Anything But Mine (30 page)

With the renovations on Knit Hampton nearly complete, Jen turned her attention to stocking the shelves with merchandise, and planning an opening night party for the shop. She was so distracted with her work that she never noticed that her period was late, until she began feeling queasy each morning.

After making an appointment with her gynecologist, she called Al, Vince’s pilot. “Can you pick me up and bring me into the city tomorrow morning? I don’t want to drive in,” she said.
I throw up half the time in the helicopter anyway –
there’
s nothing suspicious about that.

The following evening, when Vince returned home from his office, he found Jen curled up with a book in the library. As soon as she saw him, she snapped the book closed and placed it under a throw pillow.

“What are you hiding?”

Jen blushed, and was barely able to speak. “Umm, well, I have something important to discuss with you.”

“Okay.” Vince sat down next to his wife, patiently waiting for her to speak.

“I went to the doctor today. I’m about six weeks pregnant,” she whispered, digging out the book on pregnancy that she hid underneath a pillow.

“Oh my God, Jennifer, really? That’s wonderful news!” When Jen just stared at him, Vince noticed she looked shell-
shocked
, and asked, “What’s wrong?”

“It’s just that I don’t understand how I became pregnant,” she said. “Even though I’d gone off the pill, we were still using protection.”

“I guess nothing is fool proof, my love,” he replied.
I’m so glad I thought of poking pin holes in the condoms when you told me you wanted to wait a few months after going off birth control pills before trying to conceive.
“When is your due date?”

“December 14
th
. Just in time for Christmas.”

Vince grabbed his phone and began dialing Jen’s parents, but she reached out and took the phone from him. “Dr. Markham explained that we shouldn’t tell anyone about the baby until we’re out of the first trimester. It has to be our secret, for now.”

That weekend in Southampton, they wandered into the nursery section of Hildreth’s, looking at the bassinets and bedding, holding hands and making plans for decorating the nurseries in both their homes. Jen noticed how excited Vince was, his face beaming as he looked over the different layette sets, and her heart began to melt.
I’ve never seen him this happy or excited before
, she thought, as she leaned in and lightly brushed her lips against his cheek.

“Want to have lunch? I’m a little hungry,” Jen said. “Let’s go to Silver’s.”

“Definitely. I worry that you’re not eating enough, now that you’re eating for two.”

“I’m eating enough. The problem is that I can’t keep a lot of it down.”

Vince held the door open for Jennifer, and as they walked into the restaurant, she immediately spied Catherine and Luke. “What are you doing here? Why didn’t you tell me you were coming out?”

“Please, join us,” Luke said, as he stood to shake Vince’s hand. “We wanted to keep it a secret. We’re looking at either buying or renting a small place for the summer.”

“That’s awesome,” Jen said.

“It’s a good move, Luke,” Vince replied, all business. “It will help your career, interacting more with investors out here. Smart.”

“Where are you looking?” Jen asked.

“Mostly in Hampton Bays and East Quogue,” Catherine replied. “It’s not Southampton, but it’s close enough.”

They were interrupted when a waiter came to take their order. “I’d like a bowl of the lobster bisque, please,” Jen said. “And a glass of water.”

“No, you can’t have that,” Vince said. “No shellfish.”

“But, Vince…,” Jen said. “It’s my favorite. And it’s not like it’s sushi. It’s fully cooked.”

“I don’t want you to have it.” Turning to the waiter, he said, “We’ll both have the potato leek soup, and we’ll split a tomato, mozzarella and basil salad” Vince said. “I’ll have a diet soda, and my wife will have water.”

Catherine and Luke exchanged glances, before Catherine asked, “Is everything okay? Why can’t you have the lobster bisque?”

Jen glared at Vince. “We’re also keeping a secret, or at least we were
supposed
to be keeping a secret.” Turning to Catherine and Luke, she said, “I just found out last week that I’m pregnant.”

“Oh my gosh! That’s wonderful,” Catherine gushed.

“Please don’t tell anyone,” Jen implored her friends. “I’m only about six weeks along, and I really don’t want anyone else to know until I’m past the first trimester.”

After they finished eating, Vince picked up the check, and the two couples hugged goodbye. “Promise me you’ll let me see any houses you’re seriously considering before you make a final decision,” Jen said, as they parted ways.

Once they were back at Fair Fields, Vince said, “Jennifer, we need to talk.”

That’s never good,
she thought as she followed Vince into the solarium. “What’s on your mind?”

She was surprised when Vince said, “Catherine and Luke.”

“What about them?”

“I don’t like that they are looking at properties in Hampton Bays and East Quogue. It’s too far away from the action on the east end. You have to talk to them.”

