“Mr. Carter, you can come on back now if you’d like,” the nurse informed Nick. Nick didn’t say anything, he just walked slowly toward the big oak door. He placed his hand on the crude metal handle and pushed, trying not to make to much noise. The TV was on but it was muted and it illuminated the room with a depressing blue tint.
He looked at the girl lying in the bed, rails drawn up on either side Was this really happening? Was this happening to him, his life?
He walked over to her bedside and stared down at her pretty little innocent face. Her soft brown hair was strewn over the pillow carelessly. From what he had heard the nurses and doctors say she had been out of it for sometime. He inhaled deeply and rubbed his big hand over his face.
Stress. The very thing that causes a man to go gray, he thought, the thing that causes men to go insane. The lose of control in your own life is unbearable. He plopped down in the heavily padded chair beside the bed. His head fell to his hands and he exhaled a very deep breath.
He had been to see his son before coming in to see her.
His son. A couple of days ago he was denying having any sort of relationship with the girl. Now he’s laying claim to his son? The DNA blood samples had been taken but the results weren’t back yet. But he wasn’t a fool. He had been to see the child. His mother had been to see the child. If it wasn’t his son then there was still a freaky resemblance to himself as a baby.
When he raised his head once again, her eyes were open and she stared at him blankly.
“Why are you here?” she asked.
When he tried to speak he realized how hard it was going to be. His voice broke but he refused to loose control. He had to be a man. “I wanted to see how you were.”
“Well now you know. I’m still breathing. Don’t let me hold you up.”
Nick looked down at the floor for a moment in order to collect his thoughts. Her piercing stare was making it hard to think.
“I know I don’t deserve to be here. I don’t deserve to explain myself or my actions. I don’t intend on explaining myself. All I can say is that everything has gotten out of hand.”
“Out of hand. This was out of hand nine months ago. And you’re right you don’t deserve a say. You could have had a say when you found out about this. But now you want a say when I’ve did the hard part. You want me to do the dirty work and you just sit around it take it all in, huh?”
“It isn’t like that, Julia.”
“Then how is it, Nick? What do you want from me? Do you want visitation rights?” She grew silent and tears banked on the lower part of her eye, violently threatening to spill over in a huge rush onto her cheek. “You won’t take him from me, will you?”
“No, no, no. Don’t worry.” His heart was aching as he watch the tears fall down her face, dying on her lip as she wiped them away and attempted to regain control of herself. “But I would like to see him. Often. I’d like for him to know who his father is. Julia, I know I haven’t been great support throughout all of this but I want you to know I wanted to do the right thing. I just wasn’t sure what that was.” He closed his eyes and thought of the brilliant blonde hair and bright blue eyes of his little son. “Sometimes the answers aren’t apparent until they hit you in the face.”
Julia sat up in the bed and choked back new tears. How come he was making her feel so bad.
“I didn’t mean to make you feel bad, Julia.”
He’s reading my mind too,she thought.
“The reason I’m here is because I wanted to ask you to forgive me. I’d like to start over. Maybe do things the right way this time.”
“Start over?”
“So how about we get married?”
Married?, she thought. Well that wasn’t doing to good in the romantic department, but it was more than I had expected to hear.
“But Nick, I’m seventeen. Remember, I’m only a child.”
“Yes, I remember. My attorneys won’t let me forget. Your attorneys won’t let me forget. Everyone is making sure I know this. But the point is that this is my responsibility. I should have thought about you being too young nine months ago.”
“That’s ok, I don’t want to be your obligation, Nick. And if you’re so worried about spending the rest of your life in prison for sleeping with me then don’t be. My parents don’t want to press charges. Seems as though money talks.”
“Julia, stop it, right now. I don’t want to hear this.” Nick stood up and leaned over her bed. His hands were on either side of her head. “I didn’t come here to fight you. I came here to see my son and to ask you to marry me. I don’t want to take him from you or have our lawyers fight our personal problems out for us. I just want my son, I want my life back and I want you, Julia. I want you to be my wife. Not because you have to or because I said, but because you want it in your heart, because it feels right.”
Julia’s arms went around Nick’s neck and she pulled him down to kiss his mouth.
“Yes,” she cried, her voice breaking with her tears. “Yes that’s what I want.”
