Pregnant Woman's Takeout Request; Future Me Fought Comments

The lunch delivery had just arrived downstairs when Jacqueline Fletcher, pregnant, smiled at me and said, Ellie, my food's here too. Do me a favor and grab it for me? Thanks!

I was about to say yes when my phone rang.

The voice on the other end sounded a lot like mine.

Don't touch that delivery! I'm you, three years from now. The baby in Jacqueline's belly is already dead, and she's about to use it to pin everything on you!

Something dropped in my chest.

Jacqueline really hadn't looked well lately, and she'd taken two sick days.

I opened my mouth to refuse, and a row of live comments floated past my eyes.

Whatever you do, don't refuse! If you refuse, Jacqueline will collapse on the way to get the delivery, and she'll lose the baby!

You'll end up torn apart online, so depressed you kill yourself, and your parents will drop dead from the shock!

I froze in place. The two warnings said opposite things.

Which one was I supposed to trust?

Just then, Jacqueline pressed me. "Ellie? Why haven't you gone yet?"

Jacqueline stood beside me in a loose maternity dress, looking gentle and harmless.

Everyone in an office instinctively goes easy on a pregnant woman.

The coworkers around the desks turned to look at me one after another, scolding.

"Ellie, you can't be that cold, can you? It's such a small favor."

"Right, Jacqueline's pregnant. Moving around is hard for her. It's just going downstairs for a delivery. Takes two seconds."

"What's wrong with young people these days, so petty, no sense of common courtesy at all."

The chorus of voices pressed down until my scalp went tight.

Jacqueline cradled her belly, all understanding. "It's fine, Ellie. If it's a hassle for you, really, don't worry about it. My belly's just heavy and I honestly can't walk much, or I wouldn't have bothered you."

The more sweet and pitiful she played it, the more everyone else would decide I was heartless.

I smiled bitterly to myself.

On any normal day, forget grabbing one delivery, I'd have carried things up for her a dozen times without a second thought.

But today was a little different.

The live comments floated by again.

Go down now! Let everyone see you grab her delivery for her!

I clenched my back teeth.

"Oh, sure thing, Jacqueline." I nodded, but my mind was racing.

Both sides were warning me, which meant there was a trap waiting whether I refused or agreed.

So what if I chose neither?

I pulled out my phone and messaged the driver on that delivery order. Hey, could you bring my order and the other one up to the office together? Recipient's name is Jacqueline, phone ends in 8823. I'll send you an extra hundred for the trouble. That work?

He replied with some silly OK sticker.

Reading it, I quietly let out a breath.

I looked up and explained to Jacqueline, "Jacqueline, I just checked. The driver says he'll bring it straight up, so I don't need to go down."

Jacqueline's smile stiffened.

The hand on her lower back shifted position. "That's great. But I really can't manage right now, so when the food gets here, could I trouble you to bring mine over to my desk? Okay?"

I nodded lightly. "Sure, Jacqueline. No problem."

Not two minutes later, the elevator doors opened and the driver stepped out with two neatly packed orders.

I went to meet him, and he held both out to me.

I reached out and took only my own, then told him carefully, "Hey, could you do me a favor and hand hers directly to her? She's pregnant, it's hard for her to carry it. I'll send you another fifty for the trouble."

I didn't touch it. It never passed through my hands.

Every possibility, cut off.

The delivery guy agreed easily.

I walked him over to Jacqueline's desk, and he set the food down in front of her.

"Ma'am, your delivery. Enjoy your meal."

Jacqueline forced a smile at him. "You really didn't have to bring it up yourself."

"Ms. Gray asked me to. She said you couldn't come down, and told me to make sure it got right into your hands."

I pulled out my phone, scanned his code, and sent him a hundred and fifty.

He thanked me over and over, then jogged out of the office.

I said, my tone sincere,

"Jacqueline, eat while it's hot. You're pregnant, you really can't let the baby go hungry. The baby's the most important thing."

Jacqueline's whole body stiffened, like the words had hit a nerve.

The corner of her mouth twitched.

"Okay... okay, thanks, Ellie."

I sat back down at my desk, opened my own lunch, and started eating.

I'd gotten her food for her, but I never once touched that bag.

So whatever happened to the baby couldn't be pinned on me now.

Then, behind me, someone sucked in a sharp breath.

Jacqueline screamed. "It hurts! My stomach, it hurts so much!"

I spun around.

