The Taboo Topics

Abortion

Sitting in the garden on the patio, sipping her tea and looking out on her huge yard, Maisie Dunbar wondered where her husband Corey had gone to. Her eyes drifted over the beautiful, well-kept lawn and watched as the water in the tiny pond just below the patio gurgled out of the mouth of the fountain.

She tried to remember the last time she'd seen her husband, and she couldn't. Trying harder, she counted back the days. One.. Two... Three. Three days, and he still wasn't back from that urgent assignment his employer had given him. She always missed him so badly when he was away. Today she had missed him so much she'd skipped her weekly yoga class.

Some days she wondered where it was he was always being sent to. It was always for work, but he'd never once told her a location. It was always a quick goodbye, a kiss, and then he would be out the door again.

She took another sip of her tea, and felt sick to her stomach suddenly. She dropped her teacup and clamped her hand over her mouth, running back into the kitchen and leaning over the sink. She was violently sick for a minute, and when she was finished, she turned the tap on, then turned and leaned her back against the counter, slowly sliding down to the floor.

She wondered what had happened- One moment she'd felt perfectly fine, and the next she was vomiting into the kitchen sink. Listening to the sound of the water running in the sink, she did the first thing that came to mind. She counted back how long it had been since her last period.

Two.. Two months. But that didn't necessarily mean she was pregnant, did it?

Her hands shot down to her stomach, and she pulled her shirt up a little, exposing her belly. It was a bit more pronounced than usual, but she'd been gaining a bit of weight for a while now, and no matter how much she worked out-

She was pregnant. She looked down at that ever so slightly defined bump that was her stomach, and her eyes widened. She was going to be a mother. She was carrying Corey Dunbar's child in her stomach.

The thought sent electricity through her veins. She let her mind wander and could just imagine a beautiful little girl, with blonde hair and brown eyes.

Yes. She was going to have a baby with Corey.

And it was then, sitting on the floor of her beautiful, well-kept and clean kitchen, that she heard voices outside on the porch.

"No, no.. Don't worry, love. Maisie has yoga on Wednesdays. The house is empty."

It was Corey's voice, but who could he possibly be speaking to?

"Oh, well if you're sure."

Maisie's heart stopped. That had been a woman's voice. What was Corey doing bringing a woman home, and especially at a time when he expected her to be away?

"You know where the bedroom is. Go make yourself... Comfortable. I'll be there in a moment."

The bedroom...? She knew where the bed room was, too, which means she'd been here before. Maisie closed her eyes tightly.

No. This couldn't be. She was jumping to conclusions- This was her Corey she was thinking about, not some cheating bastard.

The sound of footsteps came closer, and when they came into the room, Maisie held her breath, but they quickly went back down the hall.

Taking a moment to catch her breath first, Maisie slowly stood up, and quietly walked down the hall to the door of her and Corey's bedroom. As she got closer, she could hear the very slight sounds of heavy breathing and groaning. Her heart sped up, and she peeked through the crack in the door.

There was Corey, in bed, under the covers.. And there was a woman with him. All that Maisie could see of her was her curly blonde hair.

Leaning against the wall, Maisie clenched her hands into fists, and desperately tried to keep the tears from coming. She couldn't cry, now. If she did, they would hear her, and-

No. That was her husband in there, cheating on her with another woman. Which he had apparently been doing for a long while, now.

Her heart slowly broke in her chest, but she kept quiet, and slipped into the washroom to hide.

It seemed like she'd been in there for days when she finally heard the front door open and close. Not knowing what she would find, she came out of the bathroom and peeked into the bedroom. The bed was perfectly made once again, not a single sign of what had been done left in it.

Turning, she made her way to the kitchen. Corey was sitting at the table, drinking a glass of orange juice. She stood in the doorway and stared at him, not making a sound. Waiting for him to notice her.

Corey put down his glass, stood up, and turned to leave. He jumped a little, seeing Maisie in the doorway, and his cheeks turned a slight red before he composed himself again.

"Darling, I thought you were at yoga class? Or was it cancelled?" He sounded nervous.. And guilty.

"I just got back," she lied.

"That's good." He replied.

There was a long, awkward silence.

"Listen, I need to talk to you-" they both said at once.

Maisie was going to tell him she was pregnant, and maybe that would put a stop to this affair of his. Maybe what he needed was a family. A real family.

"You go first." Corey offered, sitting down and looking up at Maisie. She leaned against the counter, and couldn't help but notice that despite the attentive, loving expression on Corey's face, in his eyes she could see that he was bored.

She bit down on her lip, hard, and could feel the tears threatening to escape again. "Corey, I'm... pregnant."

The looks of surprise on Corey's face was quickly replaced with anger. "Pregnant? God damn it!" He banged his fist down on the tabletop, hard. "I thought you were on the pill, Maisie?"

Maisie was shocked at Corey. "I-I am.. I guess it didn't work-?"

"Didn't work? Didn't work?" Shooting to his feet, he began pacing the kitchen, mumbling under his breath. Maisie stood in silence while he did so, and suddenly he turned to face her again. "Get rid of it. Now. Go. Get. Rid. Of. It."

Maisie's hands shot down to her stomach, and she looked, disbelief written all over her face, at Corey. "Get rid of it..? This is your child-"

"I don't want it, Maisie!" He turned and banged his fists on the counter top. "God damn it!"

She stood in silence for a long while, not understanding what he was saying. How could Corey not want his own child? How could he say such things to her?

Her thoughts her interrupted by the sound of metal hitting tile. The tiniest little tinkle of sound. Her eyes fell to the floor, where Corey's wedding ring lay.

"Damn it, Maisie. I don't love you anymore. I've found someone else." Corey said quietly. "Someone better. And I don't want you giving birth to any child of mine... You don't deserve to, anymore."

If you listened close enough, you would have been able to hear her heart breaking in that moment. She couldn't think, she couldn't breathe, and she couldn't do anything but stand there, hands on her belly, tears streaming down her cheeks.

Corey left the room, and she could hear the opening and closing of drawers coming from their bedroom. A while later, Corey came back out, suitcases in his hands. He turned for the front door, and it was then that Maisie's head registered what was going on. Sobbing, and shaking, she ran over to Corey and hugged tightly from behind.

"Darling, please-! I-I love you- Please- You can't.. You can't d-do this-"

Corey pushed her away roughly. "Goodbye, Maisie."

And then... He was gone.