“What?” Nora shook her head.
“She saw the information about the bone marrow drive hanging up at Melissa’s restaurant. She did her own research via Google and found out that the baby can be tested,” Randy said, his eyes on the floor.
“I don’t believe this,” Nora shook her head, unable to shake the feeling that this couldn’t truly be happening to her and her family.
Randy turned to the doctor without responding to Nora. “The baby could be a match for Grant, right?”
“I’ll be honest,” Dr. Lassiter said evenly, “the chances aren’t as good as they were with the other siblings since Grant and this baby only share one common parent…but, it’s worth a shot…”
“Tests can be done, right?” Randy asked.
Dr. Lassiter nodded. “If the mother wishes, she could have an amniocentesis now to find out if the baby is a match even before it’s born…”
“Do it,” Nora blurted coldly. “Whatever you have to do to see if the baby is a match for my son, I want it done.”
“What does an amniocentesis entail?” Randy inquired.
Dr. Lassiter began explaining, saying, “it’s a procedure in which a needle is inserted into the expectant mother’s uterus to extract fluids that can be tested. It’s uncomfortable for the mother, but…”
“Is it safe for the baby?” Randy asked, and the words seemed to fall hard on Nora. She wasn’t entirely ready to extend her sympathy to the woman who was pregnant with a married man’s illegitimate child, but her basic decency did constitute a concern for the unborn child.
“It is safe for the baby, right?” Nora repeated Randy’s question.
“Yes,” Dr. Lassiter nodded.
“Nora, Cindy wants to do this,” Randy said. “I don’t want to hurt you more than I already have, but I don’t know what else to do…I need you right now…as much, and possibly more, than I ever have.” He grimaced. “Our son’s life is in jeopardy, and so is the baby’s. It’s more than I have the strength to deal with. I know it is too much to ask, Nora, but I need you.”
“It seems like you two could use some time alone,” Dr. Lassiter nodded as he excused himself. “I will go check on Grant.”
“Me too,” Joanna said, her eyes darting. She shook her head to clear it. “Wow,” she exhaled as she followed the doctor.
Neither Nora nor Randy heard them go.
“What’s wrong with the baby?” Nora swallowed, reaching for Randy’s hand.
“Cindy doesn’t want a baby, Nora,” Randy sighed. “She wants to put him up for adoption. She had thought about keeping him at first, but she’s not sure she is ready to be a single mother.”
“He?” Nora gulped.
“Yeah, it’s a boy,” Randy admitted. He wiped sweat from his brow with the back of his hand. “She wasn’t going to tell us, Nora; she was going to give the baby up without us ever knowing he existed.”
“Nora?” a soft voice said.
Nora turned to see a young woman, blond, very attractive and very pregnant standing before her. Not sure how she kept from passing out at her first sight of the other woman whom her husband had brought into their home, Nora walked toward Cindy. Oddly, in that moment seeing Cindy standing there before her, Nora didn’t have the urge to strangle her, the way she had imagined that she might if their paths were ever to cross. Instead, Nora was amazed that Cindy looked and spoke nothing like the heartless home-wrecker she had envisioned. She stared disbelievingly at Cindy’s protruding belly.
“Nora, I know you hate me,” Cindy said, her voice soft and meek. “And I don’t blame you…”
Nora held up her hand to stop Cindy, ready to lash out at her but unable to find the words she wanted to say.
“I want to apologize to you,” Cindy gulped as she tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear, and it was then that Nora realized just how young Cindy was. “I’ve wanted to apologize to you for a long time. I just didn’t know how.”
“Why did you come here, Cindy?” Nora asked, her voice firm but not harsh.
