Living Without Dreams

Chapter 20 - Helping One Another

"What was all that about?" Greg asked when he came back into the kitchen to find Susan loading the last few things into the dishwasher before starting it. Jessie and Zackary had already left the kitchen to return to Jessie's bedroom along with Matt, who was intent on helping her empty her box so he could flatten it.

"I have reason to believe Marion and Richard are trying for a baby. And tonight is the night, so the kindest thing we could do for our friends, was to let them go home," Susan said.

"A baby," Greg said blankly. "Richard?"

"And Marion," Susan told him. "We've been talking. She hasn't said too much about it directly, until today, but I got the impression something special is going on today."

"She's ovulating, you mean," Greg said.

"Probably," Susan said.

"I didn't know they wanted to have children," Greg told her honestly. "They've been childless for so long."

"It sounds like they've been unable to conceive. They'd almost given up, when Dr. Daniels suggested one more thing to try. Marion's feeling hopeful, so maybe ..." Susan said.

Greg looked at her in astonishment. "You know, I've known Richard for nearly twenty-five years ... longer than I've known Marion ... and I know he's always loved children, but still I didn't know any of this. I don't think Madeline did either."

"I don't think Marion felt very comfortable talking to Madeline about personal things, Greg ... she was so much older than Marion is. But Marion and I are very close to the same age, and once I'd told her about the pregnancy we'd lost while we were in Hawaii, everything she and Richard have been going through these past few years just came tumbling out. I got the impression she'd been longing for someone she felt comfortable talking to about it for a long time," Susan said.

"And given your own history with pregnancy, I'm sure she found you a very sympathetic ear to tell it to," Greg surmised.

"I think so," Susan said. "I'm done in here. Want to try the TV stand again?"

"I'm ready when you are," Greg said and she followed him back to the family room.

"Did Marion say when it was they'd started trying?" Greg wondered while they worked.

"It sounds like they haven't done anything to prevent it for nearly ten years. Then when it didn't happen, they went to get checked out, just before Marion turned forty. She's been undergoing treatments for it for the last four years," Susan explained as they took some things apart to start again.

"Nearly the whole time we've been gone," Greg realized. "No wonder I didn't know. But if they've been trying to get pregnant, then having Richard with us for months at a time last year surely didn't help."

"We didn't know, Greg," Susan said.

"No, we clearly had no idea," Greg said. "And generous spirit that Richard is, he never would have mentioned it ... another reason I wouldn't have known I suspect."

"Probably," Susan agreed as they began to fit the pieces together again in a more promising arrangement. "But since I knew ... or at least suspected why Marion was so eager to go home, I thought it was our turn to do what we could to help our friends."

"Most definitely," Greg said. "Susan, you have no idea how grateful I am you have accepted Richard and Marion so completely as friends. They have been friends of mine for a long, long time."

Susan shrugged. "It's not that hard, Greg. They are lovely people, and as wonderful as Richard ... and now Marion have been to us over the years, I really do like them too. Weirdly enough, I'm beginning to feel as though they are as much my friends as they are yours."