Chapter 4:
"So I'll ask again… will you two love birds be getting married before or after the baby is born?" asked Mona when she was met with silence.
"Baby? Baby?" stuttered Jonathan as she looked at Mona and then over at Tony and Angela.
"Angela, you're pregnant?" asked Samantha, not believing how this conversation evolved.
"Mother! I…I'm not… how did you know?" she asked, knowing there was no way to back out of the truth now that it was out there. Tony just sat there stunned to silence.
"Well dear… the energy between the two of you since Jamaica has been well… electrifying. I've caught you at least half a dozen times nodding off at your desk. Your appetite has been nonexistent for weeks. The glow on both your faces was also a dead giveaway but I wasn't a hundred percent sure until now" she said.
"Look, we just found out ourselves this morning. We were very shocked, as I am sure you all are now. We didn't plan this but… but we are very excited, right Tony?" she asked, her words pulling him out of his trance.
"She's right. We didn't plan this but we are both overjoyed at being able to add to this family. A little person who will be connected to all of us through not just love, but by blood. We weren't planning on telling you until we confirmed everything with her doctor this week, but now that you know, I hope you will be as excited as we are" said Tony as her reached out and put his hand on her stomach.
"Can I please be excused?" asked Samantha as she stood up, not waiting for a response.
"Sure sweetheart…" said Angela, a worried look on her face as she watched Samantha head through the swinging door.
"So will Tony still work for you Mom? Getting paid to take care of his own kid is… weird…" said Jonathan.
"We are still trying to figure out how this all will all work out. You are right… it would be weird to still be working for you Angela and having a baby together. It's definitely something we will be figuring out soon" said Tony.
"Can I please be excused too?" asked Jonathan. Both adults nodded as he stood up and practically ran out of the room.
"Mother how could you say something in front of everyone? I was hoping for them to at least get used to the idea of us as a couple before springing on them their new sibling! This is a disaster!" she yelled as she started to cry.
"Relax Angela! They will come around! Show them a few sonogram photos of the newest addition and they will be all smiles! But first… you two need to figure out how you are going to make this all work. As much as I want to walk you down the aisle Angela and make you his problem from now on, I want to make sure you are doing it for the right reasons- because you want to and not because you have to…" she said as Angela started to regain her composure. Tony kept rubbing her back until her sobbing stopped.
"I know Mona. That's why we want to take things slow between us and make sure we are doing what is right for us and our family, no one else. I've loved Angela for a very long time though, so this isn't completely out of nowhere. I told her this morning and I will tell her again. I am in this for the long run no matter what…" he said as he leaned in for a kiss.
"Good. Now I am going to finish up what I started last night… see you all in the morning…" she said with a wink as she headed out of the room.
"Why don't you go rest in the living room while I clean up and then we can snuggle together before bed?" he asked as he helped her stand up. Soon, Tony had the kitchen cleaned and everything put away. He joined her on the sofa as they found a movie to watch. Neither of the kids came back down for the rest of the night. They soon found themselves dozing off on the sofa. Tony gently woke up Angela and helped her up to bed. Neither of them felt comfortable sharing a bed when the kids were still trying to adjust to everything, so Tony kissed her goodnight by her door as he headed into his own room.
Unlike the previous night, Tony found himself at peace and fell into an easy sleep. He had dreams of marrying Angela- the pregnancy glow lighting her up from within. His dreams turned to her having their baby, him being able to support her in the delivery room and finally getting to hold the baby in his arms. He was enjoying the dreams until he heard his name being called, followed by a shake of his body, bringing him into consciousness.
"What? What is it?" he asked as he sat up in bed, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. After a few moments, he was able to focus on a very distraught Angela, grabbing on to her stomach.
"Tony! Something is wrong! I'm having a lot of stomach pains…" she said as she had to sit down it was so painful.
"Okay Angela! Just sit down, just breathe. Do you think we should go to the emergency room? Just to be safe?" he asked as he tried to keep the fear and panic out of his voice.
