Mary, Mary

by Lesley Crewe

  Sheena began to relax again.

  “Could you excuse me for a moment?” And she walked out of the room.

  Sheena sat up on her elbows. “What’s going on? Where did she go? Drew, do something!”

  Drew stood up uncertainly, but fortunately the tech came back in the room with someone else. “This is Doctor Lee. I just want to verify something for you.”

  “You’re scaring me!”

  Doctor Lee smiled. “Am I really that scary?” He looked at the screen as the tech resumed her exam. “Yes, indeed. Well, this is your lucky day, folks. You have two babies in there. It’s twins! Congratulations!”

  The shock was so profound that Sheena forgot to breathe. It wasn’t until Drew gave her a big smack on the lips that she inhaled and let out a screech. “TWINS?”

  Sheena held it together in front of the technician and doctor, but after she was finally allowed to go to the bathroom and pee, which she did for two minutes straight, she opened the door and fell into Drew’s arms. She cried all the way out of the hospital, through the parking lot, and into the house, collapsing on their bed and soaking the pillowcase.

  Eventually, Drew called her mother.

  “I don’t know what to do,” he started.

  “Dear God…what’s happened? Is Sheena all right?” Peggy asked.

  “Yes…and no.”

  “Drew, I am going to strangle you right through this phone if you do not tell me what’s going on.”

  “We went for an ultrasound today—”

  “Is there something wrong with the baby?” Peggy yelled.

  “No. But there are two of them.”

  “TWINS! Oh my God…Ted! Ted! Sheena and Drew are having twins!”

  There was a huge commotion over the phone, with Peggy trying to put Drew on speaker phone so he could repeat what he’d just said.

  “Congratulations!” Ted blustered. “Oh my, this is exciting!”

  “It’s just that Sheena’s been crying since they told us, and she won’t stop. Is that normal?”

  Peggy laughed. “It’s normal for Sheena. She once cried for three days because we missed a flight to Montreal to see a Britney Spears concert. She blamed me for the snowstorm.”

  “I’m worried she’s hurting the babies.”

  “The babies! Did you hear that, Ted? You can hold one and I can hold the other. I’m so thrilled. I love you very much, Drew! Thank you for this.”

  “Well, thanks…I guess.”

  “Let me speak to her.”

  Drew walked up the stairs and stood in their bedroom doorway. “Your mom wants to talk to you.”

  “I didn’t hear the phone ring.” Sheena sat up then, her face red and ravaged. “Did you tell my mother about this?”

  “I didn’t know what else to do,” Drew said. “I was worried about you.”

  “Thanks a lot. I wanted to tell her.”

  “The way you’ve been carrying on, I thought you’d never stop crying long enough to tell anyone.”

  “Drew, I have twice the hormones coursing through my veins at the moment. I’d stay out of my way for the foreseeable future.”

  “Done.” He passed her the phone but gave her cheek a quick kiss. “You’re Wonder Woman.”

  “Oh, please. Mom?”

  Her mom and dad yelled in her ear about how extraordinary this news was and how their lives were going to be so much fun and just imagine dressing two babies and did she want fraternal or identical twins—all thoughts she hadn’t had time for yet.

  “Don’t get overwhelmed,” her mom instructed. “I know you. You’re just like me. You get frazzled and panicked but there’s no reason to.”

  “How on earth would you know, Mom? You only had one kid. How am I supposed to feed two at a time? What if I mix them up? I sure as hell won’t be dressing them alike. That’s so basic.”

  “You could have a boy and a girl. A perfect family with only one pregnancy. Who ever gets that lucky?”

  “I’m going to be as big as a house!” Sheena sobbed.

  “You’ll look beautiful,” her father said. “You’ve always been beautiful.”

  “Thanks, Daddy,” she sniffed.

  “Why don’t Daddy and I come up on the weekend? We can go shopping for the babies! Oh, what fun!”

