Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

“You know what’s amazing?” Darla Maroney joked to her husband Rick, the quip designed to hide her nervousness. “That medical technology has come so far, but they still haven’t invented something better for you to wear than these horrible gowns.”

Rick gave her an indulgent smile from where he sat in those also horrible chairs that seemed ubiquitous in every doctor’s office. Did they come free with the white coat and stethoscope? What other reason could there be for such dreadful seating?

Darla knew she was trying to distract herself.

Rick knew it too, if the knowing look in his honey brown eyes was anything to go by. But he knew his wife well, so he played along.

“Well, that’s a totally different technological sector,” he observed. “That’s clothing technology.”

Darla nodded thoughtfully as she slipped her shoes back on. She was glad that the informational part of this appointment got to happen while she was fully dressed, even if some of the tests had required the gown they now discussed.

“True,” she said, hopping back up to sit on the patient’s table, since there was only one chair in the room. “And goodness knows that technology needs all kinds of improvements. Better bras. Better pockets in women’s clothing.”

“Sizes that make sense,” Rick offered.

She let her eyes grow wide. “ Yes . That’s an important improvement.”

Their banter was interrupted by a quick, businesslike knock at the door. A nurse’s voice came through a slight opening. “All ready in there?”

Darla called back her agreement and the nurse, a smiling and plump woman in her late forties or early fifties, entered.

“Splendid,” she said, smiling at the couple. “Doctor Lofton will see you in his office. It’s a bit more comfortable in there.”

All the nerves that Darla had managed to suppress while being playful with her husband returned in full force. She took a deep breath, smiling appreciatively up at Rick when he took her hand in his and gave her a gentle squeeze. Feeling bolstered by her support as she always did, they followed the nurse down the hall to the doctor’s office.

Doctor Xavier Lofton was already sitting behind his desk looking calm. The mere sight of him made Darla’s shoulders relax a smidgen.

When she and Rick had first started talking seriously about seeing a fertility doctor, after months spent trying to conceive didn’t result in pregnancy, Darla hadn’t been certain she’d wanted to see a male doctor, despite the rave reviews that all Doctor Lofton’s patients seemed to share. Wasn’t this the kind of thing you sought a woman doctor for? But there were only a handful of doctors in her little hometown of Whale Harbor, and Darla had decided she liked the idea of going to someone who was well and truly local. Besides, Rick had reminded her, Doctor Lofton was a family doctor too… which meant he might, one day, provide medical care to their much hoped-for little one.

Now that she’d met with the man a few times, Darla was glad she’d trusted all the recommendations she’d seen. Doctor Lofton just had a way about him that made her feel relaxed and reassured. His dark hair was neatly trimmed and his white coat always impeccable, but that didn’t mean there was anything severe about him. Instead, his deep green eyes always shone with warmth and his approachable smile always said, “Hello. I’m here to help you. Don’t worry—I’m very good at what I do.”

“Mr. and Mrs. Maroney!” the doctor greeted, rising to his feet to shake their hands. Since the nurse had conducted the medical portion of the exam, which was rote check-ins and some blood draws, Rick and Darla hadn’t met with the doctor yet today. “How good to see you both again! How’s the museum? And the whale tours?”

Darla smiled. That was another thing—Doctor Lofton always remembered the details about his patients, and not only their medical histories either. She knew, for example, that she’d only mentioned offhand that she ran the local art museum, which she’d opened the year before, and that Rick operated a whale-watching tour business.

She grinned. “It’s winter, so we’re both in our lulls, honestly. Especially Rick. But please, call us Rick and Darla.”

“I work more at the marine center in the winter,” her husband offered. “It’s fun to get to hang out with the kids, even though I do miss the water when it’s this cold.”

Doctor Lofton smiled. “Well, Rick, what do we say we talk about figuring out our best plan to making it so you can hang out with your own kid, huh?”

The couple sank into the chairs across from the doctor’s desk while he turned a computer screen so they could see the things he discussed. These chairs, Darla noted absently, were much more comfortable than the ones in the exam rooms.

“So,” Doctor Lofton said. “Let’s start with the good news. I think we have good reason to suspect that you should be able to get pregnant and stay pregnant, Darla.” Darla heaved a sigh of relief. That had been her biggest worry, that they’d come in here and learn that pregnancy was impossible for them. She knew there were other wonderful and perfectly valid ways to have children, but she wanted to experience the pregnancy journey for herself and was overwhelmed with happiness that Doctor Lofton seemed to think this was possible.

“After running some initial tests, including the blood work that you did at different points in your cycle, Darla,” the doctor continued, “and testing your fertility too, Rick, I think the best option going forth for you both would be IVF.”

