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“Because I put myself in your path,” she cries. “If I hadn’t taken on your interests, if I hadn’t worked my ass off to make you proud, you wouldn’t have seen me. You wouldn’t have cared.”
Dad’s gaze shimmers. My mom bites her lips together, her expression solemn. She already knew about all this, I realize. At the baby shower, when she and Erica were whispering in the kitchen, it wasn’t about overcooked quiches. She was reacting to what our dad had said about her baby going to Brookstone, and her secret plans to leave academia.
“I will not force my child to compete for my affection,” Erica says. “I will shower this baby with love no matter what it decides to study, whether it chooses to go to college, or trade school, or join the fucking circus—Oh, God!”
Erica wails as her legs buckle, dropping into a squat. My mom moves with her.
“Alexis, get the nurse,” my mom yells.
I order my feet to carry me into the hall where I shout for someone to help us. Within seconds, Dr. Gupta and two nurses come rushing into the room.
“Okay, let’s see where we are now,” Dr. Gupta says. She kneels behind Erica, reaching a gloved hand beneath her gown. “I think we’re in business.”
“I can’t...” Erica groans. “It hurts... I can’t move.”
“You can stay right there. We’ll put something down and let you deliver just like this.”
A nurse slides a pad onto the floor between Erica’s legs. I move toward the window so that I’m out of the way of the medical staff. My mom and Lorenzo take their places at my sister’s sides, holding both her elbows to keep her steady.
“All right,” Dr. Gupta says. “Give us a big push. Let’s introduce this little one to the rest of her family.”
My dad cries silent tears beside me. I clutch his trembling hand, and he squeezes mine.
We have a lot of emotional work to do before we can hope to be worthy of this tiny, perfect member of our flawed little family. And as rough as this day has been for us, I have a feeling we’re all going to come out of it a little bit stronger.
Chapter Twelve
Gavin
You know you’ve been waiting a while when you listen to your lawyer’s voicemail message as a way to kill time.
Not that I mind the wait. I’d sit here until my feet sprouted roots if that’s what Alexis needed. It’s the uncertainty that has me checking my phone every few minutes.
“How’s it going, Gav,” my lawyer’s message begins. “I forgot to call you yesterday. Bonnie’s offering a sixty-forty split on the sale of the house. It’s not half but I think it’s a solid offer. Take the weekend to think about it. I’ll be in my office on Monday.”
The situation with my old house feels trivial compared to all that’s happened in the last six hours. I should think about grabbing some dinner but my stomach is so full of trepidation there isn’t room for much else.
Frank knows about Alexis and me, and he’s not happy about it, to put it fucking mildly. Erica going into labor may overshadow his anger temporarily, but I know Frank. He’s not going to take this in stride. He probably won’t even wait until Monday to try and have me fired.
I should call Carl myself and explain the situation. As hard as it’ll be to find another tenure-track position, I’m prepared to resign. Because what I have with Alexis is more important than a job. I can teach anywhere, but there’s no other woman out there for me, no one I’d rather risk it all for.
Alexis Kelley means everything to me, and I’m not about to let any man or institution tear us apart.
I’m so immersed in my own thoughts that I don’t notice Frank until he’s standing directly in front of me.
“Buy you a cup of coffee?” Frank asks, in a voice at least ten decibels below his usual volume. He looks like a bouncy castle in the process of deflating, sad and tired.
I’m not sure what to make of this subdued version of Frank.
“Sure...” I say.
I grab us a table in the cafeteria while he orders our coffees. As he sets my cup in front of me, I notice his red-rimmed eyes and the dry patches on his cheeks. He’s been crying.
I’m afraid to ask. “How’re Erica and the baby?”
“Erica’s exhausted but overjoyed. Her daughter’s a couple pounds underweight and jaundiced, but otherwise she’s beautiful and healthy, thank goodness.”
“That’s great to hear.” I offer a smile, recalling a time when having coffee with Frank didn’t feel so fraught with tension.