  It was only after Sheena hung up that she realized something else. She yelled for Drew and he raced up the stairs. “Are you okay?”

  “We have to buy a bigger house! We can’t fit two cribs into these bedrooms. This is a disaster!”

  He sat on the edge of the bed. “Please calm down. We have so much time to think about what we’re going to do. Let’s just enjoy this moment. We have two children right this minute—they’re in this room with us. I’m over the moon, Sheena. Please enjoy this. Do you know how lucky we are? Chris and his wife are dealing with in vitro as we speak. He asked me not to say anything, but you need to understand that having two babies is a miracle. And you did this. You. I love you so much.”

  Sheena hugged him tight. This little speech was so much better than his wedding vows.

  Peggy rushed over to Carole’s to tell her the good news. Mary was having lunch with her mother when she arrived.

  “You’ll never guess what!” Peggy chirped.

  “We never will, so you might as well tell us,” Carole said.

  “Sheena and Drew are having twins!”

  Mary clapped. “What wonderful news!” Then she braced herself for her mother’s response.

  “That’s amazing. I’m really happy for all of you.”

  Mary smiled. Carole had passed the test.

  Her mother was trying hard to not default to her usual doom and gloom about how everyone else’s life was so great. Maybe she was still grumbling about it alone, but she was on her best behaviour in front of Mary, and that was all Mary cared about. She’d even told her mother that she had met Dave for coffee twice. Carole managed to keep quiet.

  Peggy told them that she and Ted were going to Halifax to see Sheena. Carole suggested she and Mary buy something for the babies so that Peggy could take the gifts with her. It was a spontaneous gesture and it felt good to rush into Peggy’s car together and hightail it to the mall. Mary went straight to the bookstore and bought the classics: Pat the Bunny, Goodnight Moon, The Runaway Bunny, and Blueberries for Sal. Then she spied Bedtime for Frances and grabbed that too.

  What fun it would be at their next Christmas dinner. The babies were due in August, so they would be about four months old. Mary already knew that Aunt Peggy would be the best grandmother in the world. And the fact that she sewed meant Sheena would be up to her eyeballs in handmade outfits. But knowing Sheena, she might not want anything handmade. Designer label was more her speed.

  When Peggy dropped them back home, Carole asked her in for another cup of tea. Having nothing better to do, Peggy said yes. The minute they got in the kitchen, Carole pointed at the dining room.

  “It’s been a year since Sheena’s wedding. You have yet to come to me for a hair appointment. Don’t think I haven’t noticed. Despite this wonderful news about your grandbabies, it doesn’t get you off the hook. Why aren’t you coming to my salon, when you said you would?”

  “I thought it was obvious,” Peggy said. “I was as high as a kite when I made that promise.”

  “What a horrible thing to say. Did you hear that, Mary?”

  “I have to go. See ya.” Mary left in a hurry.

  “Carole, don’t be mad. You’re a very good hairdresser, but Sheila and I are like old slippers. We’re just comfortable with each other.”

  “I don’t think your hair is flattering.”

  “Oh, you don’t? And why is that?”

  “It makes your face look droopy. You need to cut off five inches at least.” Carole marched into her salon and came out with her scis
sors. “Let’s do it.”

  “Are you crazy? Don’t you dare come near me with those things!”

  “Do you love me or not?”

  “Carole! What is wrong with you? You’ve lost your mind. I have to go!”

  Peggy hightailed it out the back door and zoomed away in her Lexus. Carole watched her go though the kitchen window and laughed and laughed.

  “Did you see that, Ma? She thought I was serious.”

  In April, Jerry asked Carole if she’d like to go to dinner at his place. He planned on barbecuing steak, despite the cool weather.

  “Bring the boys too.”

  Carole was very impressed. He presented her with a thick rib steak, crispy baked potato, sautéed mushrooms and onions, and even a Caesar salad on the side. She was about to say that she couldn’t eat another bite when Jerry presented her with a fancy piece of cake that was obviously made in a bakery.

