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“Mom, how are you?”
“I’m fine, son,” she says and proceeds to update me on what she and my dad have been up to. Calls with my mother are never brief and to the point. She takes her time before getting to the reason why she called.
“We want to invite you and Cora for dinner on Friday. Your father and I would like to see more of her. She’s going to be the mother of our grandchild after all.”
I’m glad that I don’t have to lie to her. “Can’t this week.” I tell her about the conference and sort of imply that Cora is busy too. We agree to arrange some other time, and we hang up.
That’s another problem I’ll have to deal with. Explaining to my parents where Cora is and making up excuses why we can’t be one big happy family.
Chapter 15
Cora
I can’t believe that Thomas hasn’t called or texted me. I’m the one who was upset, not him. I hold the phone and contemplate calling him. It’s not the first or second time that I’ve done this. I’ve been able to resist calling him, but today, I’ve reached the end of my tether.
Doesn’t he want to know how the baby is doing? What is he upset about? I hit call before I can change my mind. The call goes straight to voice mail. Thomas never switches off his phone. Something must be wrong.
With my heart pounding, I dial his office number while telling myself that if something had happened to him, Fran would have told me. I hate myself for being weak. For not ignoring him like he’s ignoring me, but it’s not just about me now.
We have a baby on the way, and he can’t just disappear from my life like that. Brenda picks up the phone on the second ring.
“Good morning, Dr. Clarkson’s office; how may I help you?”
“Hi Brenda, this is Cora. I tried calling Dr. Clarkson on his cell phone, but it’s switched off. Is he at the office?” It feels odd calling Thomas by his official title, but I don’t know how much she knows about us. Probably nothing, considering how private Thomas is.
“He’s out of town for a few days. He’ll be back in the office on Monday,” she says.
I can’t believe what I’m hearing. Why would Thomas go out of town without telling me? Granted, he doesn’t have to, but it’s common courtesy seeing as I’m carrying his baby, and we’ve been practically joined at the hip for a few weeks now.
“I really need to speak to him. Where is he?”
“I’m sorry, but I can’t divulge that kind of information,” Brenda says in her smooth, professional tone that makes me want to scream. “However, there’s another doctor covering for him. If you want, I can book you an appointment.”
“No, thanks, anyway.” I say goodbye and sit in my chair, stewing. I curse him and call him all sorts of names. My anger doesn’t abate. Is this his way of ending things between us? Why can’t he be a man and face me? Tell me that he’s not ready to be a dad, even a part-time one. I deserve to be told the truth, not left hanging.
I pick up my phone again and scroll the contacts list until I find Fran’s number. I hit dial, and when she picks up, I go straight into the reason I called. I’m too upset for pleasantries.
“He didn’t tell you anything about his trip?” she asks.
“Nothing.”
“Did you guys fight?” she continues.
“No, but things have been weird since the accident,” I tell her.
Fran is so quiet that I might think that she had hung up if it wasn’t for her breathing. “I think he’s scared of losing you, Cora. Go to him.”
I wish that were the case. Fran is Thomas’s sister, but she doesn’t realize that he’s still in love with his wife. I’ll go to him all right but not for the reasons she thinks. I’m going to give him a piece of my mind and show him that you cannot treat people like that.
“I would if I knew where he was.”
“Oh, I have the hotel name. Give me a few minutes, and I’ll text you his room number.”
I feel guilty for leading her to think that my intentions toward her brother are noble. When I’m done with Thomas, he’ll be very careful about how he treats women in the future.
Just as she promised, Fran texts me the info of where Thomas is staying. A hotel on the beach to top it all. It’s an hour and a half drive from LA. I could wait until tomorrow morning, but it’s three in the afternoon, and I’m already done with my classes. My car is fueled, and all I need is to hop in and drive down. I could drive there and be back home by eight at night. I try to discourage myself, but my mind is already made up.
