“Give me a call when you’ll be returning to work,” Calvin called over his shoulder on his way to the front door.

“Will do,” Laurie called back, as she headed for the elevators.

“One more thing,” Calvin called, halfway out the door, keeping it open with his butt. “Give me a souvenir; get pregnant.” With that he left, and the door swung shut.

Like the arrival of a sudden summer storm, a cloud swept over Laurie’s nascent excitement. Calvin’s last comment infuriated her. Turning back to the elevator, she let loose a barrage of expletives. With all the pressure she’d been putting on herself to get pregnant and the despondency it engendered, she didn’t need more. For her, Calvin’s weighing in on the issue was akin to sexual discrimination. After all, he wasn’t about to put equivalent pressures on Jack.

Inside the elevator, she slammed the fifth-floor button with the heel of her fist. She could not believe how insensitive men could be. It was inexcusable.

Then, almost as soon as the fury had arrived, it dissipated. Sudden clairvoyance made Laurie know it was the hormones at work again, similar to her response last night with Jack and in the grocery store with the elderly woman. What surprised and embarrassed her was the speed with which such episodes took place. There wasn’t time to be rational.

Once back in her office and feeling more in control of her emotions, Laurie put in a call to her friend Shirley Schoener. She knew it was a good time, because Shirley set aside eight to nine as the time to be available for phone and e-mail communication with her infertility patients. She answered immediately.

Knowing other patients would be calling, Laurie got right down to business, telling Shirley that she and Jack were leaving for India that evening and why.

“I’m jealous,” Shirley responded. “You are going to find it so . . . interesting.”

“That’s how someone would describe something he or she didn’t like but felt the need to be diplomatic about,” Laurie responded.

“It’s just that it is difficult to characterize your response to India,” Shirley explained. “The country evokes such a wide range of emotions; it makes simple, generic descriptions useless. But I loved it!”

“We’re not going to have time to really see India,” Laurie said. “It’s going to be in and out, I’m afraid.”