Robin Cook by Mindbend Page B

suggested amniocentesis because Cheryl said she’d been doing drugs right through her second month. She hadn’t realized she was pregnant.”
    â€œWhat did the test show?” asked Jennifer.
    â€œThat the baby is deformed. There’s something wrong with its genes. That’s what they look for when they do an amniocentesis.”
    Jennifer turned back to Cheryl, who was still staring into her expresso, trying not to cry.
    â€œWhat does the father think?” asked Jennifer and then was sorry, for Cheryl put her hands over her face and began to sob bitterly. Candy put her arm about Cheryl as Jennifer glanced around at the nearby tables. No one was paying attention. Only in New York could you have such privacy in a public place. Cheryl took a tissue from her purse and blew her nose loudly.
    â€œThe father’s name is Paul,” she said sadly.
    â€œHow does he feel about your having an abortion?” asked Jennifer.
    Cheryl wiped her eyes, examining a dark smudge of mascara on the tissue. “I don’t know. He took off and left me.”
    â€œWell,” said Candy, “that gives us a pretty good idea about how he feels. The bastard. I wish men could take on the burden of being pregnant, say every other year. I think they might be a little more responsible if that were the case.”
    Cheryl wiped her eyes again, and Jennifer suddenly realized how terribly young and vulnerable the girl was. It made the problem posed by her own pregnancy seem small in comparison.
    â€œI’m so scared,” Cheryl was saying. “I haven’t told anyone because if my father finds out, he’ll kill me.”
    â€œWell, I hope you’re not going to the hospital by yourself,” said Jennifer with alarm.
    â€œIt won’t be so bad,” said Candy with some assurance. “I’d been worried before my abortion, but it went smoothly. The people at the Julian Clinic are outstandingly warm and sensitive. Besides, Cheryl will have the world’s best gynecologist.”
    â€œWhat’s his name?” asked Jennifer, thinking that she could not say the same about Dr. Vandermer.
    â€œLawrence Foley,” said Candy. “I’d been turned on to him by another girl who had to have an abortion.”
    â€œIt seems like he’s doing a lot of abortions,” said Jennifer.
    Candy nodded. “It’s a big city.”
    Jennifer sipped her cappuccino, wondering how to tell her friends that she herself had just found out she was pregnant. She postponed the moment by turning back to Cheryl and saying, “Perhaps you’d like it if I went with you tomorrow. Seems to me you could use some company.”
    â€œI’d love that,” said Cheryl, her face brightening.
    â€œNot so fast, Mrs. Schonberg,” said Candy. “We have rehearsal.”
    Jennifer raised her eyebrows and smiled. “Well, I have some news myself. I found out yesterday that I’m two and a half months pregnant myself.”
    â€œOh, no!” exclaimed Candy.
    â€œOh, yes!” said Jennifer. “And when I tell Jason, he may not care whether I come to rehearsal or not.”
    Candy and Cheryl were too stunned to speak. In silence, the three finished their coffee, paid the bill, and set off for the studio.
    Jason was not there when they arrived, andJennifer felt relieved and disappointed at the same time. She removed her outer clothes and found a free area on the dance floor. Turning sideways, she lifted her sweatshirt so that she could see her profile. She had to admit that she already showed a little.
    â€¢ • •
    Adam washed his hands in the men’s room on the first floor of the hospital complex. Catching a glimpse of his haggard face in the mirror, he realized he looked exhausted. Well, maybe it would make the dean more sympathetic. After his disastrous meeting with his father, Adam had decided his only recourse was an additional student loan from the