"I… I think so…" she said, silent tears falling down her face. He quickly got himself changed and helped her back into her room to get changed. She could barely walk as he helped her out of her room.
"Samantha! Jonathan! Come out here now!" he yelled as they made their way past their bedroom doors. Both kids stumbled out of their rooms still half asleep until they saw Angela in pain.
"Mom! What's wrong?" asked Jonathan, tears forming in his eyes.
"Angela, are you okay? Is it the baby?" asked Samantha, panic in her voice.
"I'll be fine but I'm not feeling very well right now. Tony is going to take me to the emergency room to get checked out" she said as she tried not to cry out in pain.
"Samantha go wake up Mona and tell her to come over here and wait with you guys. I will call you once we have an update" said Tony. He could tell he needed to get her to the hospital soon and that she wasn't going to be able to navigate the stairs safely. He gently picked her up and carried her down the stairs, stopping only to grab her purse and his wallet and keys before heading out the door.
He gently put her in the car and sped over to the hospital. He was able to get her wheelchair as he brought her into the triage area.
"Angela Bower my… girlfriend is pregnant and having stomach pains! She needs to be seen right away!" he screamed at the front desk staff.
"Okay sir! Please fill out these forms and I will have a nurse come right in to get her" she said as she handed Tony a clipboard with a dozen forms attached.
"Here Tony I can fill that out" she said as she went to grab the forms. She started wincing in pain as she reached out for the forms.
"No way Angela! I will do this! Just try and relax okay? They are going to come and get you soon and make sure everything is alright" he said, trying to force optimism into his voice. He quickly filled out the forms. He chuckled to himself as he finished filling out the paperwork in record time; he knew Angela better than most husbands knew their own wives.
"Mrs. Bower? Let's get you back to an exam room" said a nurse as she wheeled her back. Tony followed right behind them, not wanting to leave her side. Once in a curtained off area, the nurse and Tony helped her change into a hospital gown. They helped her up onto the gurney as the doctor came into the room.
"Good evening, my name is Dr. Grant and I am the attending on call. What seems to be the problem?" he asked as he came to stand next to the gurney.
"I found out yesterday that I am pregnant. I woke up about an hour ago with sharp pains in my lower abdomen. It hurts to stand or walk" she said as she reached out for Tony's hand.
"How far along are you?" he asked as he began his exam.
"I only took a home pregnancy test and haven't been to my doctor yet. I am four weeks late though" she said.
"What other symptoms have you had?" asked the doctor.
"Aside from the late period, I have had bloating, some nausea, fatigue… I've probably had some stomach issues on and off for a few weeks too" she said. She hated having to give such personal details to anyone and especially having to say them in front of Tony. Tony didn't seem to be bothered; a look of fear, not disgust or embarrassment, stayed on his face.
"Okay, well let's get some bloodwork done. I want to page the OBGYN on call for him to come and do a pelvic exam plus an ultrasound to see what we are dealing with" he said as he wrote some notes in her chart.
"Is the baby okay?" asked Tony as he managed to voice his greatest fear; well, if he was honest with himself, his second greatest fear.
"Let's see what's going on first with the bloodwork and exams before we jump to any conclusions" he said as he left the room. The nurse came over to Angela and started taking her blood.
"Oh Tony… what if something happens to the baby? I… I don't think I could handle losing the baby…" she said as she started to cry. All Tony could do was wrap his arms around her and hold her as she sobbed. Finally, after a few minutes, she was able to breathe normally again as the crying subsided.
"Angela, whatever happens, I need you to know, this changes nothing about how I feel about you. I love you more than anything else in the world. I need you to believe me" he said as he leaned his forehead up against hers.
"I love you too Tony…" she said as she leaned in for a kiss. They held onto each other for the next half an hour as they waited for the results. Finally, Dr. Grant and the OBGYN attending came into the room.
