weeks." Dr. Perkins saw the uncertainty in Mac's eyes and continued. "I know your history. You've been with me for a long time. But I need you to relax. There has never been a better time than the present to give birth to multiples. The three of you are in good hands."
"Well, what kind of problems might I run into," Mac asked still trying to come to grips with the news.
"Well you do have an incompetent cervix, which is why you miscarried in the past. I'll schedule you for a cerclage some time this month."
"A what?" Mac asked.
"A ceclage is a stitch in your cervix that will keep it closed. This way you wont miscarry. Before your eggs implanted themselves so close to the opening so their weight just opened your cervix up. These two were smart, however and attached themselves far away from your opening so the risk of miscarriage in the next couple of weeks is reduced. But you still have to be careful."
"Okay," Mac said her mind still distracted by the two little dots on the monitor.
"Because I'm so fond of you, I want you to call me day and night if you feel anything out of the ordinary." Dr. Perkins Asserted. "I just got back from Vacation, so I'm ready for you."
Mac smiled a little, "Thank you."
"Now you may think you are throwing up a whole lot more than your pregnant friends had before… It's true."
"Really? I thought I was imagining things."
"Pregnancy with multiples is more miserable for the mother. Not only is there more baby to carry around, but your body does double the work to sustain them. Not to mention an over active bladder and the possibility of diabetes"
"Okay… okay," Mac said getting more worried by the second. "How about I take it as it comes."
"That's the spirit... but you have to promise to do everything I tell you," Dr. Perkins said as she turned off the ultrasound machine.
"I promise." Mac said pulling her blouse together.
"Leave all the chores to Rod, you get a reprieve for the next twenty to thirty weeks or so."
"Twenty to thirty weeks?" Mac asked doing the math.
"You're going to go early… I want to at least get you to twenty eight weeks. But lets shoot for thirty eight, it would make my life much easier that way."
Mac nodded the doctor's attempt at levity completely missing it's mark. She stepped off of the examination table. Her mind was reeling. Twins…wow.
"Bring Rod next time… I need to sit you both down and make sure that both of you understand what you have gotten yourselves into." The doctor said seriously.
"Right." Mac said annoyed that Rod had been brought back to the forefront of her mind. "I'll see if he's free." Mac left the doctor's office in a daze. She got behind the wheel and barely heard the sound of her new cell phone ringing.
"Hello?" Mac barked into the phone.
"Where are you?" It was Rod. She looked at the clock, it was two thirty.
"It's Tuesday isn't it?" Mac said with a frown.
"I thought you wanted this." Rod said angrily into the phone.
"I'm sorry. I got a last minute appointment that I had to take care of." Mac said, "I'll be there in ten minutes."
"For ten minutes of a session... Mac, I have to get back to New York in an hour." Rod knew that she wasn't going to show. He knew that he had pushed her really far the last time they'd talked.
"Fine Rod, forget it," Mac stated angrily. "I've gotta get back to work anyway."
"What is going on with you? I mean, you're calling out of work, missing appointments. Hell… I'm surprised the firm hasn't cut you loose."
"Are you done with the lecture?" Mac turned into the parking garage and shut off her engine. "My job is the last thing you should be concerned about." Mac said heading towards her office.
Rod couldn't believe what he was hearing from his wife. How could any work appointment be more important than their marriage. He'd made sacrifices at work to make this appointment, but if she really didn't want to try... then what was the point. "You know what Mac... you're right. Let's just forget it. I'll have the legal separation papers drawn up immediately."
Mac felt as if she had been punched in the stomach and nearly fell as she stepped into the elevator. She was devastated, but her pride would not allow her to let Rod know that. "Do what you want. Come get your things out of my house before you leave."
