Truth or Dare by Peg Cochran

leaving her weak and sweaty. 
         She looked around the crowded room. Voices hummed loudly, blending with the whirring of the cappuccino machine.  There was a couple over by the front window.  The girl had a butterfly tattoo on her wrist, and he had thick black, spiky hair.  She squinted and tried to see them more clearly.  They definitely looked way younger than Ed and Maureen’s picture on the web site Mary had found for her.
         She glanced around some more and noticed another couple back in the corner at one of the smaller tables.  They were both wearing the sort of clothes people wore for hiking—rough sandals and dark socks, khaki shorts with deep pockets on the sides and windbreakers—hers was red and his was navy blue.  Strange to think that if everything turned out okay, her baby might go to live with these people.
         Their heads swiveled in Deirdre's direction, and the woman gave a tentative wave.  Deirdre smiled and walked in their direction.  They looked to be almost as old as her parents which surprised her, but she supposed that wasn’t really all that old, considering her mother had gotten pregnant with her her junior year in college and had left school shortly afterwards to marry her father.
         They seemed nice enough. The man insisted on dragging over an extra chair for her to put her feet up, and the woman ran to fetch her a glass of water.   
    "So, can you feel it moving yet?"  Maureen asked.
         Deirdre could tell she wanted to touch Deirdre’s stomach but was afraid to ask.     Deirdre shook her head.  "Not yet.  But the doctor said any day now."
         "I'd like to go with you on your next visit."  Maureen put her hand over Deirdre's.  "To the doctor."  She smiled.  “I don’t want to think of you going by yourself.” 
         “That would be nice.”  Deirdre smiled, too.  How weird that this total stranger was willing to go to the doctor with her.
    "You won't have to go through this alone.  Not now that we're here."  Maureen put her hand over Deirdre's again.
         Ed cleared his throat.  "We've brought you a little present."  He took a package from beside his chair and handed it to Deirdre.  "Go on, open it."
         Deirdre pulled off the ribbon and then tore off the pink paper.  It was a very expensive brand of MP3 player.
         "You can put all your music on there."   Ed tapped the package with a finger.
         "You don’t already have one do you?  Because we can exchange it."  Maureen looked alarmed.
    "No.  This is so nice of you."  Deirdre smiled at them and they leaned back in their chairs looking relieved.
         "Anything you need, you call us."  Ed said with an emphatic nod of his head.  "We're with you every step of the way."
         “That’s right, dear.”  Maureen patted Deirdre’s hand again.  “Every step of the way.”
         "Your baby is going to have the best of everything, isn't that right, Maureen?"  Ed turned toward his wife, and she nodded.
         "It's just that we've wanted a baby for so long," Maureen fiddled with the long, gray-flecked braid hanging over her shoulder.  "We couldn’t believe it when you called. We've been so excited, neither Ed nor I could hardly sleep."
         This time, Ed nodded.  "Remember," he pointed a finger at Deirdre, "if you need anything, anything at all, you call us.  It doesn't matter when or where, we'll be there."
         This weird, warm feeling spread through Deirdre.  She wasn't going to be alone through this.  These nice people were going to take care of her.
         All she had to do was give them her baby when it was over.

 
     
          
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter 11
     
         Rivka could barely concentrate on what Mrs. Baker was saying.  Her eyes kept closing, and once or twice her chin actually dropped to her chest, waking her with a start.  It didn't help that the room was sweltering, and the