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“Joan, this is between A
“No, it isn’t. Not anymore. Not since you drove her away and she wound up on my doorstep. I don’t know why I’m even letting you know where she is. Joe said not to bother calling you but I guess I didn’t want you to worry.”
“I’ll be there first thing in the morning.”
“Heath, I can’t prevent you from doing that but I would advise against it. I think A
Heath hesitated. So far he had done exactly what he wanted, and where had it gotten him? Maybe he should listen to someone else for a change.
“I’ll call, then.”
“All right,” Joan said.
“And, Joanie? Thanks.”
Joan hung up without replying.
* * * *
Heath called the Jensen house at seven the next morning, after a sleepless night.
“Let me talk to A
“I’m sorry, Heath. She’s gone. About an hour ago,” Joe said.
* * * *
A
It didn’t work. Twice she broke down crying as she was scrubbing the bathroom tile, a chore she had not missed while Daniela was doing it in Florida. But there was something satisfying about taking out her anger on soap scum and graying grout. When every surface in the four rooms was spotless and shining, she took a long shower and then made an appointment with the Fifth Avenue gynecologist she’d been seeing for years.
No amount of misery was going to make her neglect the health of this baby.
When there was no more cleaning left to do, A
For the moment her muse had deserted her.
Disgusted and weary, A
Her phone started to ring as her head slipped to the pillow. It rang twenty times, until she lifted the receiver and let it drop back into the cradle. Then it began to ring again.
A
Then she went back to bed.
* * * *
Three days later A
“It isn’t Heath,” Amy’s voice replied in irritation. “Now will you please open this door?”
A
“What are you doing here?” A
“Seeing if you are dead or alive, since I’ve been calling every day and getting no answer.”
“I disco
“That was very smart.”
“I didn’t want to talk to Heath.”
“Or anybody else, apparently.” Amy unbuttoned her coat and removed it, shivering. “I always forget how cold it gets up here. Why do people choose to live in such an ungodly climate? I took this rag out of mothballs, and burned up the rest of my frequent flyer miles, trekking up here for the weekend when Heath told me you had left him. What the hell is going on? The last time I talked to you all was wedded bliss, and now this.”
“I told him I was pregnant and he said he wasn’t the father,” A
Amy’s face went blank with shock. “What?” she finally said, inadequately.
“I guess he didn’t tell you that part of it, did he?” A
“No.” Amy followed A
“The ride’s over,” A
“Does he know that?”
“I’ve tried to make it perfectly clear.”
“Has he been here?”
A
“Is he still in New York?”
“I doubt it. I don’t think he could tear himself away from his precious business for longer than a day or two.”
Amy pulled her sweater over her head and unbuttoned the top button of her shirt. “God, it’s hot in here. Coming inside is like going from an ice chest into a baker’s oven. No wonder everybody in New York is sick.”
“Steam heat in these old buildings,” A
Amy sighed and removed her galoshes, frowning at the melting puddle of goo they had shed. “I remember that you were worried about how Heath would receive this news, but whatever gave him the idea that the child wasn’t his?”
“He had a vasectomy eight years ago.”
Amy stared at her. “Why would he do that?”
“So he wouldn’t produce any little alcoholics like his father. At least, that’s what he says.”
“But you don’t buy it.”
“I think the whole idea of family life is so blighted for him that he just wants to avoid the issue.”
“But he should have told you.”
“You know how we began this marriage, it didn’t really come into play then. And later I think he was afraid to say anything because I let him know I wanted children.”
“So rather than think medical science had failed, he assumed you had an affair?” Amy said, staring down in dismay at her equally wet shoes.
“Oh, who knows? I don’t care anymore. I only know what he said and that’s enough for me.”
“How can you stand it here with all this sleet and snow?” Amy asked, staring out the window.
“I prefer it to the company on Lime Island.” A
“What have you been doing holed up in here?”
“Working. Daniela sent me my manuscript.”
“How can you concentrate?”
“I couldn’t at first but it’s getting better.”
“Have you seen your doctor here?”
A
“How pregnant are you?”
“Three months, according to the sonogram.”
“So it happened when you first got married.”
A
“Heath has a lot of money. He can pursue you to the ends of the earth if he wants to.”
“Let him try,” A
“So you’re determined to fight him?”
“I’m determined to do what’s best for me and the baby, whatever that may be.”
“Going up against somebody who has that many resources is a formidable challenge,” Amy said warningly.
“I’m equal to it,” A
Amy stared at her, then began to smile slowly.
“I believe you are,” she said.
“You must be frozen, coming here directly from Florida,” A
“Bourbon,” Amy answered.
“I don’t think I have any liquor.”
“Well, look and see, will you?”
A
“That’s cooking sherry,” Amy said disgustedly.
“How about this other one?”
“Peach liqueur? Forget it. Why do you have to be such a teetotaler?”
“I’m not a teetotaler, I just never buy booze. I don’t entertain much.”
“Well, Zelda, it looks like we are going to go for a walk to that cozy little bar across the street.”