Pregnant With Her Best Friend's Baby

Just before he turned to sit down, he noticed another kilt-clad figure appear on an upper balcony of the resort building, a set of bagpipes cradled in his arms. At the same time, three figures were hurrying down the steps from the lower veranda, two of them wearing dresses. The other was a small boy and Joe knew that it must be Laura’s son, Harrison, who was apparently in charge of the wedding rings. Laura had to be watching over her son, as she always did, and that meant that the other woman was most likely her flatmate and close friend. He didn’t really need the glimpse of sunlight catching blonde curls to light them up like a halo to confirm his guess.

Maggie...

Joe sat down with a thump and fixed his gaze on the scene ahead of him, where the celebrant had joined Cooper.

The level of discomfort Joe was aware of now was far greater than anything weddings normally engendered. He hadn’t seen Maggie for days. Hadn’t wanted to see her after that shocking conversation at the end of their last shift together, and as the time apart was increasing, so was the level of...what...awkwardness? Certainly tension, anyway.

It wasn’t something he’d ever been aware of with Maggie. She was, in fact, probably the only woman he ever felt completely at ease with. Other than Shirley, of course, but the self-appointed housekeeper of the Aratika Rescue Base was a mother figure for everyone there, with zero risk of her wanting anything inappropriate from her relationship with Joe. He’d thought his friendship with Maggie was just as sacrosanct. That they were real friends who trusted each other and that there was no threat of the usual sexual tension that inevitably seemed to develop when he tried to be simply friends with a woman.

The other seats in this back row were filling up quickly from the aisle side as people realised the ceremony was about to start. Joe noticed Don, the base manager, take a seat and then Tom, one of the emergency department consultants at the Royal, took the next seat, leaving only two spaces. Tom was becoming more involved with the base, having taken over the shifts Fizz had had to relinquish when she’d discovered she was pregnant. Laura went past Joe on the other side, holding Harrison’s hand, leading him to where a seat had been saved in the front row, and then there was a swish of blue fabric right in front of Joe.

‘Excuse me.’

He pulled his feet closer as Maggie edged past his knees. Seeing Laura and Harrison had been a reminder of the example of successful single parenthood that Maggie was inspired by and that was yet another sharp reminder of the awkwardness that now lay between them. The fact that she was choosing to sit beside him came as something of a relief. Perhaps they could get past what was threatening to be an elephant in the room when they next had the opportunity to talk to each other, let alone the next time they had to work together.

Except that a quick glance showed that the empty seats beside Joe were the only ones available and Maggie chose the one next to Tom, leaving an empty seat between herself and Joe. She flicked him a quick smile of greeting but then turned to say hello to Tom and the slightly nervous way she had avoided more than a split second of eye contact gave Joe an odd jolt of something that he couldn’t define but which he definitely didn’t like.

Wow...how could a simple, white chair that wasn’t even solid suddenly feel like an impenetrable barrier?

The mournful wail of the bagpipe music starting in the background only added to the sensation that something had changed. Or been lost? Something potentially huge?

Like everyone else, Joe turned his head to watch Fizz come out onto the veranda and then walk down the steps towards the central aisle that led to the archway where Cooper was waiting. It was no surprise that she wasn’t wearing a white dress. Joe knew that she’d been there and done that once already and that her first husband had been tragically killed in an accident on their honeymoon. Maybe it wasn’t even surprising that she’d chosen to wear a bright red dress because that was Fizz all over, wasn’t it? Daring as well as confident enough to pull off something so different. Her long, dark hair was hanging loose down her back and she looked gorgeous, Joe decided.

And so happy...

No wonder there was a collective sound like people were catching their breath around him. He thought he heard a happy sigh coming from Maggie, too.

Was she a believer as well? If she was, why hadn’t she already conducted a successful husband hunt? She could have done it years ago and then she wouldn’t have had to worry about the clock running out on her reproductive years. She wouldn’t have had to even think about alternative routes to motherhood and she wouldn’t have tried to involve him when bringing a child into the world was, without doubt, the last thing he would ever contemplate doing.

The celebrant welcomed everybody as the wail of the bagpipes finally faded.

‘You have all been invited to attend today,’ she told the gathering, ‘because you are the family, friends and colleagues of Cooper and Fizz and they want you to witness their commitment to each other and share the joy of that promise.’

Joe sucked in a deep breath. He wasn’t feeling particularly joyful right now. It was more than awkwardness filling that space between him and Maggie.

He was angry, that’s what it was.

Or maybe it was more that he was sad. He let out that breath in a long sigh. He knew that Maggie had heard that sigh because he could feel the sideways glance he received. Turning his head just a fraction, he could catch a reflection of what he was feeling in her own eyes.

That hint of sadness.

There weren’t that many things in life that you could be certain of and a true friendship was one of the most precious things there was. Maggie Lewis had been his favourite person to crew with ever since he’d joined the Aratika Rescue Base and the foundations of that trust between them had been rocked the other day. Possibly even damaged beyond repair judging by the aftershocks. All by a few words. There had been more than sadness in that swift glance they had just shared, however. An impression of something else was lingering. Regret? Along with a desire to put things right?

A flash of guilt threw itself into the confusing mix of emotions that was unsettling Joe right now. It wasn’t as if Maggie had done anything wrong. After all, he’d been the one who’d thrown that anecdote of people using a friend as a sperm donor into the conversation. He just hadn’t expected it to come back and bite him and it had only bitten that hard because it had touched a raw spot.

He’d overreacted, hadn’t he?

Cooper and Fizz had written their own vows for this ceremony and the message that was coming through loud and clear was the deep friendship that was the basis of their relationship. The trust. How rare and special it was to find someone who felt the same way about you.

