Another Man's Child

“Oh, my God!” Lisa gasped, reeling from the ramifications of her father’s news. What have I done?

“Marcus is strong, Lis. He’ll come around. Give him some time.”

“I never would have had the insemination if I’d known that. Never. I did this for him, Dad. Because I couldn’t bear the thought of him leaving me to have my wonderful life with someone else while he sentenced himself to a life of loneliness. But now it sounds like all I’ve done is sentence him myself.” She wiped at the tears streaming down her face. She couldn’t stop them now.

“Did you tell Marcus all that?”

“Of course.”

“And?”

“It didn’t seem to make any difference.”

“What did he say, honey?”

“Nothing.” Lisa’s voice broke. “I explained everything. I told him how much I loved him, and he walked out, anyway. I haven’t heard from him since.”

“And you’ve been there all alone since yesterday?”

“I don’t know when he’ll be back, and I don’t want to miss him.” She sniffled and wiped her eyes. “I’m just glad I’m not on call.” For the first time in years, Lisa hadn’t even been thinking about her job.

“I’m coming over,” Oliver said, sounding the way he had when she was a kid.

Lisa smiled in spite of her tears. “It’s okay, Dad. I’m a big girl now. I made this mess, and somehow I’m going to have to live with it. Besides, I’d rather be here alone when he comes back. I might only get this one chance to turn him around. But thanks.”

Oliver harumphed and then fell silent for a few moments. “He’ll be back, you know,” he finally said.

“I know.”

“But I can still come over and stay with you until he gets there. Lord knows you have enough rooms in that house of his.”

“Maybe. If he’s not back by tomorrow. Just for dinner or something,” Lisa conceded. She’d be grateful for her father’s presence.

“You’ll call if you need anything?”

“Of course.”

“So…I’m going to be a grandpa?” Lisa heard the emotion in his voice. At least someone was happy about her news.

“Yeah.”

“And you’re feeling okay?”

“Beth says everything looks great.”

“Congratulations, sweetie.” His soft words brought a fresh wave of tears to her eyes.

“Yeah. You, too.”

“Lisa? For what it’s worth, I think you did the right thing. Marcus had already made up his mind to free you, give you a chance at your dreams. Now you’ve given him a chance to have his, too.”

LISA MADE IT through the second long night comforting herself with her father’s words, but as the weekend wore on with still no sign of Marcus, no word at all, she finally called his office only to find out from security that he hadn’t been in all weekend. She could no longer hold her panic at bay. What if something had happened to him? What if she’d hurt him so badly he’d done something foolish? What if he hated her so much their marriage was over? What if he never came back?

By Sunday afternoon Lisa was sitting on the bathroom floor in their master suite, dressed in a pair of jean shorts and one of Marcus’s old T-shirts, her stomach tormenting her as thoroughly as her rambling thoughts. She prayed she wasn’t going to be sick, not while she was alone. She knew her fear of being sick was irrational, that it was a direct result of the days of her little sister’s illness, the many times she’d watched helplessly as the medicine they’d given Sara had made the four-year-old violently ill.

She’d watched—hiding in the bedroom closet—as her baby sister died. And she’d sworn to herself then that she was going to be a pediatrician when she grew up. She was going to cure little kids like Sara so they didn’t have to suffer so. And she was going to have a house full of children, too, so she could hear Sara’s laughter again.

But as much as she wanted this child, as thrilled as she was every time she thought about the life growing inside her, the pregnancy meant nothing without Marcus….