"So we have your blood test results back. I am very sorry to say but you aren't pregnant" said Dr. Grant.
"She… she lost the baby?" said Tony as his eyes filled with tears. He could feel Angela's grip on his hand tighten and her whole body start to shake.
"No, she wasn't ever pregnant. There are some other medical reasons that can cause false positives on home pregnancy tests. Your white blood cell count came back elevated as well as some other levels. Dr. Marcus, the OBGYN attending, would like to do the pelvic exam and sonogram to see what is going on" said Dr. Grant.
"Is it something serious like cancer?" asked Angela as she voiced her fears and watched the color drain from Tony's face.
"Let's not jump to any conclusions until we see what's going on. I'd like to start the exam" said Dr. Marcus.
"Tony, you don't have to stay if you don't want to…" she said as she got into position for her pelvic exam.
"Angela, I'm not going anywhere okay? Nowhere but right by your side" he said as he grabbed a hold of her hand. Angela tried to not yell out in pain during the pelvic exam. Instead, she squeezed Tony's hand so tightly, he thought he'd end up with a broken hand. After the exam, the sonogram machine was wheeled in and Angela had to sit through both an internal and external exam.
"So what did you see doc? Is everything okay?" asked Tony as the doctor finished up his exam.
"There looks to be what's called a tubo ovarian abscess on your left fallopian tube and ovary, probably caused by PID or pelvic inflammatory disease. It can be treated with antibiotics and should resolve on it's own. It can however, lead to infertility issues as it can create scar tissue. My main concern right now though is there appears to be another mass on your uterus. It's quite large- it might be a large fibroid or benign tumor. This along with the abscess is causing your pain. We will need to do further testing to see exactly the nature of the mass" said Dr. Marcus.
"Is… is it cancer?" asked Tony, the tears now streaming down his face as he quickly tried to wipe them away.
"Cancer is a possibility but we really don't know yet. I'd like to refer you to our gynecological oncologist for further follow up and treatment. I can imagine they will want to biopsy the mass and most likely remove it so you can be symptom-free. I want to start the IV antibiotics and give you some fluids along with some pain medication before discharging you" he said.
"Wait, discharge? If this is something serious, she needs to be seen and admitted now! Do the surgery or whatever as soon as possible!" shouted Tony.
"I know it seems like this is urgent but the best course of action is to have a specialist review all the information and run their own tests. We will schedule a follow up appointment for you for hopefully this week or next week depending on availability" he said.
"It's going to be okay Tony. I will follow up with the doctor and go from there…" she said as a strange calmness came over her. It was as if all her emotions just left her body and a numbness came over her mind. Her only focus now was to make sure her family was okay and the next steps she would need to take.
"I don't know about this Angela! This sounds serious and I don't want you to have to wait any longer to be seen then you have to!" he said.
"I promise you your wife is in good hands. Let me see about getting the IVs set up with the nurse" he said as he left the area.
"Why don't you go and call home to let them know… I'm okay. Just let them know they are still running tests but… but there's no baby. I don't want them worry about two people…" she said as her voice cracked with emotion.
"They can wait a bit longer. I don't want to leave your side Angela" he said as he grabbed her hand again.
"I will be okay for a few minutes I promise" she said as she placed a kiss on his knuckles.
"Alright, I will go call home and then I will be right back" he said as he kissed her before heading back to the lobby area. She leaned back against the bed and put her arm across her forehead. A thousand thoughts were running on full speed through her mind. She started doing what she does best and made mental lists of everything she would need to do over the next few weeks- schedule appointments, make sure the kids were given enough love and support. Her mind wandered to other things she knew she needed to tackle- updating her will, the deed to the house, legal paperwork for the Bower Agency. Once her mental list was complete and stored in her brain, her hands absentmindedly landed on her stomach. A soft smile started to form on her face until reality felt like it slapped her in the face. The tears she had held off until now came flooding back as she fell apart in the empty room.