She was doubled over in her chair, face drained of color, one hand clamped hard over her belly.

Everyone rushed over at once.

"What's wrong, Jacqueline? Did you eat something bad?"

"You look awful! Sit down, take it easy!"

"Don't waste time! Call 911, get an ambulance!"

One coworker already had a phone out, ready to dial.

But Jacqueline, shaking all over, waved her hand and stopped him.

"Don't call 911. The ambulance is too slow."

She lifted her face to me, her voice full of pain.

"Ellie, you drove today, right? Take me to the hospital. A car's faster. Please, hurry, take me!"

In an instant, everyone was looking at me.

Right then my phone screen lit up. A text came through.

Do not take her! The second you drive her to the hospital, she'll swear the bumpy ride is what stopped the baby's heart, and pin the whole death on you!

Alarm bells went off inside me. My blood ran cold.

Then another line of comments drifted across my vision.

Take her now! If you refuse, your coworkers will call you heartless. You'll get flamed online until it destroys you!

Two warnings, opposite again.

My head was buzzing.

Jacqueline let out another cry of pain, hand pressed to her belly, and when I didn't answer, the coworkers piled on.

"Ellie? What are you standing there for? Jacqueline's in agony!"

"Exactly, this is life and death! What is with you today? First you drag your feet over grabbing her food, and now she's in this much pain and you're just sitting there?"

"Eleanor, do you have some kind of grudge against her?"

I clenched my teeth and decided to gamble.

I crouched down in front of Jacqueline and spoke as earnestly as I could.

"Jacqueline, it's not that I won't take you. I only got my license last month. I'm still on my learner's period, a brand-new driver, and I'm really unsteady behind the wheel."

"Your situation is delicate right now. The baby can't handle any jolting. If I hit a bump and something happens to the baby, I honestly can't carry that responsibility. Why don't we just wait for 911?"

Jacqueline's voice broke. "Eleanor, is it that you look down on me? Are you scared my stomach will bleed and dirty up your new car?"

The coworkers around us blew up at once.

"Eleanor, are you serious? She's in this much pain and you're worried about whether your car gets dirty?"

"Right, is a car more important than a life?"

"Corey, don't" Jacqueline weakly grabbed his arm. "Ellie's young, she doesn't think things through. I understand."

Her being so understanding only made everyone angrier.

One coworker said coldly, "So heartless. She always seemed like such a kind person. Turns out it was all an act!"

Just then, the door to the director's office opened.

Dustin Finch stepped out of his office, swept a glance over the crowd bunched together, and frowned. "What's going on here?"

A couple of coworkers gave him the story in a few sentences.

When he'd heard it, his eyes landed on me. "Ellie, quit dragging your feet. A life's at stake. Get Jacqueline to the hospital, now."

"Mr. Finch, I"

He waved me off. "Do as I say."

I opened my mouth, but the refusal had nowhere to go except back down my throat.

Something went cold in my chest.

If I said no one more time, I'd be openly defying my boss and would look exactly like someone who'd let a woman die.

Refuse, and I'd be blacklisted across the whole company, dragged by the online mob, my job gone, my reputation finished.

Go, and every ounce of blame for the baby they couldn't save would get pinned on my shaky driving.

Either way, a dead end.

I dug my nails into my palms and made myself nod. "Fine. I'll take her."

All I could do now was hope they'd get there fast.

I stepped forward, carefully steadied Jacqueline, and walked her slowly out of the work floor.

I kept her upright the whole way to my car and eased her gently into the back seat.

Once she was in, she sank back against the seat and let out a long breath.

Then her head lolled to the side and she went limp against the cushions.

"Jacqueline? Jacqueline!" I patted her shoulder twice. Nothing.

She really had passed out.

I pulled out my phone to check the time, and the wail of an ambulance came down the street.

They were here.

Back when Jacqueline first started crying out in pain, I'd already texted my cousin, who's a doctor, telling him there was a pregnant woman at the office with stomach pain and to send an ambulance fast.

When the two paramedics came running up with the stretcher, I was standing outside the car door, holding my phone out to show them her condition.

"She's pregnant, sudden abdominal pain, then she blacked out. Her hands felt cold when I touched them. She went under about a minute ago." I got it all out in one breath.

The paramedics lifted Jacqueline off the back seat with brisk, practiced hands, laid her flat on the stretcher, and got to work, blood pressure cuff, oxygen mask, the whole sequence.

