Which brought her back around to Craig Harmon, anyway. He seemed like a decent guy. One who meant well. Who was asking for something valid—if way too abstract for her—and going about it in the proper way as defined by the contracts they’d signed.
Just because she’d never imagined this particular scenario when she’d considered the stipulations to which she’d agreed didn’t mean his contact was in any way wrong. Or even inappropriate. She’d talked to Tanya, too. She wasn’t legally obligated to meet with him. But he had the right to ask.
He could check to see that the baby she had was well, and recheck within reasonable time frames. He also had the right to request contact with the child. She didn’t have to grant that, either. She just couldn’t stop him from asking, unless he harassed her.
Bottom line was, she could, at any time, tell Craig Harmon to leave her alone. And he had a right to certain generic information regarding the well-being of the baby she carried.
It was all in there.
And knowing it all, even with Craig Harmon’s recent communication, she would have still chosen the Parent Portal and signed the contracts. While she had mixed emotions about the male biological component of her child, she was kind of curious to meet him. He couldn’t have her child, but her heart definitely went out to him regarding his situation with his son. And her respect for him had grown hugely, too. He didn’t give up when it came to doing what was right. Fighting for those he cared about.
Something she’d failed to do with Angie. And her top priority these days. She was going to do whatever it took to care for her small family. She’d already made arrangements to bank cord blood. And had purchased all of the necessary items to baby-proof her home. Angie had hired someone to install the cupboard and door latches in both their homes.
Amelia dialed her sister as she drove into her private garage Saturday afternoon, half an hour before she was due to see Craig.
Angie was having lunch at home with their mom in Santa Barbara while Duane played golf. She’d had a meeting with a lucrative boutique to be the exclusive carrier of Feel Good apparel there.
“Hey, when’s that guy coming to install the baby-safety items?” she asked as soon as her sister picked up. If Angie was telling Mom about Craig Harmon, she didn’t want to know. She hadn’t asked her sister not to say anything, but hoped she wouldn’t. Their mom had a tendency to worry and both Angie and Amelia fed off her emotions.
At least, that was the theory. One of many that had come via the counseling she’d sought after breaking up with Mike.
“The first Saturday in February,” Angie said. So two weeks away. “I just left Mom’s. Lunch was good,” she continued. “And no bottles. I checked all the usual places and anywhere else I could think of.”
Amelia had done her share of checking, as well. Not in a while, though. Duane had been sober for several years. Since that last horrible time when he’d gone after Angie...
Her little sister had called her that awful day, but she’d blown her off. Figuring Angie’s tears were just more of the drama from which she’d chosen to escape. Mike’s rhetoric. The whole “her choosing to escape the drama of her family life” thing. It had sounded good to her at the time. But putting thoughts like that in her head, asking things like that of her, had really just been one of the many ways in which he’d isolated her from everyone else in her life she’d ever loved.
So he could have it all. Have all of her. Thankfully she’d wised up before he’d consumed her completely.
“How was Mom?” Amelia asked, heading toward the back, secure entrance of her building.
Angie talked about their mother’s charity work. Mentioned one of her friends who’d just become a grandmother. And finished with, “She mentioned you half a dozen times, Mel. You really need to drive up here and see her.”
Angie was right, of course. But Amelia hated the tone in her sister’s voice. The one that reminded Amelia that her little sister still believed that Amelia was their mother’s favorite child. That she needed to see Amelia more than she needed to see Angie.
She wanted to believe that belief was just mor
e of Angie’s insecurity. But knew it wasn’t. Margaret Grace did appear to prefer being around Amelia. Amelia’s practicality made their mother feel secure where Angie’s constant nurturing made her feel old. At least, that was the theory.
Another takeaway from counseling.
“Did you tell her about Craig Harmon?”
“No. Why would I? He’s a phone call. A blip. Why make him a bigger part of our lives?”
Having spoken with her mom and Duane before having herself inseminated, Amelia knew that, while they wished she were married, they were fully supportive of her choice. Had offered to do anything they could to help her and had already bought a portable crib and high chair for when the baby came to visit. Since Duane quit drinking, things had definitely improved. And...you made do. She loved her mom and the only way to have her in her life was to accept Duane and try to focus on what was good about him...
“Because they’d like to know that the donor is a doctor,” she said now. And then added, “But I’m glad you didn’t. I’d just as soon keep this between me and you.”
People were curious. She generally disliked questions of a personal nature—since Mike. Her life didn’t hold up as well under scrutiny as she’d like and those who knew about that had reason to doubt the wisdom of her choices. Since she struggled with enough pressure in that area from herself, she preferred not to open herself up to more of it.
“Me, too,” Angie said. “You talked to him. It’s done.”
With a huge, uncomfortable twinge of unease, she stood in the lobby, keeping her back to the security guard over in the corner, and told Angie that she was getting on the elevator and was about to lose her.
The complete truth.
And an “out,” too. She hadn’t told Angie about the upcoming meeting. Only that she’d spoken to the doctor the night before. She’d called Angie right after she’d hung up from Craig last night.