Seeming to relax, she finally picked up her sandwich and took a bite.
“No, well I’m not sure but I called his brother last week and he said the lawsuit was laughable. He recommended some lawyers, but Ethan has a lawyer he has on retainer, so I was considering using him. I just don’t want Ethan to know. Not yet. He’s going to be furious that I met with him at all.”
“Why did you?” I asked, feeling like it was a very stupid question. She looked down at her lap and grew quiet.
“I don’t know. I don’t even know how he got my phone number. He called me and asked if we could talk. I told him no at first, but then he promised he’d be civil, and we could be in a public place. I kind of thought maybe we could get some closure.”
I said nothing. I understood the need for closure. At one time, I had wanted it with Thomas. Now I had it, but it wasn’t very satisfying. He was the same man I had broken up with. I was sure that Christopher hadn’t changed either.
“I think you have to accept that you might not get the closure you expect. He’s not well. He travelled across the country just to sue you. You are putting yourself and everyone around you in danger with keeping in contact with him.”
She bit her lip.
“I never understood what it was about him that drew me in. He told me to jump and I’d say how high. I guess I still feel guilty that I hid the truth from him for so long. From both of them.”
“You should really tell Ethan. He could help,” I urged. She hesitated, but finally nodded.
“I wasn’t planning on seeing Chris again, unless it’s in a courtroom. I’ll tell Ethan. Just let me do it please.” She placed one hand on the table and the other on her growing belly. Smiling, she wiggled her hand for me to take it. It still didn’t feel right. Was she using the baby to make me promise not to tell anyone her secret? I reached over and she squeezed my hand tightly. I made a silent prayer that this wasn’t the biggest mistake of my life. Something about it felt like it was.
* * *
Adrian was taking Rocky from my arms to take him home for the evening.
“Hey, do you guys have plans this weekend? Chase wanted to go out for a mini celebration for Rocky. We missed his six month, but he’s seven months old on Saturday.” I gave him a confused look and he chuckled.
“Do they do that now? Celebrate the months?”
“I guess. I don’t know. Half the time I’m just along for the ride. This is just as much new to me as it is to you. Well him too, but he likes to make a big deal out of every little thing he learns. You know, the whole almost dying thing really changes a person’s appreciation for the little things,” he explained. I reached out to squeeze Rocky’s tiny cheek. He smiled at me and my heart melted.
“We’ll be there. Just let us know the time and place.” He lit up told me he’d be in touch.
When Mark came home that night, I told him about dinner and he rolled his eyes.
“We are not doing that for Tot. Don’t get me wrong, Rocky is a cute little man, but I am not throwing a party every time the baby poops.”
When Saturday came, we were told to dress nice, so I put on a plum colored cocktail dress. The restaurant they picked wasn’t exactly kid friendly. I made a comment to Adrian about it and he explained that they had reserved a private room.
“Do we need to get a gift?” Mark moaned. I realized that I didn’t know. What was the proper etiquette for things like this?
“Well it’s a little late now. Let’s just go. I need a drink,” I said. It had been a long day. I finally decided it was time to call my parents and tell them the good news.
Overall the phone call went well. They were happy for me, although confused about the medical side of it. I didn’t come home often, or call often for that matter, so when I did contact them the phone calls typically lasted a few hours. Today was no exception.
My mother had told me every piece of gossip she had from her church quilting group and Dad talked about the shows he was watching. They were sweet and their intentions were good, but I just couldn’t handle living the small town life they enjoyed so much. If I hadn’t met Thomas I would have stayed and become a carbon copy of my mother. I guess that was the only good thing I could take away from that relationship.
I told Mark about my day while we drove to the restaurant and he laughed.
“Oh fun. Can you make that call for me tomorrow to my folks? Be sure to explain that we are still not moving back to Michigan.”
“I offered to buy them tickets to come out after he’s born and they didn’t take them,” I murmured. Despite their love for me, they refused to leave their small world.
He reached for my hand across the seat.
“I’m sorry baby. Don’t take it personally. You know how they are,” he rubbed his thumb over my knuckles, soothing me. He was right, it was to be expected. We were quickly escorted to the party room when we arrived. Silver and blue balloons were placed around the room. The rest of the decor matched the balloons. It appeared that we were the last ones to arrive. We quickly took our seats across from the Andrews’.
“You’re not the last ones. Derek is still missing,” Chase said from the head of the table. Adrian was on his right, with Rocky on his left in a highchair.
“Where is he?” I asked, but no one seemed to know. He showed up about ten minutes later, dressed in a maroon suit and looking more than a little frazzled.