  “Gosh, this looks nice.”

  Jerry sat down opposite her with sweat on his lip. Carole noticed it but didn’t say anything. His whole face was flushed by the time she took her first bite.

  “Delicious,” she murmured.

  He stared at her.

  “Aren’t you going to eat?”

  He quickly took another cake out of the box and shoved a piece in his mouth. “Mmm.”

  She ate the rest of the cake while he kept glancing at her plate. It was strange and became very uncomfortable.

  “What’s wrong, Jerry?”

  “Eat that final piece.”

  “Why?”

  “Because.”

  “You’re scaring me.” She put her fork in the remaining mouthful and ate it. “There, are you happy?”

  Jerry looked confused. Then he took his fork and mushed up his dessert. There on the plate was a diamond ring covered in chocolate. “Bloody hell. I gave you the wrong piece.”

  Carole looked at it and couldn’t process what was happening.

  He picked up the ring, dropped it in a glass of water, and then fished it out with his fork, finally drying it off and presenting it to her. “This is for you.”

  “You wanted me to eat a ring and perhaps choke on it?”

  “It seemed romantic when I saw it in a movie. Obviously I’m a big dope.”

  The penny dropped. “Is this…an engagement ring?”

  “Yes. I was hoping you’d marry me and Ruth.”

  Carole’s mouth dropped open. She didn’t know what to say.

  “I’m sorry,” Jerry stammered. “I’m not really good at this sort of thing.”

  “But your boys—”

  “My boys live across the country. Of course they’d like to see their mother and me together, but that’s not going to happen. Their mother left me for another man.”

  “Do they know that?”

  “No. I don’t want them to. It will come out eventually, but I don’t want to be the one to tell them.”

  “Oh, Jerry. You don’t know what you’re asking. I’m the last person you want in your life. I’m not a good person.”

  Jerry looked like he was ready to explode. “Why do you keep saying that? Do you have a dead body in your freezer?”

  “I’m selfish.”

  “I have yet to see a selfish bone in your body. You love your dogs. You love your daughter. You loved your mother. You have nothing to prove to me. I’m not perfect either. I crack my knuckles and I snap my gum, which used to drive my wife up the wall.”

  It came out in a rush: “I didn’t tell Mary that her father was trying to see her for years. That’s how horrible I am!”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “Of course you don’t! Who would do that? He left me when I was pregnant, and when he wanted to see Mary years later I told him no, and I kept it all from her.”

  Jerry reached for her hand. “That must have been very difficult. It doesn’t mean you’re a horrible person.”

  Carole got up from the table and walked over to his living-room window. “I didn’t want to tell you, because I knew you’d never do something like that. And anyway, I would enter this marriage with nothing. I have nothing to contribute.”

  “That doesn’t matter.”

  She turned around. “It matters to me. I’m sorry, Jerry. It’s a lovely offer and I’m very grateful, but I can’t marry you.”

  Carole grabbed her coat and purse then whistled for the boys and the four of them headed out the door.

  Drew had a week-long business trip and drove Sheena to Cape Breton to be with her parents while he was away. Peggy and Maxine had already discussed at bridge what a great opportunity it would be to look around for baby things while Sheena was in Sydney.

  “Mom, I can’t believe I’m saying this, but you’re going to have to stop buying baby gifts. We don’t have any room as it is.”

  “Don’t be a party pooper. I’m having a blast and so is Maxine. Did you know we went out for lunch the other day, just the two of us? Lynne had to cancel at the last minute and we had a great time anyway. She’s hoping these babies are girls, just like I predicted. I said I wanted one of each.”

  Sheena rocked in the recliner, her hands resting on her protruding belly. “I can’t believe you and Maxine like each other.”

  “She’s a lot of fun now that she’s not with Chuck. I assume Drew told his dad about the twins.”

  “Yeah. He’s like a big kid. Already wants to buy them two of those horrible tyke-sized Cadillacs.”

