Washington Spies: A Historical Espionage Thriller by SJ Slagle

Author:SJ Slagle [Slagle, SJ]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781685490539
Publisher: Rough Edges Press
Published: 2022-03-01T16:00:00+00:00

THIRTEEN

LOSS

All she could focus on were the bright lights hanging overhead. The room smelled of antiseptic. An unsmiling woman with a white uniform bustled about, handing things to the doctor in charge. At least, Phyllis assumed he was a doctor. He was wearing a white coat with a stethoscope sticking out of a pocket. It was a good guess and something better to think about.

She was in a hospital and one of the worst things that could happen was happening to her. She was losing her baby.

What would Joe say?

Why was it happening?

Did she do something wrong?

Joe had been right—she should have passed up the assignment and stayed home.

“Mrs. Schneider?”

She should have stayed where it was warm and snug to protect the baby.

“Mrs. Schneider?”

Where it was safe and protected. Where it was—

“Mrs. Schneider!” A male voice punctured her thoughts. She blinked watery eyes at the man standing by her bed.

“Can you hear me?”

Phyllis swallowed. “Yes.”

“I’m Doctor Talbert. Can we speak for a few moments? Then I’ll let you sleep.”

She pulled the thin blanket closer to her chin.

“Yes, all right.”

“Are you aware of your circumstances?”

“Do I know I’m in a hospital? Of course.”

“Do you realize you’ve had a miscarriage?”

Phyllis sighed, covered her chin with the blanket.

“Are you cold?”

“Very.”

The doctor turned to the nurse. “Please get Mrs. Schneider another blanket.”

When he turned back to Phyllis, she wet her lips.

“Yes, Doctor Talbert. I’m quite aware that I’ve had a miscarriage.” Tears leaked from her eyes. “I know I lost my baby.”

He handed her a tissue. “Miscarriages are common enough, but never easy to accept. I can have someone come in to talk with you, if you’d like.”

Phyllis blotted her eyes, but the tears kept coming. “Perhaps I should.”

“Everything is cleaned out now. You should be just fine.”

“Just not pregnant anymore.”

“No. I’m very sorry.”

“Will I be able to get pregnant again?”

“Yes. As I said, miscarriages are very common, but they don’t generally stop a woman from getting pregnant again.”

Silence filled the air while Phyllis considered what he said.

“Do you want me to ask your husband to step in?”

“My husband? He’s here?”

“The man in the waiting room who brought you. I assumed he was your husband.”

“No, doctor. He’s just a friend.”

“Do you want him to come in?”

She shook her head. “Not just yet. I’d rather speak with a professional first.”

He smiled. “Certainly. I’ll ask the therapist on the floor to visit you within the hour.”

“When can I leave?”

“I’d like to keep you for a few more hours, just to be on the safe side. I want to make sure the hemorrhaging is quite over.”

“Okay.”

He turned to go.

“Oh, doctor?”

“Yes, Mrs. Schneider?”

“Could you get word to Mr. Ender in the waiting room that I will be a few more hours and ask him to wait for me?”

“I’ll have it done.”

“Thank you.”

Once the nurse and doctor left, Phyllis pulled the blanket up over her head. What kind of failure was she as a woman and wife that she couldn’t have a baby? Her body felt cold, almost foreign.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.