Rick squeezed Darla’s hand as he nodded. “Okay, yes. We’d talked about that being the likely outcome of the tests at our last appointment.”

Doctor Lofton smiled. “Exactly. Now, I do some fertility work here, as you know. But I would recommend that you also work with a fertility clinic in Providence, as they’re the real experts. I have a colleague back from my big-city hospital days who works there… and whose clinic takes your insurance, since I know that’s a consideration too. She’s wonderful at what she does, and I’d be happy to send a referral over. Then, you’d still be able to do some of the minor appointments locally, like your blood tests and those kinds of things, so you wouldn’t have to hike out to Providence constantly.”

“Oh, you mean we can have excellent medical treatment and convenience?” Darla said jokingly. “Yuck, sounds terrible.”

Both of the men chuckled.

“I thought you might feel that way,” Doctor Lofton said. “Annie at the front desk can get you arranged with that referral when you leave. Now, let me give you my general spiel and answer any questions you have. My caveat is just that they’ll give a lot more detail in Providence, so don’t worry if you feel like you think of more questions after you leave, okay? And besides, you can always call with a question, and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.”

Darla nodded, feeling a bit more of the weight that had been hanging over her for months lift. Rick had been her rock throughout this whole fertility journey thus far, but she’d been battling a lot of anxiety about feeling like if only she could do the exact right thing, she’d have gotten pregnant without additional medical intervention. Logically, she knew this was silliness. She would never think she could just ‘figure it out herself’ over a broken leg, so why would she think she could do the same regarding potential pregnancy? It wasn’t so much a problem of thinking as feeling though, and sometimes irrational feelings were hard to shut down.

Fortunately, she had Rick to help her drown out those less-than-reasonable worries.

The Maroneys listened attentively as Doctor Lofton walked them through the general process of IVF. After checking with the fertility clinic to make sure they approved of this course of treatment, Darla would take extra hormones that would make her body produce more eggs than during a typical month.

“I will warn you,” Doctor Lofton said with a sympathetic tilt to his head, “that some women are not a huge fan of this part of the process. The hormones can make you feel pretty irritable and uncomfortable.”

“So like pregnancy hormones but all jam packed into the short term?” she asked.

He smiled. “Yes, that’s a great way to put it. If you can, be gentle with yourself during that time. And maybe expect a few more tears than during your usual month.”

“Noted,” she said. That didn’t sound wonderful, but if it got her the baby she dreamed of, she’d happily go through it.

Doctor Lofton went on, explaining that then she would undergo the egg retrieval process, the eggs would be fertilized and become embryos, which, once mature enough, would be implanted in her uterus.

“And then,” he said, spreading his hands, “we cross our fingers that an implanted embryo turns into a pregnancy. Sometimes this takes a few rounds, so don’t feel like something is wrong if it doesn’t work the first time. Nothing from your labs suggests to me that pregnancy will prove impossible, so once you get a successful implantation, we’ll move you to prenatal care, with a tiny bit extra monitoring than we might give moms who conceived without intervention.”

Darla’s breath caught at the idea that she, hopefully soon, would be one of these “moms.”

“I’ll start crossing my fingers now,” Rick said.

Doctor Lofton smiled. “Me too. And if you drink alcohol or smoke—” Darla shook her head and the doctor broke off, smiling. “Perfect. Obviously, those things are not recommended during pregnancy, but if you’re already abstaining from drinking and a nonsmoker, you’re ahead of the game.”

Darla liked that. So much of her fertility journey had left her feeling “behind,” that framing it differently felt really nice. She appreciated that Doctor Lofton always seemed to know exactly what to say.

They discussed a few more details before Darla and Rick rose to leave. Doctor Lofton shook their hands on the way out, once again assuring them that they could call with any questions. This was, Darla noted happily, one of the great benefits of living in a small town. Her doctor back when she’d lived in New York City never would have been available for follow-up questions. Those would have been delegated to a nurse, if they were available at all.

She and Rick got the referral information for the Providence clinic and headed home, Darla’s heart feeling lighter than it had in months.

When they got back to their house, they were instantly greeted by their puppy, Scout, who twined between their legs giving short, happy yips.

“Hey there, girl,” Rick said, bending down to scratch the dog behind her ears. “We’re happy to see you too, but you’re going to have to learn not to bark when we come in before you become a big sister, huh?”

Even the thought made Darla emotional.

“It really might work,” she said, voice tinged with wonder.

Rick stood and took her face between his palms. She looked up at him, feeling wonderfully happy. She was so lucky to have him, her kind, thoughtful, handsome husband. She reached to tuck back a piece of dirty blonde hair that had fallen over his brow.

“It’s going to work,” he said firmly, confidence shining in his eyes. “And you’re going to be the best mom ever.”

