When I first read "The Laughing Man," I didn't pick up on the possibility of Mary being pregnant and losing the baby. After Michelle explained her theory on the sudden break-up between Mary and Chief in class, I started picking up on the story's little details that could be alluding to a pregnancy. You should read her blogpost about it here , and this blogpost is like a continuation of it with my theories on what really happened. Mary and Chief are two people dating. From the picture of her in the cap and gown hanging in the Chief's bus, I would say that she's about the same age as Chief who's 22-23. She's from Long Island while he's from Staten Island, so they meet up in Manhattan as a halfway point. I think that Mary's dentist appointments are just an excuse for her to see the Chief or even hook up, so I don't believe that she's pregnant at this point. I'm not sure what being pregnant was like in the US during the 1940s, but I d