Chapter 114
0114 (Sheila POV) I put the two pregnancy tests in my purse and headed over to the packhouse. I knew that I probably only had one chance to make my plan work, and that plan centered on Margie being fully on board. No one said anything to me as I made my way to the beta suite. I was a regular there, and that came with its benefits. Margie greeted me happily at the door before I even knocked. “Well, hello, dear. I did not know that you were coming by today.” “Good morning, Margie. I am so sorry to bother you, but I was thinking about Stephanie and feeling down. I thought it might make me feel better to come and talk to you about her. You know her birthday is coming up.” Margie frowned. “Yes, I have been thinking about her birthday as well. Why don’t you come in and we can talk about her for a while. I will make you some tea.” I smiled sweetly. “Thank you, Margie. I was hoping that you would say that.” I walked with Margie into her kitchen and sat down on one of the bar stools. Margie fiddled around in her cabinets for a few minutes, brewed some hot water, and then handed me a cup. She then sat down on a stool next to me. I smelled the cup of tea. “Peppermint tea. Stephanie’s favorite.” Margie smiled. “Yes. I used to hate peppermint, but Stephanie loved peppermint so much that I have. been trying to incorporate it into my diet more and more since she died. Six years later, and I am still struggling with it, but I can at least enjoy it in the tea.” I gave Margie a sad smile. “Stephanie did not care what the peppermint was in. Peppermint candy. peppermint cookies, peppermint tea, peppermint ice cream. She loved it all.” Margie reached over and gently grabbed my hand. “Stephanie was so lucky to have a friend like you. So many people in this pack have wanted to move on and forget her, but you never have. You have always done what you can to keep her memory alive.” “Of course. How could I not? She was my best friend. She was like a sister to me.” “And you were like a sister to her, too, Sheila. In fact, you were more like a sister to her than her own flesh and blood.” I nodded. We chatted for a while longer, talking about various things that Stephanie used to like and do. Finally, I decided I needed to make my move. I looked down at my hands. “Margie, I hate to bring this up, but…” “What is wrong dear?” “Oh, Margie. Nevermind. I do not want to trouble you with it.” “Sheila, you could never trouble me with anything. As long as you always make sure to honor Stephanie and her memory, you will always have a special place in my heart.” “I know, but…. It has to do with James.” “Oh, I understand now. Jane told me that he abandoned you in Hawaii. I was so upset with Jane about him doing that to you. You showed me the text messages that Stephanie sent you before she died; she wanted you to be with James if she could not be. And James clearly likes you; I do not know why he is being so stubborn.” I pretended to hold back tears. “Well, it is not entirely his fault. Something happened in Hawaii.” Margie wrinkled her eye-brows. “Sheila, what happened? Whatever it is, you can tell me.” “Are you sure? It is sort-of embarrassing, but I really do not have anyone else to talk to now that Stephanie is gone.” “Oh, honey, of course. You can tell me anything. And I will help you however I can.” I took a deep breath and pretended to compose myself. I pulled the pregnancy tests out of my purse and showed them to Margie. “I found out that I was pregnant just before we left for Hawaii.” Margie’s eyes got bigger. “What?” I nodded and forced myself to cry a little bit. “I wanted to tell James while we were in Hawaii. I thought that he would be happy and want to celebrate. But he reacted really badly. He told me that he did not want to have a pup with anyone other than Stephanie.” I paused to sniffle a few times, and I thought of every sad thing I could until tears started to fall. “And… and Margie… he even accused me of getting pregnant with som