Barry didn’t understand what had gone wrong. Not really. He thought he and Arlene had made a connection. He thought… well, no, he hadn’t thought much beyond how amazing she felt in his arms.
They’d spent the rest of that day in bed, woo-hooing sometimes and resting others. He’d finally drifted off to sleep with her snuggled up against him…
… and woke up alone.
No notes, no… nothing. Just an empty air mattress.
He considered calling her a couple of times, but that felt desperate and pathetic.
Instead, he threw himself into his woodworking. He was getting at it, and just maybe, he could start selling soon.
But his heart wasn’t truly into it. To be honest, his heart wasn’t into anything. Arlene was his friend, or so he’d thought. Someone he cared about, and yes, was attracted to. He’d thought they shared something… and then she just… vanished totally from his life.
Days turned into weeks turned into a month… turned into two months… and she was just gone.
Yes, he finally did call her. Several times. But got no response.
Then one day, he called and got a surprising ‘the number you have dialed is no longer in service’ message.
He didn’t understand, and he felt like he was dying inside.
Then one day, there she was at the door. Ringing the doorbell.
Of course, he let her in, but depression had set in and he couldn’t even bring himself to be angry. He was just… sad.
“Barry, we need to talk,” she told him.
“I don’t see what about,” he responded, sullenly. “You left. I woke up and you were just … gone. I thought … I –”
“I’m pregnant, Barry,” she blurted out.
“What!?!?”
That jolted him out of sad and sullen and into shocked.
“We didn’t use protection,” she went on to say. “I woke up, and realized we had been foolish. I panicked and ran away. Later I found out I was pregnant and I didn’t know what to do. I panicked,” she said again.
“You didn’t know what to DO?” he asked with a raised voice. “How about calling me? How about TELLING me? That’s what you should have one, Arlene! Geez!”
“I know. I’m so sorry, Barry.” She placed a hand on his shoulder. “I don’t blame you for being angry with me… but can you forgive me? We… we need you, this baby and I.”
“I… I don’t know …” he answered, but in his heart, he did know. He knew he cared about Arlene. He had thought he might even love her. No matter what had happened, he couldn’t turn her away like that.
So he didn’t.
Arlene moved in with him, and throughout the pregnancy, she cooked and helped out with chores around the house.
They had very little, because she had no job and his wooden sculptures paid very little, but they made do with what they had. He wasn’t drinking anymore, either. For a time, everything seemed… perfect.
What Barry didn’t know was that Arlene was keeping something from him. A secret much bigger than being pregnant.
Every day, she would go for a long walk around the neighborhood. Some days, it was just a walk. Some days, she called someone on her cell phone and they would talk.
Barry never knew about it. As far as Arlene was concerned, he never could.
And then one day, while on her afternoon walk, a man approached her.
“What are you doing here?” she asked him. “How did you find me?”
“I traced your phone, Arlene,” he answered. “It’s time to come home now.”
“I can’t,” she said, and glanced down at her stomach. “It’s not yours.”
“I see.” The man looked uncomfortable. “Do you love him?”
“I don’t know…”
He sighed. “Well, I love you, Arlene. And so does Kira. We still need you at home. I won’t force you, but please know you can always come home.”
“Thank you, Collin.”
They embraced and quickly parted ways.
Barry never knew. He couldn’t know. Not ever.