Cindy took a deep breath. “I wasn’t going to tell Randy about the baby,” Cindy shook her head as she broke into tears. Cindy held up her hand to show Nora her engagement ring. “I’m engaged now…and I know this sounds selfish, but I want to start fresh. I’m just not ready to be a mother, and this baby is a painful reminder of a past that I just want to forget. I know it is something Randy wants to forget too; that’s why I kept this from him. I thought that feeling the baby kick and buying an outfit here or there would eventually change my mind, but I can’t do this…”
Nora thought of Rachel, only a teenager when her innocence was violently stolen from her, and she wondered if she had spent nearly enough time telling her daughter how very proud of her she had been in the months that followed. Each day they had prayed together, and Rachel was confident that nothing, not even the tragedy she had experienced, could keep her from loving her innocent baby with her whole heart. Nora admired the tenacious spirit of her daughter during that time, and, right now, she longed to tell her that. But, Nora knew that Rachel had the support of a loving family that was going to do anything in their power to help her and her baby, and it struck her that maybe Cindy didn’t have that in her life, which made Nora’s heart ache for her.
“So what made you decide to tell Randy about the baby?” Nora asked with calm clarity.
Cindy sniffed back her tears. “I was eating lunch at your daughter-in-law’s restaurant. I didn’t know she owned the place, or I wouldn’t have gone there. I don’t want to be anymore trouble to your family than I’ve already been…I swear. But, I saw Grant’s picture on the community bulletin board. I read what your daughter-in-law had written about his disease and the importance of finding a bone marrow donor. I hurt Grant…I hurt all of you…and I know it all may sound like too little too late…but I didn’t mean to…I didn’t mean to hurt your family, Nora…and if there is anything I can do…”
Nora couldn’t believe that she actually felt sorry for Cindy, but, with each passing word, her heart seemed to open up more and more to the young woman standing before her. “Chances are the baby isn’t a match,” she said softly.
“I didn’t know what else to do,” Cindy sighed. “I thought that this way at least we could find out.”
“Thank you,” Nora nodded, and Randy was taken aback by the sincerity of her words.
“I just have one more question for you,” Nora gulped as her eyes eased toward Cindy’s. “You seem like a young, intelligent, attractive woman…so why my husband?”
“He was always so nice to me,” Cindy sobbed. “No one had ever been nice to me before…no man anyway…not since my daddy. Every morning Randy came into the store where I worked. He’d buy coffee and a morning paper. I knew he was married, and he didn’t show any interest in me, but he was kind…he made small talk at the register. My father had just passed away. I didn’t even get to go to his funeral because his new wife didn’t see fit to inform me of his heart attack until a week after it killed him.” Cindy shook her head. “My life was falling apart…the only man I ever trusted was gone. I had moved from one unhealthy relationship to the next, and all had failed for various reasons.” She shrugged. “I guess I just saw in Randy a man so unlike the other men in my life. He had such an intimidating presence, yet he was so kind. I guess it started off innocently enough. A man in the store was giving me a hard time about not having a fresh pot of coffee on. It had been a busy morning, and he was being so rude. It really upset me, and Randy stood up for me. He stood up to the guy, and he defended me. No one had ever stood up for me like that before.”
“I felt sorry for her, that’s all,” Randy added. “It could have easily been one of our girls working that job, Nora, and I wouldn’t have wanted anyone treating one of them that way.”
Yes, it could have been one of our girls…similar age and all Nora thought but did not say. Grant, Nora thought, would have just come right out and said whatever he was thinking at that moment, and, though she valued her reserved, kindhearted demeanor and took pride in the priority she put on the feelings of others, sometimes Nora wished she possessed the quick tongue she often scolded her son for instead of being cursed with such a sweet resolve.
“Cindy,” Nora sighed, not really wanting to hear the details of how such a seemingly innocent gesture had led to Cindy and Randy conceiving a child together, “I don’t blame you for what happened. No matter what you did, my trust was never in you. Randy had a responsibility to you, to see you for the troubled young girl you were. He had a responsibility to me, to honor the vows we took on our wedding day. He had a responsibility to his children…no seventeen-year-old boy should have to witness his father cheating on his mother.” Nora turned to Randy. “But you have already apologized, and I have already forgiven you. I don’t intend to make you keep apologizing.”
Randy nodded solemnly.
