The Men's Camp

Chapter 6 Maria - The loss

Maria tried to rest, she really did. The days were long and pushing down on her in every way. She had time off work for recovery which made her feel housebound and miserable. Her husband was always calling her, he brought her books and gifts, but it was all pointless. Her body was in refusal, she knew it.

After three weeks the loss came. Sam drove her to the hospital, and it was over. She lay in the bed after the operation and felt sadness swirling around her. Outside her room she could hear the sounds of labour, cries from women groaning, but her pain was elsewhere. The doctor explained that the foetus had not been developing normally and nothing, including the medications she took would change what happened. Her body had simply reacted, knowing the baby would never be able to live.

"It's just one of those things" he said shrugging and Maria turned her face away.

The next morning when she woke up, still in hospital, she felt sore but was ready to face the future again. Sam had assured her that it would only be a matter of time and they would have a beautiful family together. Although her sadness still lingered, she began gathering her things to leave the hospital when suddenly a nurse came rushing in, wild with emotion.

"Is everything...?" Maria started

"O.M.G. you will not believe who is outside the hall, in the hospital, RIGHT NOW!!!" the nurse was trying to contain herself. Maria peered out through the door and saw Skye Williamson, the famous singer, standing with her husband and some other staff at the end of the corridor.

"What is she doing here?" she asked incredulous.

"Her surrogate has just had her baby! She's here to collect it!"

Sure enough, Maria heard the cries of a newborn as the entourage passed her door and through the crack of the door, saw Sky carrying a tiny baby in her arms.

"Wow!" said Maria "who was the surrogate? how will she cope?"

The nurse shrugged. "Some woman in room 118, we were told to leave her alone"

After the nurse left, Maria wanted to see the mysterious woman for herself. After all that she had just been through, she couldn't imagine how anyone could have a baby and give it away. What type of woman would do that she wondered? She felt an overpowering need to see the woman, so she walked quietly to 118 and opened it silently, slowly, just enough to look inside. If anyone noticed, she would just say she was also a patient and had forgotten her room number. As she looked inside, she saw a woman packing her things into a bag, ready to leave. As the woman turned, she got the shock of her life. It was the woman from the clinic who stole the anti-miscarriage drugs and there was no way that after only a few weeks she had given birth. The woman had never been pregnant.

Maria quietly moved back into the hall towards the lift. Her detective senses running overtime as she scanned the corridor for movement. As she waited at the lift, the door opened, and the woman came out of the room with the large travel bag on her shoulder. She got into the lift with Maria who kept her head down, letting her hair fall forward.

On the ground floor, Maria watched as the woman left the building and got into a car. She grabbed her phone and snapped a shot of the number plate.

She smiled to herself, "time to find out about you" she thought.