My Wife's Baby

by Niomie Roland

  Alana said nothing. She knew that a lot of lawyers would do anything to get a place in Sheffield, Barber and Carlson. She had been prepared to do almost anything to get her husband in. But she hadn’t paused to think of the number of firms that would do almost anything to get him within their ranks. She should have thought of that.

  “Do you know that I am doing you guys a favor?” Greg asked her. “Brad may never get this-”

  Alana cut the call. She dropped the phone on the bed and followed it shortly. This was a big mistake. She shouldn’t have broached the idea to Greg in the first place. And I never should have went to that hotel. All she wanted was to help get her husband into Greg’s late father’s firm, so she had been playing nice all along, giving Greg the hope that he was going to get a piece of her.

  Greg was a massive lover of women. He was known to have a special spot for the melanin popping kind with curves in all the right places. Alana ticked all those boxes and then some. It was always easy to get him to do things for her, while stringing him along with the hopes of a good time afterwards. Since she broke up with him back in college, it was something she had done as a pastime. At first, she had justified it as a payback for all the times he cheated on her in their relationship. But then it gradually became a habit. Now it was something that she justified with the fact that Brad was the only man she loved and a few compliments from some other lecherous man was not going to change that.

  How could I be so stupid?

  Now it had become a problem. It was a problem with fangs that were deeply sunk into her derriere because Brad is probably thinking that she is having an affair with Greg. Her eyes blurred with tears due to the possibility that she probably did sleep with him that night.

  Alana sighed and rolled unto her stomach. She picked up the phone and dialed Brad’s number, but the call went straight to voicemail.

  “Baby please; Could you come back so we can talk about this? I’m waiting for you.”

  She placed the phone back on the bed with a sigh. All the dreams she had had about all the things they were going to do on this bed when Brad came back from Mississippi had all gone up in flames now. All because of a phone call from Greg. She shouldn’t have picked up.

  Her phone started ringing again. It was Greg. She pressed the power button to silence the call and buried her face in the pillows.

  11

  Apart from his wife and the Blake clan, the only other family Brad had was far away in Jackson, Mississippi. It was where his father Thompson Saunders had been born and brought up. The third child in a close-knit family of seven. In many respects, that family was just like the Blake family. All the children had been brought up with the orientation that they were going into the family business. Whereas the Blake family dealt with the sweetest confectioneries, the Saunders family line of business was the production of toothpastes and toothbrushes. Their company name, Saunders Oral, was a household name in Jackson. That should have been enough to convince young Thompson to toe the line with his two older siblings and do a little chemistry in college so he could bring something new to the company.

  But what did he did do? Thompson applied for college in the farthest place he could think of away from home: Boston. Thompson had always been a rebel. As a kid he was one of those quiet types who did everything they were told not to do, even if it was with faces as dark as thunder. Those kinds you have to watch out for because when they get off the handle, they go to great lengths to prove their points. Despite threats of being disowned by his parents and being left on his own, Thompson left home and flew to far away Boston for his college education where he majored in Sociology, working nights to pay his tuition.

  He was a born loner, so the atmosphere at home stifled him. That was why, four years later when his parents came down to Boston to beg to come back home with them and join the family business he still refused. He had proven his point - had he not? Now they knew what he wanted, and they would give him his space. But all they wanted was for him to come home. Their pleas fell on deaf ears, so the ageing couple went back home heart broken.

  Consequently, when Thompson met and got married to his sweetheart Elizabeth, only two of his siblings showed up for the ceremony. When he got his wife pregnant and she delivered, all his parents did was to ask for pictures of the baby. He had forsaken his family so the family could not be expected to stand by him in his important moments.

  However, his death in an automobile accident twenty-one years later would bring the entire family down to Boston for the first time ever. By then his only child Bradley Saunders was getting into law school.

  After the burial, the couple stuck around town for three more days, long enough to get young Brad alone and give him a lecture on his origin. This lecture was followed by the offer of a position in the family’s ever-growing business. Saunders Oral was only getting bigger and bigger. Getting a place on its managerial team immediately after law school was an opportunity most young men in Jackson could only dream about.

  Brad turned down the offer and stayed put in Boston.

  However, he did what his father should have done. From that year onward, he traveled down to Mississippi annually to visit his grandparents and get to know his uncles, aunts and cousins. Those visits helped him greatly, for they were the source of the close bond he now shared with Liam Saunders. Liam was the present CEO of Saunders Oral, a position he inherited from his father Noah Saunders. His father had in turn inherited the position from the first Saunders, the patriarch of the Saunders family and the founder of Saunders Oral.

  Even though there were still an uncle and two aunts alive in the family, Liam was now acting as the pivot of the family, deriving his power from his position at the helm of the family business which he now ran on behalf of his feeble grandfather who had long retired because of age. Naturally though, he was the charismatic kind of person who could get people to do things without them even pausing to think about it.

