“That little shit,” Stephanie said.
We talked for another hour, then Stephanie said she needed to get going. Tomorrow was a work day. I walked her outside and to her car. She turned to me and kissed me.
“Thank you for helping her. Regardless of what happens you know I think the world of you. That has only increased with what you’re doing and saying. If you need to talk, I’m a phone call away.”
I walked back into the house. Amber was curled up in one of the chairs, the wine glass half empty on the table beside her.
“Thanks. I didn’t want to be in that house tonight. I just wanted to get away. At least I finally got an answer. Even if he changed his mind I don’t want him to father my first child. It’s not vindictive, it’s just that I really don’t think his heart would be in it. I’ll hire myself some help if I have to. This may get convoluted. I hope we can work it out.”
I started turning off lights as she uncurled and stood. I walked with her up the stairs, holding her hand as we did. I paused at her door and said good night. She went in and closed the door. I got ready for bed. I had to get up early the next day for a meeting. It was going to be a short night. Sometime later, she came into my room and sat on the side of the bed.
“I’m sorry to wake you. Do you have any kind of sleep aid? I can’t sleep at all.”
I got up and went into the bathroom, finding some melatonin that I use to help me sleep. I gave her two pills and a glass of water. She swallowed and thanked me. I realized that I was standing there in my boxer briefs and she was in a shorty nightgown. She had long, long legs which I saw for the first time. She turned and walked away. I got back in bed, hoping I could get back to sleep. Luckily, melatonin worked for me. I slept soundly until the alarm went off later that morning. As I left for work I left her a note on the kitchen table. The house was hers as long as she needed it. I wrote that I would call her later in the morning.
After my meeting broke up I called her to see how she was doing. She sounded OK, saying she had been able to get some sleep. She had already called in sick for the day and was going to take a shower, get dressed and do some praying. I told her I would be home about six and would take her to dinner. She told me not to bother. She had already been through the kitchen and made plans to fix me dinner. I disconnected and dove into the endless pile of work to do. I got home to the wonderful smell of a home-cooked meal. The house had been so sterile for so long, the smell immediately took me back to my days with Christie. She always got home earlier than I and loved to cook. I missed that. Cooking for one is no fun.
She had made a soufflé which was just coming out of the oven. I told her the house smelled wonderful. She kissed me and thanked me for offering her a place to stay. We sat down to eat. She said grace and raised her glass in a toast to friendship and love. We clinked glasses together and took a sip of the white wine she had chosen.
“Good choice of wine,” I said to her. “This just smells incredible.”
“Dig in while it’s still hot.”
We ate and talked. She told me about praying for guidance and more about how she felt about Jeff and the future. She had some hard words, as could only be expected at some point. She was getting to anger. Nothing was said about any further plans. She was going to let this pass through her and then move on. Jeff had not called her. She was pissed about that. She had heard from Stephanie, Sheila and Faith. “My friends are more loving to me than my husband. Pitiful.”
She asked to stay again tonight. I told her to stay as long as she wanted. She went upstairs and I could hear her on the phone. She was reading Jeff the riot act for not caring, not following through, not honoring her by giving her an answer as he agreed to do. She was loud and proud, in full cry.
She came out and downstairs, fuming. “He wanted to apologize. I told him he should be on your doorstep begging me to come home. Then he got bent out of shape that I was at your house rather than at one of the girls. That was not the point. The point was he didn’t even call. He waits for me to call, then says he wants to apologize. That is just pathetic.”
She finished off her wine from dinner, then poured another glass. “I am so pissed at him. I could hear no. I didn’t want to hear no but at least it would have been an honest, forthright answer. “Not yet” is not an answer. It diminishes him in my eyes. I’m going home tomorrow. We’ll talk this out.”
We had made it to Saturday. I rolled out and took a shower. I got dressed and went downstairs. There was toast, fruit and tea on the table. I poured myself a cup of tea and sat down to a plate of fruit, nibbling at a piece of toast from time to time. I heard her coming down the stairs. Turning to see her as she came in, she gave me a big smile. She was dressed, her hair still damp. She kissed the top of my head, then sat down with me and poured herself a cup.
“Good morning! Those melatonin really help me sleep. Thanks so much.”
“No more thanks. I’m just doing what any one of your friends would do for you. We’ll be there every step of the way.”
“I’ll be on my way in a little while. I prayed a lot yesterday. I hope that God will show me the way.” She turned to me, then said, “I really would like you to be the father of my child. I would want ‘Uncle Jeremy’ to be a big part of his or her life. I’m married to Jeff and will remain so unless he chooses to divorce me. I hope he doesn’t. I think we can work through this.” She poured some more tea. “I don’t expect an answer or anything from you at this point. We’ll get to that when it’s time.”
I lazed around the house. Claudette called to ask how things were going. I told her what I knew. She sounded upbeat.
“She’s doing as good as you could expect.” She’s being clear and direct, she has a plan for herself, if not necessarily for her and her husband.”
I asked her how it was going with Daniel.
“I’m taking it slow for now. Frankly, I’m going to talk to him at some point about what Amber is doing. At some point I’ll ask him for a decision regarding parenting. A negative could possibly lead to a similar solution.”
Stephanie buzzed in, all aflutter after talking to Amber.
“She told me she said to you that she would like you to be the father of her child. That is incredible news. I think that would just be outstanding. Better you than some sperm bank donor. You could be a part of his or her life!”
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves here. Let’s see what happens one step at a time.”
“Would you really do it?”
“I told all of you I would be honored to be the father of her child.”
“She told me she would want to have sex with you, to do it naturally.”
Now that was news. I hadn’t gotten that far yet. That put a whole different spin on things. “When did she tell you that?”
“Just a little while ago. She’s home. There’s pizza boxes in the family room and dishes in the sink. Jeff is gone. She’s leaving it for him to clean up. She’s doing her wash and moving more of her clothes to the other bedroom.”