Page 7 of Coming Home to Inishbeg Cove

Chapter 5

Sarah

The heavy thrum of the ocean had faded into a blur behind me and the bunting flapping in the evening breeze and the constant swell and roll of the sea as the waves broke along the shoreline were the only sounds to be heard.

‘Sarah, you have to tell me what’s going on,’ Greg demanded, standing in front of me. He never usually raised his voice, but my behaviour had rattled him. I looked into his eyes, which were full of fear, and I knew I couldn’t keep my secret from him any longer.

I had to tell him.

‘I’m pregnant,’ I blurted.

The fear in his eyes was replaced with disbelief.

‘What? Are you sure?’

I nodded. ‘I did a test this morning. My cycle is so irregular so at first I was convinced that my period was just late with the stress of organising the wedding but I’ve been really nauseous for a while now so I just said I’d do a test to rule it out. I nearly collapsed when it turned positive.’

Greg wasn’t looking at me; instead, his gaze was fixed on the black ocean behind me. His reaction was confirming my worst fears. What a way to start married life. A tear travelled down my face. I should have told him before the wedding.

‘Please, say something, Greg,’ I begged.

‘It’s just such a shock. I’m trying to get my head around it...’

‘I’m so sorry. I just never thought at my age it would happen...’ More tears pushed forward, and soon they were falling freely down my face. We had never discussed having children and because my cycle was so erratic, I assumed that my body was gone past it. What if he didn’t want to have a baby? It felt as though all the happiness I had known for the last year was being wiped away.

Suddenly I felt his hand lifting my chin so that I looked into his eyes.

‘Hey, what are you crying for? Unless I’m missing something, this is good news, right?’

‘It is?’

‘Of course it is! Why wouldn’t it be? Are you trying to tell me that you don’t want to keep our baby?’ He frowned.

I shook my head quickly. ‘Of course not! I could never do something like that but, well ... I’m forty-one...’

‘Sarah, you crazy girl.’ He grinned at me and put his hands on my shoulders, as if to steady me. ‘It’s a shock, I’ll give you that, but to get a chance at my age to be a dad ... it’s a dream come true.’ Happiness flooded his face, and relief washed through me.

‘I never thought we’d have children, Greg. I thought my body was past all that. You hear about women’s fertility falling off a cliff once they hit forty. I never thought a baby would be an option for us.’

‘I guess we’re the lucky ones.’ He beamed at me. ‘God, I can’t believe I’m getting a chance to be a dad – just when I thought life couldn’t get any better! This is the icing on the cake. Marrying you here today in front of our friends and family and then to learn this news – this is like a dream!’ Happiness shone from his eyes.

‘But what about the risks, Greg?’ I didn’t want him getting carried away. It was easy to let ourselves get excited, but there was no escaping the fact that having a baby at my age was not risk-free. ‘You know you hear about the risks on the TV and radio all the time. Down Syndrome or other chromosomal abnormalities, not to mention the risk of premature birth or the baby being stillborn—’

‘Stop, Sarah.’ He placed his index finger on my lip. ‘We’re on this path now together.’ He put his other hand on my stomach. ‘This baby has chosen us to be its parents and we need to step up to that. We’ll take what we get. We’ll roll with the punches, whatever life throws at us. It’s our baby – we’ll love it no matter what.’

I threw my arms around him, a sobbing mess.

‘Maybe it’s the hormones,’ I blubbed, ‘but I love you, Greg Klein. I mean, I really, really love you. When I set out this morning to marry you, I didn’t think I could possibly love you any more than I already do, but I think you’ve gone up a whole level.’

Greg started to laugh, and I realised that everything was going to be okay. Why had I ever doubted him? It wasn’t just about Greg and me any more; two were set to become three. As he wrapped me in the sanctuary of his broad arms, I knew that no matter what hurdles life threw at us, I had my husband by my side and we would take them on together.