The door swung gently to behind Ted. Meredith felt that she couldn't hold it in any longer. Anna might not be her best friend, but she was Anna and she was a woman. Meredith looked at Anna and started to cry.

"Oh, oh, it's okay," said Anna. Instinct taking over, she forgot her dislike for the other woman and put her arms around her, held her, led her to the sofa. "It's okay, honey, it's okay. It's going to be okay." Meredith sobbed silently in her arms.

When Meredith had a little more control of herself she said softly, "I broke up with Ted."

I figured, thought Anna, but refrained from saying anything out loud, and just kept rubbing Meredith's back.

"I -- I can't tell him why," Meredith said. She didn't want anyone to know, but she needed to talk about it. "I haven't told anyone."

Anna could feel something awful coming on. She didn't want to know. "It's okay, honey, it's okay. You can tell me if you want. I won't tell anyone."

Meredith wanted someone to tell her it was okay. "I -- I got pregnant."

Oh, it was going to be really bad. Anna focused on keeping her hand moving on Meredith's back, up and down, round and round.

"I don't love him," Meredith said. "I mean, I love him, Ted, he's wonderful, I'll always love him. But -- I don't want to marry him. You know?"

"I know, I know," said Anna. "It's okay. I know."

"And I knew if I told him, he'd want to take care of it, get married, or give me money, and he'd be unhappy," said Meredith, starting to cry again. She didn't think she could say that word. "So -- I took care of it. And he can't know, okay?"

"Okay, okay," crooned Anna. "It's going to be okay."

"But now -- I can't go out with him anymore. Because -- I know I don't love him -- like that. I know. I mean, I knew before, but I know now. And I can't -- I just can't--"

"I know," said Anna, "I know. It's going to be okay."

Meredith's sobbing was quieting down again when the door to the kitchen opened.