Joe was not home when she pulled into the attached garage, and for once Mari was thankful. She was tired, hungry, and not up for another argument. Given the way she had been feeling lately, Mari opted for a light meal, then a relaxing bath. Joe still was not home when she got out, so Mari sat down in the family room and waited for Marla to call with the results of her tests.
Just after eight the phone rang, the loudness of it startling Mari. She had been very engrossed in a book on middle aged pregnancy and the sound of the ringing phone almost made her jump out of her chair. With no caller ID on the house phone, Mari wondered if it was Joe or Marla calling. Praying for the latter, Mari picked up the receiver.
“I just got back from a delivery,” Marla’s voice was breathless. “I absolutely love that feeling.” Before Mari could comment Marla launched into an account of the tests she had run on Mari that morning and the ultrasound results from that afternoon. “Everything looks good. Your iron is low, but the prenatal vitamins will take care of that. You should drink lots of fluids and avoid caffeine.”
“But…”
“No buts. No Diet Coke,” Marla ordered then seemed to think better of that. “Or at least try to tone it down. A lot.” Marla took a breath. “Any questions?”
“Oh, you mean I get to talk now?”
“Don’t be funny.”
“Okay. Here’s my question. How did this happen? We’ve been married over ten years so I’m pretty sure immaculate conception can be ruled out. I’ve never paid much attention to my cycle since I didn’t have to worry about getting pregnant so I never really noticed the missed periods with all the throwing up. The last time we had sex I didn’t think it was the right time for me to get pregnant anyway. And Joe told me last night that he confirmed with his doctor that he couldn’t father a child.”
“Humm. Did the doctor say he had no sperm count or a low sperm count?”
“I have no idea. According to Joe the doctor said his chances of fathering a child were next to nothing.”
“That’s interesting,” Marla mused out loud. “Do you have any idea when Joe first found out he couldn’t have children?”
“I’m not sure really. I think it was in high school. He told me shortly after we met that he couldn’t have children and that was when he was a senior. I never thought much about it until we decided to get married. Even then he didn’t really expand on the whys. It was hard but I figured I could live without kids or maybe we could adopt.”
“Did you ever discuss artificial insemination?”
“A little, at the very beginning. But Joe was adamant that the doctor told him he could not father a child no matter what so I never really pursued that option.”
“Do you know when Joe last did a sperm count?”
Mari let out an exasperated sigh. “I have no idea, Marla. It’s not something we ever talk about.”
“Would Joe be willing to go through some more tests?”
“I have to doubt that, Marla. He’s not really speaking to me at the moment. It seems to me he would rather believe I would have an affair then believe he could father a baby. Why, I have no idea.”
“I wish there was something I could say to change things, Mari,” Marla sighed. “Greg and I will pray for you guys.”
“Thanks, Marla.” Mari gently set the phone on its cradle. She walked out onto the back deck, resting her hands on the railing. Her shoulders shook with sobs. How am I going to get through this Lord? she wondered. When no answer came, she turned and went back into the house.
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