Chapter Two

Margo describes how Mark, a married junior college professor with two children, focused their relationship on books, dinners, and his tastes. After five sexual encounters, Mark declares the sex must stop due to guilt, yet insists on continuing their emotional relationship with meals and love emails.

While this nonphysical arrangement continues, Margo falls ill and discovers she is pregnant. She confides in her mother, Shyanne, who responds with blunt concern and donuts. At dinner, Margo tells Mark. He assumes she will get an abortion and offers logistical and financial support. Bristling at his control, Margo asserts it is her choice, then softens during a make-out in his car, admitting she will probably have one but does not want to be forced.

Mark unexpectedly goes silent, then sends a long email ending contact and urging abortion as the sensible path, framing it as aligned with Margo’s best interests. Margo, stung by the power imbalance and his retreat, calls her estranged friend Becca in New York. They argue: Becca frames the decision as financial and practical; Margo grapples with morality, identity, and the emptiness of her current path.

Seeking clarity, Margo schedules an early ob-gyn appointment. During a transvaginal ultrasound, she hears the rapid heartbeat and learns she is approximately eight weeks pregnant. The clinical language and image—a tiny, deformed dove—move her to tears.

Afterward, the doctor offers to discuss options. Holding the printouts, Margo remains undecided, suspended between competing pressures, values, and the tangible presence of the fetus.