“I’m sure that’s all they can afford.”

Anger flashed in Vince’s eyes. “Are you saying I’m not paying him enough? Haven’t I told you not to interfere with my business decisions?”

Oh, God, I can’t take it when he gets angry.
“That’s not what I meant,” she said, stroking his thigh. “You know I would never tell you how to run your business. I just meant that nice houses in Southampton are expensive.”

Vince began to calm down at Jen’s touch. “They are. But I have an idea. Why don’t you sell them your house? It’s just sitting there, empty. You don’t need to make a profit, or even get a good price for it. Just find out what they are willing to pay, and take it. You’d be doing them a favor.”

“You’re kidding me, right?”

“No, I’m not. It’s a good idea. I don’t like that you’ve been holding on to both the house here, and your apartment in Brooklyn. Why do you need them?”

“They’re my investments, Vince. The only things that are truly mine.”
The last bits of my independence.

“Catherine’s been a good friend to you over the years. You should help them out.”

Sighing, Jen tried to placate her husband. “I’ll think about it.”

Vince accompanied Jen to her next doctor’s appointment, and was excited to see the tiny bean-
shaped
blip on the screen during her sonogram.

“That’s our baby?” he asked in amazement.

“That’s it,” Dr. Markham replied, as he pressed the sonogram wand into Jen’s abdomen. “The heartbeat is a little faint, but I don’t think it’s anything to worry about. Keep taking your vitamins, and make sure you eat enough. I don’t like it when patients lose weight when they’re pregnant,” he said, sternly.

“I had trouble keeping food down, until this morning, then magically the symptoms stopped. If I continue to feel better, I’m sure I’ll start to gain weight.”

“All right, Jen. I’ll see you in a few weeks, but call me in the meantime if you have any questions.”

The following morning, as Jen was about to leave for Southampton, she began to experience some intense cramping. Doubling over in pain, she lay down on the bed, hoping it would pass, but instead it continued. When she got up to go to the bathroom an hour later, she noticed she was bleeding, and called Dr. Markham, who told her to come into his office right away.

Vince rushed home, and within the hour, they were in the doctor’s office, listening in disbelief as he told them that he could no longer detect a heartbeat during the ultrasound, and that she had miscarried.

Through her tears, Jen asked, “Why did this happen?”

Taking a deep breath, Dr. Markham explained, “Approximately one in five pregnancies end in a miscarriage, most often because of a chromosomal abnormality at this stage of a pregnancy.”

Vince asked, “When can we try to conceive again?”

“As soon as next month,” Dr. Markham replied.

“Isn’t that too soon? I’m worried,” Jen said.

“Don’t worry, Jen. Your body will know when it’s ready for another pregnancy.”

Once they arrived back at the Fifth Avenue apartment, Vince tucked Jen into bed, and brought her a cup of hot chamomile tea. “I just want you to rest,” he said. “I’m not going back downtown today. I’ll be in my home office if you need me.”

“Okay,” Jen said, grateful that Vince decided not to go back to the office.

Vince checked in on her periodically during the day and when he found her a little teary, he climbed into bed with her, holding her tightly and whispering in her ear, “Everything will be okay, my love.”

“I’m just so sorry I disappointed you. I know how much you wanted this baby.”

“Shhh,” he said, stroking her back and running his fingers through her hair. “You never disappoint me. I love you so much.”

Knit Hampton was scheduled to officially open for business on the Saturday before Memorial Day, but Jennifer scheduled a preview party for fellow Southampton Chamber of Commerce members, local officials, friends and family the evening before the opening day of the shop.

As she was getting ready for the preview party, Jen carefully chose her outfit –
a
sea foam green halter top that she had finished knitting the previous week, along with khakis and gold sandals –
before
pulling her hair up into a high pony tail.

“You look beautiful, my love,” Vince said, approaching her from behind, looking at their reflection in the bathroom mirror. “Just one thing is missing.”

“What’s that?” Jennifer asked, distracted.

“This,” he said, handing her a small box from Tamara Comolli, a jewelry store on Southampton’s Main Street.

Jen squealed with delight when she removed a pair of modern, chunky gold and multi-
colored
sapphire chandelier earrings, and immediately fastened them to her ears. Hugging her husband, she said, “Thank you, Vince! They’re perfect for my outfit. How did you know I liked this exact pair?”

“I asked your mother what I could get you to commemorate the shop opening, and she told me that you had admired these earrings when the two of you were window shopping last week.” Leaning down to kiss his wife, he continued, “They’re beautiful, but not nearly as beautiful as you are.”