When they slid the stretcher into the back of the ambulance, I climbed in after it without a word.

"Family?"

"Coworker. I'm going with her."

At the hospital, Jacqueline was wheeled into the trauma room, and I sat waiting on a chair outside.

The doctor came out and pulled down his mask. "We couldn't save the baby."

Right then a man came charging down the far end of the corridor, his whole face frantic and furious.

Had to be Jacqueline's husband. I'd seen him come pick her up after work before.

He grabbed me by the collar and roared, his voice ragged. "You're the one who was driving? Did you drive too fast and shake my baby loose? You just got your goddamn license and you thought you could drive?!"

He shook me by the collar and the back of my head cracked against the wall, a dull throb spreading through my skull.

Just then the door behind me opened again and Jacqueline's bed was wheeled out.

She saw me, pointed, and sobbed. "She's the one who was driving! She just got her license, the car jolted over and over on the way, and it hurt so bad I couldn't stand it!"

I looked Jacqueline dead in the eye, calm.

"Jacqueline, you passed out the whole ride, right? So how exactly would you know whether I drove smoothly or not?"

Her eyes darted away. She had no answer.

Then she screamed.

"You jolted me so hard it woke me up from being knocked out! You just got your license, this is on you! Give me back my baby!"

My voice went cold. "It's true I just got my license. It's true I'm not a confident driver yet."

"And you knew all of that, Jacqueline. You knew I was a beginner, that I wasn't steady behind the wheel, and you still begged me to drive you to the hospital."

Called out, Jacqueline broke into a shriek.

"You liar! You killed my baby! You're a murderer! You give me back my child!"

In front of me the comments were flooding past.

Just apologize! Calm the pregnant woman down first!

She's just heartbroken, she doesn't really blame you!

Soften up a little, admit fault, keep it from blowing up!

I frowned at the stream of comments.

If I apologized now, that was as good as admitting in front of everyone that my driving had shaken the baby loose. That would make me a murderer, locked in.

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Jacqueline sneaking looks at the space in front of me.

She could see the comments?

I drew a slow breath and hardened my tone.

"Jacqueline, something terrible happened, and I know you're both devastated. But you can't just say whatever you want. You know perfectly well how that baby was lost. If you think it's my fault, call the police. Let them pull the surveillance footage. Let them check the records."

"Whatever I'm responsible for, I won't shrug off a cent of it. But a blame that isn't mine to carry, I will never take."

With that, I turned and walked straight out of the hospital.

That night my phone blew up.

Rookie Female Driver Jolts Pregnant Woman Into Losing Her Baby was trending.

The photo attached was my driver's license. Five thousand comments in the thread, every one of them cursing me out.

"This woman is a straight-up killer."

"Just got her license and she's hauling a pregnant woman around? What's going through her head?"

"Heard she's stone-cold at work too. A coworker asked her to grab a food delivery once and she wouldn't even do that."

Within a few hours my name, my company details, my private social accounts were all dug up and thrown wide open.

The online mob came down like a flood, and from start to finish I never explained, never responded.

The stage was set. The bigger it got, the better.

After all, the higher you climb, the harder you fall.

Early the next morning, I pulled myself together and went in to work like any other day.

The company entrance was packed with a dark mass of people.

A row of cameras stood ready, independent bloggers crouched on the steps livestreaming from their phones, and several microphones carried the logos of different TV stations.

Jacqueline sat in a wheelchair, her husband standing beside her.

The moment she saw me climb out of the taxi, she struggled up out of the chair, jabbed a finger at me, and yelled.

"That's her! She's the one who killed my baby! And she still hasn't given me a single word of apology!"

Every lens swung my way at once, flashes going off in a solid wall of light. Half-blinded, I squinted and threw up a hand on instinct to shield my face.

Several microphones were shoved right up to my mouth.

"Are you Eleanor Gray, the one who caused a pregnant woman to lose her baby?"

"Do you have any response to Ms. Fletcher's accusations? Are you considering an apology?"

"Did you really just get your license?"

"How did you feel that day when you learned the baby was gone?"

I looked around at all of them and kept my voice level.

"Jacqueline, do you still stand by it? That I killed your baby with my driving?"

Jacqueline sobbed until she could barely catch her breath. "It was you! Are you still going to lie about it now?"

I looked at her, and the corner of my mouth lifted before I could stop it.

"Who said you were ever in my car yesterday?"