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ED MURMURED HIS AGREEMENT.
“Exactly. It makes no sense,” Gail said, pacing the confines of her bedroom.
Underneath the layers of freshly washed cotton, Ed sighed and propped himself up in bed, looking up from his latest copy of Time magazine. He licked his forefinger, flipped the page, and glanced up at his wife. “Maybe there’s more to what’s going on than she said.”
“Oh, there’s more to it, I’m sure. She won’t even tell us who the father is, Ed. Doesn’t that seem weird to you? I know we don’t always talk regularly, and it’s not as if she’s always confided in me, but something about her situation doesn’t ring true.”
Nothing he said would calm his wife down and get her to come to bed. In their thirty years of marriage, she never could grasp the concept of taking things in stride, of letting things happen in their own time.
Resigning himself to the discussion at hand, Ed laid the magazine on his lap. “You’re right. Something about her and the pregnancy seems off. But we can’t force her to tell us about it if she’s not ready.”
Gail crossed her arms over her chest. “And why not?”
Ed chuckled. “She’s not married. She’s never talked about having children. Well, at least not since Elliot. The pregnancy was obviously unplanned. I’m sure she’s just scared. She probably doesn’t know what to do with herself.”
“Isn’t that an understatement,” Gail quipped. “I thought I raised her to be stronger than this.” Gail moved to the nightstand next to the bed. She removed a small pot of night cream and slathered a generous amount over her face, before kicking off her slippers and perching herself on the edge of the bed. “And since when is our Alexis the type to up and get pregnant. She’s not even in a committed relationship, let alone married!”
She turned toward him, meeting his steady gaze, taking in the rich brown—the same exact shade of Lexie’s.
Ed exhaled, seeming to take this in. “People change,” he offered in the way of explanation, but when Gail speared him with a look, he closed his mouth.
“She said she didn’t want the baby. She’s carrying our grandchild, and it’s already unwanted.” Gail put her hands over the ache in her chest, pushing, as if the pressure might make the throbbing go away. “I can’t let her give her child away. I won’t. I know her. She’ll regret it.”
Ed leaned across the bed, placing his hand over his wife’s. “Are you sure it’s her that you’re worried about regretting her decision?”
Gail shook her head, willing away the formidable sting in her throat. “Did you see the look in her eyes? They were vacant. Dead. It’s like she feels nothing about this child or her pregnancy. I couldn’t even get a read on her, there was so little life in her expression.”
Ed’s mouth trembled. He bowed his head. “Yes, I know.”