He pulled her in for a loving kiss. Darla thought it was the most perfect moment she’d experienced in a while. Her worries seemed a bit further away than they had been recently, distant instead of hovering over her shoulder.

The couple enjoyed a quick lunch before Rick had to return to work. Darla had the full day off from the museum, but Rick had only taken the morning off to accompany her to the appointment at Doctor Lofton’s office. He was scheduled to teach a middle-school aged class about local marine life that afternoon as part of his work at the marine center.

After bidding her husband farewell, Darla was just wondering what to do with the rest of her afternoon when her phone rang. The caller ID revealed that it was her sister, Marty.

“Hello?”

“Hi, sweetheart,” Marty responded in a rush. “I’m not being nosy, seriously, I am totally, one hundred percent minding my own business. So you will note that I am being super chill and cool when I don’t ask about your appointment this morning and instead only ask how you’re doing. Generally. In life! How’s work, for example?”

Darla laughed at her sister’s antics… and then decided to torment her a little. What were big sisters for, after all?

“Oh, work? You know, a little on the slow side, since it’s winter, but I was thinking about taking a trip out to Yarmouth to see this new mixed media artist’s work. That’s where Wyatt used to live, right? Do you think he knows any good restaurants or?—”

“Oh my goodness, Darla Maroney, shut up this instant. Or, no, keep talking, but talk about how everything went at the doctor’s!” Marty insisted with an indignant huff that made Darla laugh again.

“It went well,” she said. She gave her sister a quick rundown of what they’d learned from Doctor Lofton.

“That’s good news, right?” Marty asked. “It sounds good.”

“It definitely is,” Darla agreed, sinking back onto her couch. Immediately, Scout put her head in Darla’s lap and gave her puppy dog eyes, in the literal sense, until Darla scratched behind her ears.

“Oh, that’s so amazing.” Marty sighed. “You know how badly I want this for you.”

“I do. Thanks, Mar. But speaking of people who are going to be moms, how are you feeling?”

Marty was pregnant, something that Darla was delighted about, despite her own struggles with fertility. Marty could still be a little cautious about bringing up the issue of her pregnancy, especially the less-than-delightful parts, since she didn’t want to add to Darla’s stress. Darla appreciated this, even though she was nothing but happy for her sister. She made sure Marty knew it by making a point to always ask how she was doing.

“Oh, I’m huge ,” Marty said cheerfully. She was about seven months pregnant, her baby due in early March, only about two months from the chilly January in which they currently found themselves. “I swear, my stomach is in a different zip code than the rest of me. But when I commented on this to my OB, she gave me this look like, Oh, sweetheart, you ain’t seen nothing yet , so I suspect I’m about to cross from huge territory into unbelievably gigantic .”

“Well, first off,” Darla said, “you look adorable. I saw you last week.”

“A week is a lifetime in pregnancy time,” Marty corrected. “Last week I was a balloon. Now I’m a blimp.”

Despite her complaining words, however, she sounded cheerful.

“And second,” Darla continued, moving past her sister’s silliness, “how are you feeling ? Is that little nephew of mine still kicking you at all hours?”

Marty and her husband, Wyatt, were expecting a boy, although they were reserving telling others about their chosen name for the baby’s birth.

“He sure is,” Marty agreed, chuckling. “And now he’s added to his repertoire too. His new hobby is jamming his foot into my ribs. It’s great, very comfortable, super recommend it.”

Darla winced in sympathy. “So what I’m hearing is that motherhood is super glamorous right from the start?” she quipped.

“Yeah, exactly,” Marty chortled.

The two sisters chatted for a few moments more until movement outside the window caught Darla’s eye. “Oh, hey,” she said, dislodging Scout’s head to look more closely. The puppy gave an annoyed snuffle, but quickly went back to her afternoon nap. “I think somebody is finally moving into that house next door.”

“Oh, yeah?” Marty said. “Hey, maybe your new neighbors get it. It’s a good time for new beginnings for all of us!”

Marty Jameson cast aside her phone, feeling happy and full of hope. She was so glad that her sister’s appointment had gone well. She hated thinking of Darla’s struggles with infertility and sincerely hoped that they were close to an end.

“Well, well, if it isn’t the most beautiful pregnant lady in Rhode Island.”

She turned at the sound of her husband’s voice. Wyatt lounged in the doorway, giving her a playful smile that accentuated the glint in his gray eyes.

“Oh, hello there,” she said. She put her hands to the arm of the couch and tried to push to her feet. Her balance was not exactly excellent these days.

“Stop, stop, don’t get up,” Wyatt insisted, hurrying forward.

“Thank goodness,” she said, flopping back into the softness. “That was not going to be pretty, and my feet are killing me. Those days at the shop are getting longer and longer recently.”

