I didn't answer. I just reached behind me and locked the bedroom door.
He had no idea that the form he'd just signed wasn't for a prenatal checkup. It was a consent form for labor induction.
……
Bang.
Joel slammed the bathroom door from the inside hard enough to shake the walls.
"Pauline, have you lost your mind? Open this door!"
I stood on the other side, folded the original copy of the consent form, and slipped it into my bag.
Through the frosted glass I could see the two overlapping silhouettes had separated.
Lillian's saccharine voice drifted through the door.
"Joel, I think Pauline got the wrong idea. I was only teaching you how to hold your breath."
"The water's so cold—what if it hurts Lily's baby?"
Joel's tone shifted instantly, thick with worry and tenderness.
"Don't be scared, Lily. I'll have someone break this door down right now."
He turned and roared toward the door.
"Pauline! Lily is pregnant. If anything happens to her because of the cold, I swear I won't let you off!"
The corner of my mouth twitched. Absurd. Completely absurd.
Right. She was pregnant.
Joel's childhood sweetheart, back in the country less than three months, and already carrying his child.