Magic Read Online Free PDF Page A

had wanted to be involved in. He had hoped everything would go smoothly at the appropriate time, and he could make a gracious exit from her life, with financial support for her and the twins. He had never wanted her to have them, or to get pregnant at all. Because of a casual, playful indiscretion, he had wound up in a situation he had never been in before and didn’t want. And now it was even worse.
    The obstetrician had been candid with them that the babies were likely to die or be damaged, and he would have to deal with a possible tragedy, not just an unwanted birth. And he was worried about his wife too. He couldn’t leave Anya for long enough to call Benedetta and reassure her. He could just imagine the state she was in. She had been patient with his indiscretions before, but this time was infinitely more upsetting. He had never gotten anyone pregnant. And now there would be two children he didn’t want, with a girl he barely knew, who had been asking him to leave his wife for her, which was out of the question. He had never misled any of the women he got involved with, and always told them he loved his wife. And no one had ever asked him to leave her. But as soon as Anya got pregnant, she had become totally dependent on him, like a child herself, and Gregorio was not equal to the pressure she put on him. It had been a nightmarish six months, and now the possibilities the doctors had outlined to them that night were horrifying. He felt sorry for Anya, as she sobbed in his arms, but he wasn’t in love with her, not that that mattered now. They were in this together, and there was no way out. He had to see it through. There were two tiny lives at stake, and both could be seriously impaired if they survived, which was an awesome responsibility too. He couldn’t imagine Anya handling that at twenty-three, and she had the maturity of a sixteen-year-old. She clung to him like a child that night, and he never left her side. It was a terrible situation. Gregorio was shaken by it too.
    The contractions slowed for a little while, then picked up at midnight and got stronger again, and then she started dilating. They had given her an IV of steroids to try and increase the babies’ lung capacity if they were born, but it was too early, and at four o’clock in the morning, they told them it was unlikely that her labor could be stopped. A special neonatal team was brought in while she was closely monitored and labor began in earnest, but instead of the joy of anticipation normally associated with a birth, there was a sense of dread and resignation in the room. Whatever happened now, they all knew it wouldn’t be good. The only questions were just how bad it would be and if the twins would survive.
    Anya was terrified and screamed with every pain. They gave her no drugs to ease the contractions, so as not to risk the babies further, but eventually they gave her an epidural to lessen the pain, and to Gregorio it all looked fierce. She had tubes and monitors everywhere, and as the labor progressed, both babies began to show signs of distress with each contraction, but she was fully dilated so they told her she could push. Gregorio was horrified, watching what she was going through, but stayed staunchly at her side. He finally forgot about his wife entirely, all he could think about was this poor pathetic girl, clinging to him in terror and sobbing between contractions. She was almost unrecognizable in the condition she was in. This was not the racy, flamboyant girl he had met and slept with on a lark.
    Their son was born first, at six A.M. He was blue when he emerged, a tiny infant who didn’t look fully formed and had to fight for his first breath. He was whisked away the instant the cord was cut and rolled down the hall in an incubator to the neonatal ICU with two doctors and a nurse. With a respirator already in place, the infant was struggling for his life. His skin was so thin you could see his veins through it. His heart