Marty owned an interior design shop in Whale Harbor called Sand ‘n’ Things. She loved her shop, she really did, but recently the days spent on her feet, stacking shelves and helping customers had felt arduous. She was grateful that the end of her pregnancy would arrive before tourist season renewed in the spring. During the winter, she mostly saw local customers who were happy to return another time if she decided to close early and go home, where she could comfortably sit down.

“Poor baby,” Wyatt said sympathetically, lifting her feet, clad in thick woolen socks, into his lap and massaging the arches.

“Me baby or this baby?” she asked, gesturing to her stomach before letting out a groan of approval. There was something about being pregnant that just made foot rubs feel so gosh darn good . That and cold water. Cold water was unspeakably delicious recently.

“Both,” he said, chuckling. “You for your long day working, baby for his long day growing.”

“And kicking,” she added. “Don’t forget kicking. My ribs won’t ever forget, that’s for sure.”

“He’s trying to let you know he’s going to be a soccer star,” her husband joked.

“And a boxer. He’s pretty good at punching too.”

“How can you tell the difference?” Wyatt asked. She knew he was faintly jealous that she got to feel so much of their baby during the day. She thought he might be a little less jealous if he got to enjoy waking up every hour at night to waddle to the bathroom.

“Sometimes he does both at once,” she said. “What sport is that? Gymnastics?”

“Maybe he’s inventing his own sport. What a clever little guy.”

They both grinned. They were already enamored of their baby and couldn’t wait to meet him.

“Was that Darla?” Wyatt asked, nodding to where Marty’s phone sat beside her.

“Yes!” she exclaimed. “Her appointment went well! It’s still all up in the air of course, since the doctor can’t tell her how long anything might take, but apparently, she’s a good candidate for IVF.”

“That’s amazing,” he said, moving to sit so that her legs were draped more fully over his lap. Marty let out a sigh of relief. This was one of the few positions where she was truly comfortable in the past week or so. “I know you’re hoping that she’ll have kids that are similar in age to ours.”

“And then we can have a whole yard of little cousins playing together,” Marty agreed happily. “Just a bunch of little curly heads.”

“Hey!” Wyatt jokingly exclaimed, pointing to his own wavy hair. “Maybe my genetics will win out on the hair way.”

She pretended to consider this. “Nah,” she said, poking her tongue out at him while he laughed.

“Okay, beautiful wife,” he said decisively, guiding her feet to the floor. “Time to get up. I have something to show you.”

“Ugh, but standing up is so hard ,” she complained halfheartedly. Still, she accepted her husband’s offered hand and, with only a little bit of difficulty, managed to get herself to her feet.

One hand automatically went to her stomach. “You’re getting pretty big in there, huh, little guy?” she asked her bump.

“Big and strong,” Wyatt agreed. “Now. Come on.”

Hand-in-hand, he led her to the part of their house that had only been constructed a year prior. They had added more space into their house before they’d started really trying to get pregnant, which had turned out to be good planning, given that Marty had conceived quickly. Now, Wyatt led her to the upstairs portion of the addition, down the hall to the room they’d selected for the nursery.

Marty took one look at the room and promptly burst into tears.

“Oh my goodness, sweetheart, no!” Wyatt exclaimed, aghast. “Do you hate it? Oh, sweetheart, if you hate it, we can change it.”

“I love it,” she managed between sobs. “It’s perfect.”

The upset in Wyatt’s tone melted into understanding. “Oh, got it,” he said. “Hormones.”

“Hormones!” she agreed.

But really, hormones or not, she felt certain that she would have wept over the unbelievable perfection of the nursery before her. They’d chosen some of the furniture before the baby shower they’d held a month prior, but Marty had been busy over the past few weeks. And when she hadn’t been busy, she’d been exhausted , because while having a baby was exciting and miraculous, it was also very tiring.

While she’d been otherwise occupied, however, Wyatt had painted the walls in a soft, forest green. He’d assembled the crib and the changing table, which, she could already see, was stocked with diapers and wipes. He’d bought a rocking chair and put it in the corner, a footrest in front of it and a blanket thrown over the back.

“I know you’re the interior design genius in the family,” he said, “but I thought it might be nice to have something taken off your plate. I can’t help with growing the baby, but I can help with this.”

Marty’s tears dried and a smile spread across her face, so broad it almost hurt. She threw her arms around her husband’s neck, something that had become a little more awkward with her bump recently.

“It’s amazing. I love it. I love you. ”

She pressed up on her toes to give him a kiss, but pulled back when the baby gave her a kick that was hard enough that Wyatt clearly felt it too. They looked down at the bump, the place where their baby was getting ready to meet them.

“Oh, yes,” she said, smiling down at her stomach. “And we love you too.”