  The last time they had spoken, three nights ago in a restaurant whose name Brad could no longer remember, he had been sporting one of his trademark mischievous smiles as he told Brad how lucky he was. That was the night his client had gotten acquitted from the murder charge that had looked like it was going to send her to the death row until he took over the case.

  Liam was going to be surprised when he called to tell him he was flying in this morning. They had just bode each other goodbye two days ago.

  Brad stood with his phone trying to make up his mind. The thought had flown into his mind from out of the blue as he tried to process last night’s events. Now he sat on the bed in his motel room, freshly showered, clad only in his briefs. He twirled his goatee with his left hand while the right one scrolled through his phone contacts in search of Liam’s details.

  Already he had gotten three calls from old Roger. One had come in last night and the other two this morning while he was in the bathroom. He had no intention of returning them. Let the man fume as much as he wanted or worry, if he was still capable of experiencing emotions. His vacation was almost due anyway and there was nothing serious happening in the office now. It was the Christmas season, so nobody was making trouble anywhere. The only things that were happening were deals, and the partners always kept those away from him and Cliff. All they got were the court cases. Cliff loved them, but Brad hated them.

  Every time he stood to listen to a judgment while his heart hammered wildly, he cursed himself for going to law school, for not taking old Pa Saunders’ offer. After everything he would swear to himself that he was going to fly out to Mississippi the following week to take up that job, then he would remember Alana and her family’s business. The only option that would be left to him in the end would be corporate law.

  Brad sighed and dialed Liam’s number. Liam answered almost immediately.

  “Hello, little brother!”

  That was what Liam called him. It was what he called all his cousins. You were either little brother to him or little sister. It all depended
on your gender.

  Brad shook his head in wonder. He could swear his grandparents had strong Jewish blood, yet they had no ties whatsoever to any Jewish community.

  “How are you?” Liam asked.

  “I am fine. Look, I’m flying into town today. May I stay at your place?”

  12

  Liam picked him at the airport in a Toyota Camry that had the company logo printed on its sides. He enveloped Brad in a bear hug that lasted so long that Brad had to wonder if three days seemed like ten years for his cousin.

  “Welcome back,” Liam said, finally releasing him.

  All around them people walked past briskly.

  “Thank you,” Brad replied with a smile he hoped was big enough to match his cousin’s own.

  Liam was forty-three, yet his babyish face made him look way younger and a bit closer to Brad’s thirty-two years. The lack of a beard on his face and his low cut helped to take out a considerable number from his actual age. Brad found it funny because he was growing his own beard and hair to get a slightly older and more mature look. He was a father after all and needed to look the part.

  Liam was surprised to see that he had no luggage. All he had on were a readymade t-shirt and denims he had gotten at a shop with his credit card. “Where’s your bag?” he asked.

  “Oh, I left it at home,” Brad answered offhandedly.

  “You left…,” Liam started to laugh. “How is that even possible?”

  “Oh, I left in a hurry.”

  “You got another case here?”

  “Oh, no,” Brad replied. “I got a case at home and I had to run away.”

  “A case at home?”

  “Let’s get away from here first, I’ll explain on the way.”

  Liam led the way to the car. He had the physique of a man who loved his meals. While he was not out-right fat, his bulk was not the kind you would like to have on top of you. He walked with a bounce that did not fit in with his corporate attire. The sky blue shirt and black trousers were well tailored and looked good on him. They gave him the appearance of a corporate executive. A suit would have helped to complete the look, but Brad had never seen him in one.

  ***

  All through the way back to the office, Liam didn’t utter a word. He was one of those people who hated talking while driving. The way he sat hunched over the steering wheel made it look like he was having a quiet one on one with it, perhaps through telepathy. His eyes were riveted on the tarmac as the car ate it up.

  He drove with the impatience of those who wanted to get the driving over with and get down to other things. Every now and then the Camry whipped past this car and that car, swerving from one side of the lane to the other as Liam passed them. Sometimes he got a protesting horn blast as a reward for his efforts, other times furtive looks from Brad.

  Whenever he was being driven by Liam, Brad always tried to remember all his sins and take them up to the good Lord for his mercy. Who knew if they would end up in some ditch with their chests caved in? It was always better to be prepared.

  ***

  Brad was grateful when they got into town and then down to Liam’s house in one piece. He reached out to open the door and Liam held his arm.

  “I’m not coming in with you,” he said. “I need to get back to the office.”

  “Oh, okay.” Brad put his hand back on his thigh and waited as Brad fished around in his pockets for the key to Liam’s house. When he finally brought it out he murmured his thanks to Liam for letting him stay there.

  “You were saying something at the airport,” Liam said.

  “Oh yeah, that.” Brad ran his hand through his hair, tousling it. It was blonde, a fitting match for his blue eyes. “My wife is pregnant.”

  Liam’s reaction was automatic, the usual line that was required of him in such situations as this.

  “Wow, congratulations man.” He turned to shake hands and found that there was no smile on Brad’s face. “That’s good news right?”

  “No it isn’t.” Brad shook his head sadly. “She is three weeks gone.”

  “Okaaaay?”

