Page 1 of Fling

Chapter 1

‘Let’s go home,’ said Tara, feeling as if her life had just ended.

To her right, her husband Colin sat rigidly, trying to process the devastating news. Behind his desk, Dr White was explaining that the embryo transfer had been unsuccessful and that their third attempt at IVF had failed.

Time seemed to stand still for Tara in that moment. All she could hear was a strange ringing in her ears, as if a bomb had just been detonated. She couldn’t take in what Dr White was saying, just the piercing hum of defeat.

But Tara didn’t need to listen to know what was being said. She knew the spiel off by heart at this stage. She had known as soon as she saw the same tired, apologetic expression on Dr White’s face that her dream of motherhood would remain just that.

A dream.

‘Go home?’ Colin said, turning to her. ‘We literally just got here.’

‘I know you must be disappointed, Tara, but rest assured, there is still hope,’ Dr White said unconvincingly, as if reading from a teleprompter.

‘I’m sorry, doctor, but I can’t do this any more,’ Tara said, picking up her handbag. ‘I don’t mean to be rude but I just really want to go home.’

‘Tara, we need to know what our options are,’ Colin said, visibly frustrated by Tara’s eagerness to leave.

‘Colin, we know how this goes. This is the part where we start everything again from scratch. Back to square one.’

‘Well, many couples don’t have a successful IVF treatment until their fourth or sometimes fifth try. In fact, we had one couple who weren’t successful until their eighth round,’ Dr White explained.

Tara winced at the thought. She couldn’t bear the idea of going through the entire ordeal once more, let alone multiple times. She had retained a glimmer of hope after their first and second attempts failed but there was only so much disappointment she could take. Colin had kept telling her that the third time would be the charm. He had almost convinced her of it. Yet here she was, reliving the worst experience of her life for the third time in a row.

‘Doctor, I think it’s time we accepted that I’m not meant to be a mother,’ Tara said with a heavy heart.

‘Tara, stop that kind of talk,’ Colin said.

‘Oh come on, Colin, I’m almost thirty-seven. My eggs are basically tumbleweeds at this point.’

Dr White almost laughed, but Colin shot him a look of disapproval.

‘Tara, it’s only our third attempt. Come on, the fourth time’s the charm!’

‘You say that about every attempt, Colin. In a few years, you’ll be saying the fifteenth time lucky. We’ve spent thirty grand on this already. We need to stop throwing good money after bad,’ Tara said, still eyeing the door to leave. She felt smothered.

‘Well, maybe they have a loyalty card programme or something,’ Colin said, giving Dr White a hopeful glance.

‘Oh yeah, Colin, we’ll just get a stamp on our way out and our next one will be free. We’re talking about my eggs, not a cup of coffee,’ Tara said, rolling her eyes. ‘They don’t care about our loyalty anyway. They sold us all of those stupid add-ons that made absolutely no difference.’

‘Well, you did opt for the Premium Package,’ Dr White explained.

‘Yeah, and what do we have to show for it? I mean, for ten grand a pop, you could have thrown in a feckin’ tote bag. Or a top that says “I tried IVF and all I got was this lousy T-shirt”,’ Tara said, frustrated.

‘Tara, this is serious,’ Colin said, mortified.

Tara knew she was being ridiculous. But she also knew if she didn’t laugh, she would cry. And Tara was done crying. She had been through this rigmarole enough times to see how farcical it all was. She had every right to make jokes because that’s exactly what the whole ordeal felt like.

One big joke.

‘I completely understand your frustration, Tara,’ Dr White said. ‘But you can’t make an omelette without breaking a few eggs.’

‘Well, I’m sorry, doctor, but I ordered my eggs fertilized, not scrambled,’ Tara said, standing up. ‘Now, I’m sorry but I really just want to go home.’ Tara turned and walked out of the room, her mind fully made up. Colin sighed and sluggishly got up off his chair.

‘I’m sure she’ll come around eventually,’ Dr White said to Colin.

‘You clearly don’t know my wife,’ Colin said, as he followed Tara to the car.

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