That was so true.

Not that Joe wanted to marry Maggie, of course. He had no desire to marry anybody. And he’d never been sexually attracted to her. He could acknowledge that she was a very attractive woman—she just wasn’t his type. They had started out as colleagues and had become friends. Just because Cooper and Fizz had added benefits into their friendship that had taken them to a very different level didn’t mean that his relationship with Maggie was any less valid.

All too often, in Joe’s experience, friendships could outlast marriages.

As their friends exchanged a rather passionate kiss to seal their vows and the congregation clapped and cheered, Joe turned his head to find that Maggie was doing exactly the same thing and turning her head towards him.

This time, the smile they shared felt genuine.

The friendship was still there and there was an astonishing relief to be found in that knowledge. All they needed to do now was clear the air and sweep away the remnants of that disturbing suggestion of him helping her to achieve her dream of motherhood, and what better place to do that than during a party?

* * *

There were photographs against the dramatic backdrop of the cliffs and islands and a spectacular sunset. A live band was setting up for when they were going to provide the music for dancing later on and, in the meantime, there was a great range of wine and beer at the bar and delicious food that wasn’t offered in any traditional kind of wedding breakfast. A spit roast was happening in the courtyard garden with an amazing range of vegetables or salads to accompany it and inside one of the reception rooms of the resort a taco station had been set up on a long trestle table.

‘It’s because we loved the taco nights at your place when Cooper was still living with you,’ Fizz told Maggie.

‘Yum...’ Maggie had opened the lid of a huge container. ‘That’s proper pulled beef...’

‘The taco shells are keeping warm as well.’

Harrison was already holding a shell and Laura was helping him to add shredded lettuce and grated cheese from the bowls further along the table.

‘No tomatoes,’ he told his mum. ‘I hate tomatoes.’

‘Sauce?’

‘Only tomato sauce, not that hot stuff.’

Maggie laughed. ‘But you just said you hated tomatoes, Harry.’

The deep voice right behind her after she spoke made her jump. It also made her heart skip a beat. Good grief...when had she ever been nervous to be in Joe’s company before? But the way he’d looked at her when the ceremony had been getting underway—as if she’d done something completely unforgiveable—had made that tension between them feel like it was rapidly escalating. Mind you, the way he’d smiled at the end of the ceremony, when Fizz and Cooper were having their first kiss as husband and wife, had been a glimmer of hope. So was the amusement coating his words when he spoke now.

‘Tomato sauce is different, Maggie. Everybody knows that.’

‘Yeah.’ Harrison nodded, although he’d edged closer to his mother. ‘It doesn’t even taste like tomatoes.’

‘You can have whatever you want on your taco,’ Fizz told him. ‘They’re the rules today.’

‘And I get to stay up late, right?’

‘Let’s see how tired you get,’ Laura cautioned. ‘I don’t want you feeling sick tomorrow.’

‘I’m not going to get tired.’ Harrison was looking determined. ‘Because I know a secret about what’s going to happen later and I have to be awake.’

‘Oh?’ Everybody turned to look at Fizz.

‘Can’t say.’ She grinned. ‘It’s a secret. Harry only knows because he did so well with his special job today.’ She glanced down at the wedding ring on her hand. ‘And now I’m going to find a beer and make sure my husband has one, too. Enjoy the tacos, you lot.’

Joe was right behind Maggie as she loaded salad and cheese onto the meat in the crisp taco shell. They both added sliced jalapeño peppers and chilli sauce.

Drizzling the super-spicy sauce made Maggie smile. Instead of putting the bottle down again with the other condiments, she handed it to Joe.

‘D’you remember the first time we ever worked together all those years ago?’

‘When we knocked over the chilli sauce bottle on the table because we were both reaching for it at the same time?’

‘And we discovered that there was someone else in the world who like putting hot sauce on scrambled eggs?’

The softening of Joe’s features told Maggie that he was remembering more than those scrambled eggs. That it had been more than a moment of bonding as new colleagues. The hotter the better had become a private catchphrase and had ended up becoming a kind of code of encouragement. How many times had they been dispatched to what promised to be a challenging situation and they’d used that code?

This could get hot.

That’s okay. That’s the way we like it, remember?

Yeah...the hotter the better...

She could see the way Joe stilled for a moment, the sauce bottle still in his hands. Then he caught her gaze with the most direct look they’d shared since before that awkward conversation.

‘It was the start of a great friendship,’ he said quietly.

‘One that I hope we still have,’ Maggie said, just as softly. It was more than a great friendship, it was the best kind of friendship it was possible to have. She loved Joe and she knew that he felt the same way about her. It was a bond that nothing could break.

‘I’m really sorry, Joe,’ she added. ‘I just wish I could wind the clock back and that I never talked to you about any of that baby stuff.’

‘It wasn’t entirely your fault. It was me who put the idea into your head.’

‘It’s not there now. Can we pretend it never happened?’

It seemed that Joe was thinking along the same lines.

‘Consider it forgotten,’ he said. ‘Never to be discussed again.’

‘What were we talking about?’ Maggie tilted her head. ‘I’ve forgotten.’

They both laughed, reaching for paper towels for what looked likely to be a messy meal, and virtually all of the tension that had been there between them seemed to evaporate with the sound of that laughter.

Normal service had been resumed and thank goodness for that. Maggie could finally relax enough to really enjoy this party to celebrate the wedding of two of her closest friends.

They couldn’t really forget about it. Maggie knew that. Some things just couldn’t be unheard in the same way that images from things seen could never be erased from your memory cells. But they could pretend to pretend, couldn’t they? And maybe that would be enough to make everything all right again.

If nothing else, it was a good start.

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