The Left-Handed Truth Chapter 29

Chapter 29: “About being pregnant?”

“Tomorrow evening will be fine,” he said. And that was that. We were now on the verge of owning our first home.

“That was easier than I thought it would be,” I said to Nicole as we lay in bed in my condo. “The offer went through quickly and Jimmy wasn’t upset about changing schools.”

“Did you see the size of that master bedroom?” she asked.

“Sure. Couldn’t miss it.”

“Plenty of room for a king-size bed.”

“And why would you want a king-size bed?” I kidded, poking her lightly.

“Bigger playground.”

“True,” I smirked, “and big enough that we can both sleep on the left side.”

“Jimmy’s excited about the new home.”

“Are you?” I asked.

“Very. It’s wonderful, but I don’t know what we’re going to do with all those extra bedrooms.”

“We’ll think of something.”

“Maybe we already have,” she said cryptically.

“Oh?”

“I’m late.”

It took me a couple of seconds to catch on.

“How late?”

“A few days. It’s not definite yet, but I think you might have done the deed, Mr. Travers. Despite all odds, I think you might become a father.”

“Yeah, well, that’s no surprise,” I said, trying to be nonchalant. “Two lefties are always going to beat the odds.”

“Can I tell you something?”

“Sure,” I said, trying not to explode with happiness.

“I think you made me pregnant that very first time. I had a funny feeling about it then.”

“And it didn’t bother you. I mean, we weren’t engaged yet.”

“Oh no, that didn’t happen until much, much later,” she said in mock seriousness. “As long as two hours later.”

“I hope you’re right,” I said, holding her tightly to me.

“I thought you preferred left,” she teased.

“You know what I mean.”

“About being pregnant?”

“About that, yes, and when it happened. That would be perfect, wouldn’t it?”

“Yeah. Perfect.”

Postscript

I was sitting in the food court of the mall, leafing through the latest edition of Newsweek Magazine. Nicky was off shopping for an Easter dress … or more properly, a Spring maternity dress. She was nearly seven months along and showing every bit of it. I’d given Jimmy a couple of dollars to spend in the arcade to keep him occupied. No telling how long his mother would be.

“Hello, Will.”

I looked up. The familiar face of my ex-wife Leona was smiling down at me.

“Leona. How are you? Please, sit down,” I said. It was too awkward for me to try and stand in the undersized table seats of the court, but I at least tried.

“Thank you. I need to rest my feet,” she announced, still smiling.

It was obvious that the baby she carried in the pouch on her chest was causing her some stress. She sat side-saddle in the small chair.

“You got your wish,” I said, looking at what appeared to be a four or five month old baby, dressed in powder blue. “A boy I see.”

“Yes,” she said looking adoringly at the infant. “His name is Ryan … Ryan Fulton.”

“You’ve remarried then.”

“Yes, I’m Mrs. David Fulton. We live in Midland. David works for a chemical company there. He’s an engineer and runs his own department.”

“Congratulations … both on the marriage and your new son. You must be very happy.”

“Yes … I am. But … I have a confession to make. It’s been bothering me for some time.”

“Go ahead,” I said, curious what this would be.

“When I told you there was no other man … when I asked for the divorce … that’s wasn’t completely true.”

She paused to see my reaction. At this point, I was curious, but not angry.

“I had met David at my office. He was a friend of one of my co-workers. We got to talking and I found he was single and he made it clear he was interested in me. At first, I resisted, but as we got to know each other better, I found I was interested in him as well. We were never … intimate. Not then. I knew I couldn’t do that to you.

“As I thought about what it would mean to be with a man who could give me a child, I began to wonder if David was the man. I liked him as a person. He was a nice guy and successful in business. The more I thought about it, the more I felt I had to take a chance. I didn’t want to hurt you, but I knew the time was growing short for me. My biological clock was winding down.

“I’m glad I spotted you here, Will. I don’t know why I thought I had to tell you all this today, but it’s been bothering me since we parted and I’m glad now that you know the truth. I didn’t want to betray you, but … emotionally at least … I did. I hope I haven’t put you off marriage, Will. I’m ashamed of what I did, holding out hope that our marriage would work, even when, deep down, I knew it wouldn’t. I hope you will find someone.”

I sat quietly as she poured out her confession. I suppose I should have been angry with her, but for whatever reason, I wasn’t. In fact, I really didn’t care. I could see she was happy with her new son and I wouldn’t begrudge her that for a moment. I was about to say something to her when someone else joined us.