  “Well, when I left her to come down here six weeks ago, she was on her period. We haven’t slept together since then.”

  It took a while for Liam to understand. When he did, he covered his face with his palms and said, “Shit.”

  “Yeah.”

  “I’m sorry bro.”

  “She says it’s mine.”

  “How?”

  “She said hasn’t had sex with anybody since I left. She’s been faithful.”

  “So where did the pregnancy come from?” He asked confused.

  “She says it has to be mine.”

  “What kind of bullshit is that?”

  “Same thing I thought.”

  Brad stared straight ahead. Down the street a little girl was riding a bicycle and an older boy was running after her, ready to catch her if she fell. The sound of her high-pitched giggling reached them in the car.

  Aaryn. Her face swam up in Brad’s thoughts. His heart panged. The spaced teeth that showed up when she smiled. The way she threw back her head to laugh, the same way her mother did. Her brown eyes that came alive. The dimples that were already beginning to show.

  The first tear rolled down from his eyes.

  “But she isn’t that kind of girl,” Liam said and continued, “You told me about her last time, didn’t you?”

  Yes, he had. My girl, she’s the kind of woman who loves with everything she’s got. You don’t have to worry about her when you aren’t there. Now he didn’t know anymore.

  “Yeah.”

  His reply was a choked sob. Liam turned and saw the tears. They were coming freely now. He stretched out a meaty hand and draped it across his heaving shoulders.

  “I’m sorry little brother.”

  Brad didn’t want to think about it anymore. He wished so much that this was a dream.

  13

  It was the twentieth time she was dialing his number that morning. It was also the twentieth time her call was going straight to voicemail. She was no longer leaving any messages there. The three she had left the previous night had done her no good.

  Aaryn had cried down the heavens that morning. The girl threw tantrums and refused to leave the house. Not even candy and a promise of more treats could sway her resolution. It was only after Alana let her do a voice note for Brad that she calmed down. The sight of her iPhone poised in the air, before her lips did the magic. She stopped crying instantly and looked at it uncertainly. Then she looked up at Alana. Alana nodded an encouragement to her. The recorder was on and she didn’t want her own voice to be heard.

  Finally, Aaryn said, “Daddy, please come and play with me!”

  Afterward, Alana dropped her off at the daycare center much later than the usual time. She sat in her car for a long time looking at the street and seeing nothing. The night had been spent tossing on her bed and ignoring messages from Greg and her dentist. Now the sleep that had eluded her the previous night was reaching out for her, pulling down her eyelids every time she took them up. She considered going back home to sleep. But unfortunately skipping work for the second time in two straight days was not an option. Although Johnson was her brother, she knew he would not hesitate to chew her out in front of everybody for missing work. He couldn’t fire his siblings and cousins who worked in the bakery, so he often resorted to publicly shaming those who were slacking in their duties.

  She had to get to the office. But before then, she would drive to the law offices of Sandler, Harris and Whistler. If Brad didn’t want to talk on the phone, maybe he would be willing to have a chat in his office.

  Her phone began to ring just as she inserted the car key in the ignition. A glance at the phone screen showed that it was Cliff. She left the key there and answered the call immediately.

  “Hello Cliff.”

  “Where the hell is Brad?”

  His question was an angry bark. It set Alana on edge. Sometimes when
Cliff was tensed, he tended to speak to fellow adults as if they were children. It helped to intimidate hostile witnesses in the law court sometimes. But this wasn’t a law court and she wasn’t on the stand.

  “Is he not in the office?” She asked him coolly.

  “Yes. That’s why I called. Old Roger is shitting in his pants right now and I’m not going to handle this situation.”

  “What situation?”

  “Work stuff, some crazy case, new client.”

  “Brad is not in trouble, is he?”

  “No. Don’t you know where he is?”

  “No I don’t.”

  That reply came out after ten seconds of silence. She was supposed to know where he was. She had always known. He always told her and she always told him too.

  “You don’t know?” Cliff didn’t believe her. “What’s going on Alana?”

  “What do you mean what’s going on?” she was reluctant to let him know. She and Brad had always kept their issues away from people.

  “Brad left his office at noon yesterday and didn’t come back in. Today he is yet to show up for work.” Cliff talked fast. His words fell out like the quick bursts of a machine gun.

  “Oh.” Alana didn’t know what to say.

  “What do you mean, ‘Oh’?” Cliff asked. “Wait… he hasn’t gone somewhere else has he?”

  “Is that how you guys change firms?” Alana asked him.

  “He wouldn’t do that without telling me, would he?”

  “He wouldn’t,” Alana sighed. She had to tell him. “Look, we had a fight yesterday and last night.”

  “You had a fight? Was that why he left work?”

  “I don’t know. But I haven’t been able to reach him since then.”

  “Me either. He isn’t answering my calls.”

  “Mine is going to the voicemail.”

  “You guys had a fight.” The heat had gone out of his voice.

  “Yeah.”

  “What happened?”

  “Oh… just stuff.”