A cruel deception astounded my extended family recently. The story played out like something from a movie or a novel or even a scripted "reality show", but it was an actual event, or series of events, that in the end seemed unfathomable.
It began at the end of last summer with the announcement from "Donald" and "Daisy" that their six year old daughter, "Dora", would be joined by a little brother or sister in February. The whole family - grandparents, siblings, cousins, aunts and uncles - rejoiced with the young couple. When the first ultrasound (which was delayed several times by either a doctor's absence or conflicts with the parents' work schedule) confirmed that the baby was a boy, a name was chosen and work was begun on the nursery.
During the Christmas holidays, Donald was thrown from a motor vehicle in an accident. He suffered multiple contusions and a concussion, and while his injuries were not life-threatening, they were serious and he looked pretty awful for awhile - the episode was sobering for the whole family. Therefore, the elaborate baby shower held by Daisy's mother in late January was a celebration of a life saved as well as a new life about to begin. Daisy beamed with joy that day; it was remarked that pregnancy agreed with her as she had no swelling and her belly did not seem hugely expanded. Those observations seemed more understandable when her due date arrived and the doctor told her she wasn't ready - she should go home and wait another week or two. Donald, Daisy and Dora visited a professional photographer to pose for a set of pregnancy portraits and then, three weeks after her due date, a Cesarean was scheduled.
Daisy posted updates and comments almost daily on Facebook. My sister received an affectionate message from Daisy the night before, "Aren't you excited? Tomorrow you will hold your grandson for the first time!"
Next morning, I anxiously awaited the phone call heralding the birth of my new nephew. I didn't have to wait long. My sister phoned at nine o'clock. There was a short silence and then she blurted, "There is no baby!" With disbelief I countered, "Was it stillborn?" and she replied, "Daisy is not even pregnant!"
I was horrified but in retrospect not totally surprised. Poor Sister's grief and disbelief were of more importance at the moment, although she admitted that she, too, had had doubts but kept pushing them aside. As the story unfolded, the magnitude of the deceit was overwhelming. Daisy claimed that she lost the baby shortly after Donald's accident but didn't tell him (or anyone else) because she felt he would feel responsible for the stress that caused the miscarriage, and that fact might hinder his healing. A story that might be remotely plausible but didn't explain why she continued the charade for two months after Donald had recovered, why she allowed the shower to proceed, why she had the photographs taken, why she sent heartrending messages to her family. On a whim, I did a search for ultrasounds on the internet, quickly found a stock photo that was identical to Daisy's except for her name and the date, which had obviously been photoshopped.
When confronted with these facts, Daisy said she was sorry that people couldn't just put the past behind and move on.
She did not apologize.
tag (fake pregnancy)
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