would find themselves talking for hours just walking around
after one of her appointments. What she didn’t tell Gina was
that sometimes she headed to his side of town, pretending some errand
just so they could spend lunch together. Sometimes he called and
asked if she had plans and she dropped everything just to see him.
These past few months they had been spending a lot of time together.
He texted her every morning just to see how she was. She wasn’t
imagining any of that was she? But what kind of person did that make
her. A horrible one she thought immediately. Her phone ringing
startled her.
“ Hello?” she said.
“ Ettie. Hi it’s Roy.”
Ettie blushed. She was just thinking about him.
“ Hello,” she said softly.
“ I was just checking on you. How are you
feeling today?” he asked.
“ Much better. Thank you.”
“ Ettie is everything okay,” Roy asked
concerned.
“ Yes. Why?” she replied.
“ Nothing. You just sound...different.”
“ I’m just tired,” she answered
quickly.
“ Oh I’m sorry. I should let you rest,”
Roy replied.
“ Okay. I’ll see you Thursday,”
Ettie said.
“ Yes, Melissa and I can’t wait. Dr.
Blue said we might be able to tell the sex this time,” Roy said
excitedly.
“ Oh is Melissa coming? That’s great,”
Ettie said forcing enthusiasm in her voice.
“ She knows this is an important one. She
wouldn’t miss it for anything. Well, get some rest. I’ll
check in tomorrow,” Roy said disconnecting the call.
His words had snapped Ettie back to reality. She was having their
child. His and Melissa’s. He wasn’t spending time with
her for any reason other than that. She was an idiot. And Gina was
right. This was all his appreciation for her giving them this gift.
She was just letting pregnancy hormones cloud her judgment.
Roy hung up the phone his mind working on overdrive. Ettie had indeed
sounded different. He wondered if something was bothering her. It was
crazy but in this short time he had grown to know her very well, and
he could tell something was on her mind. She was normally reserved
but when she was upset she got especially quiet like she did just
then. He had grown to care for her deeply. Roy even looked forward to
seeing her, to the point that he made excuses for them to see one
another. He knew it was wrong and he didn’t dare tell Melissa,
afraid that she wouldn’t understand. It was just that Ettie
shared his excitement for the growing life inside of her while
Melissa was always too busy to be bothered. At first he was hurt by
her seeming indifference but Ettie made him feel better about it. He
knew that was just Melissa’s way so he overlooked it. He was
just glad she was coming to the appointment this week. It was a major
milestone. Dr. Blue believed they would be able to tell the sex of
the baby. He thought he would want to be surprised but he was itching
to buy all the things his child needed, looked forward to decorating
the nursery. Roy laughed to himself. He was so mushy these days. He
guessed that fatherhood was making him a softie. All he knew was that
he wanted to give his baby everything he or she could possibly want.
Melissa got home at around seven that night, and called out to Roy.
He had just finished eating the dinner Ellen had prepared and was in
the media room relaxing. While CNN played softly in the background,
he was catching up with his email.
“ In the den Mel,” he called out.
“ Hi honey,” she said kissing him on
the forehead.
Roy pressed the mute button and laid his tablet
aside.
“ Hello beautiful,” he said with a
smile. ”How was work?”
“ Oh you know,” Melissa replied taking
a seat next to him. “Busy as always. I have a big event tomorrow, the women's luncheon. I think I told you about it the other night.”
“ How is that going?” he asked.
Roy patted his leg and Melissa gladly kicked her heels off and let
him give her a foot rub.
“ Oh that is wonderful,” she said
sighing.