  “Bless him.”

  “I was thinking….”

  “That’s a first.”

  “Oh, ha ha. Maybe Drew and I should move home to be closer to you guys. I’m afraid to manage these babies on my own.”

  Peggy’s eyes opened wide. “I’d love that, but Drew won’t.”

  “Right now he’d do anything for me.”

  “That’s blackmail.”

  “I was just thinking out loud.”

  “Don’t make him feel guilty. That’s the worst thing you can do in a marriage.”

  Sheena stopped rocking. “Are you serious? You make Dad feel guilty about going away every chance you get. Don’t think I haven’t noticed, and I don’t even live here anymore.”

  Peggy got defensive. “It was a rash and thoughtless thing for him to do on the spur of the moment. If he’d given me more time, maybe I would’ve dealt with it better. My reaction was the same as yours when Drew told you about moving to Halifax. It hurts not to be consulted.”

  “But Mom, haven’t you noticed that you’re so much happier than you were before he went? You actually have a life. I think he did you a favour.”

  “Maybe. Still rankles though.”

  Later that night, when Peggy was upstairs sewing, Sheena wandered into the family room. Her dad was watching Power and Politics. He muted the television as she sat beside him on the couch. He put his arm around her shoulder and she buried her face in his shirt. Her dad always smelled nice and clean.

  “How are you feeling, sweetheart?”

  “Overwhelmed.”

  “That’s natural. But remember, you don’t need to know everything right now. Life has a way of taking its time; you’ll adjust.”

  “Did you ever picture me as a mother of twins?”

  “No, I can’t say I did.”

  “I’m too young.”

  He kissed the top of her head. “Don’t wait for anything. Whatever life puts in front of you, accept it. That’s why I said yes to going overseas. I didn’t want to miss the chance.”

  “I suppose.” Sheena played with the button on his shirt. “Do you want to know how to get Mom to stop bellyaching about that?”

  “Please tell me. I’d be forever in your debt.”

  “Buy her a very expensive ring. Let her know you’re grateful she let you go, but even more grateful
that she waited for you to come back.”

  Ted squeezed her shoulder. “Who says you’re not smart?”

  She looked up at him. “I don’t know. Who says I’m not smart?”

  Her father’s ears turned red. “That didn’t come out right.”

  Peggy was raking the front yard when Ted’s car came up the driveway. He got out and gave her a wave.

  “You’re home early.”

  “Going to take you to dinner.”

  Peggy smiled. “Well, this is a nice surprise. Where are we going?”

  “Your choice.”

  “Let’s go to that new restaurant, A Bite of Asia. They say it’s fabulous.”

  “Perfect.”

  While Peggy was in the shower, Sheena saw her father putting on a tie. “Where are you going?”

  “We’re going to that new Chinese restaurant.”

  “Oh goody. I wanted to try it.”

  “You’re not coming.”

  Sheena pouted. “Why not?”

  Ted patted his jacket pocket. “I took your advice.”

  Sheena clapped her hands in excitement. “Let me see it.”

  He took the velvet box out of his pocket and opened it. It was a diamond ring surrounded by emeralds. “Do you think she’ll like it?”

  “She’ll love it! Good choice, Daddy.”

  “Thank you.”

  Peggy was disappointed Sheena didn’t want to go to dinner, but she insisted she was just tired and wanted to put her feet up.

  The new restaurant was a nice change. They both ordered the shrimp pad Thai, but the waiter convinced them to try the Thai sweet chili fish as well.

  Ted took a big bite. “It’s not something my grandfather would’ve eaten, but I love it!”

  Peggy agreed. “It’s wonderful being able to try different food.”

  Over their green tea ice cream they sighed contentedly at what the future held.

  “We need to travel, Peggy. The world is just begging for us to come and visit.”

  “But we’ll be so busy with the babies.”

  Ted put the last spoonful of ice cream in his mouth. “How’s that? They’re in Halifax.”