“When?” he asked. And when Christina didn’t speak, his expression changed from concern, to understanding. He looked down at her belly. Oh God. “No,” he said. Christina looked at him. She shook her head yes. What could she say? “Is it his?” Her husband asked. “Are you telling me that this baby, our baby, is my brother Nick’s?” Jesus Christ! What am I going to do now? And then, the question she had dreaded: the inevitable why?
Gus loved her, rescuing her from her mother’s suffocating grip, but there had been something missing in the beginning, something she couldn’t define in her naïveté. His brother Nick was handsome, taller than the other men in the family. He was outgoing and flirtatious, but harmless, his family thought. Christina was swept off her feet. In a moment of weakness, flirtation led to passionate lovemaking, often in the front seat of his patrol car. But she wasn’t going to go there with her husband if she could help it.
“It just happened,” she answered. “I don’t know whose baby it is.” The ludicrousness of what she said slapped them both in the face. She doesn’t know? Was she sleeping with him that often? And, Did I just admit I was sleeping with them both during the same time period? She started crying again. “I always felt like I needed to be honest with you. I couldn’t not tell you. It sounds like a contradiction but I do respect you! I do! It was just a lapse in judgment.” But even as the words were out of her mouth, she knew she was lying to him still. She loved him like a great friend, but it was his brother Nick that she was passionate about.
The first time it had happened, they were kissing in the apartment when no one else was upstairs. Nick was confessing his love for her. He’d come to the city in the middle of the day just to see her. He was emotional, distraught, standing over her with his uniform on.
“Meet me tonight,” he said. “I’ll get a room. I’m not sure how I am going to get through the day.” His hands were gripping her upper arms, the bones right beneath the skin. His wife was plump, her arms were soft. When he hugged Paula, he collapsed into her soft flesh and she was sturdy, not flinching under his weight. Christina was a fragile china doll. He’d have to be careful not to break her if he was lucky enough to get to do it to her. He wasn’t thinking about anyone else but himself.
“I’m not sleeping with you! You must be nuts,” she retorted. She loved him too, but it would be left unsaid. Nothing good was going to come from their union. And she couldn’t bear the thought of hurting Gus. He was so good to her, so solid and trustworthy. Pulling away from Nick, she went toward the staircase to go down to the store. “Come on, before your mother notices we are up here alone.” Christina had seen the look in Eleni’s eyes before. Her mother-in-law wondered what was going on. It would be the last thing Christina intended on doing; sleeping with Paula Mac’s husband.
She went down alone while Nick waited in the apartment for his hard-on to go away. Thinking no one noticed her; Christina went directly to the tables where customers sat to wait for their take-out food or drink coffee and got busy with straightening the salt and pepper shakers. She found an empty napkin holder and took it to with her to the back of the store where the rest of the family congregated, preparing to go to Eastern Market for a shopping trip. Gus was laughing with his father. Eleni was standing to the side, watching and listening. She alone observed when her daughter-in-law came down the stairs, flushed and with furtive eyes, and then close behind was Nick, composed but troubled. They must have been upstairs together.
Concern flooded her at once. Here was a situation. She’d keep this one from her husband, a sensitive man, but a rigid one in his thinking. He would blame Christina for her flirtatiousness; everyone noticed how she responded to Nick. But no one saw danger in it, not even Paula. Paula was a naïve young woman, too naïve for her own good. She thought she could keep the interest of her husband and let herself go. All of the daughter-in-laws were the same: no common sense, pampered, immature. Bringing her suspicions to Paula’s attention would only cause problems, so Eleni decided she would say nothing. She’d keep watch over the young people. She glanced at Gus who seemed oblivious to it all. He was always a carefree boy and now it would turn around to bite him in the back. Unless she took steps. Should she warn him? What man could take a warning like that from his mother? Son, your wife is messing around with your brother.
Confronting Nick would also be counterproductive. He’d double his efforts at antagonizing his mother; maybe even stop talking to her all together. He was her eldest child and had control over their relationship. She might be able to say something to Christina. Might. She’d have to see how it played out. Christina wasn’t to be trusted, that was obvious, and she would surely repeat anything said to her to either Nick or Gus.
All the psychic ability in the world hadn’t prepared her for this. In some families, the women looked the other way when the sons went too far. The behavior was almost condoned. But Eleni didn’t think she would stand for it. She loved her children too much to see them get caught up in games that had devastating consequences. She’d keep her eye on them and, hopefully, wisdom would come in some form when she needed it. She was stymied, but it was wasted effort because that night Christina and Nick went to a hotel on the outskirts of town. The longing to make love to him was so powerful that she risked getting caught sneaking out of the house, forgetting her earlier resolve not to give in to lust.
He was there waiting for her in his car, and when he saw her, he reached over to unlatch the car door and pushed it open for her. She slid in next to him on the bench seats. They had never driven together in a car before. He had an erection and she could feel her pulse in between her legs as they drove to the hotel. He went to the front desk and got the room alone, and then took Chris around to a back entrance. They climbed the stairs to the upper floor rather than risk taking an elevator and being seen. Nick’s heart was pounding in his ears. He didn’t know why he was compelled to betray his wife. Paula was a good woman who took excellent care of him. She was always willing for sex; there was no reason on earth why he would jeopardize their marriage.
And his brother, his baby brother Gus, who had asked him to walk his bride down the aisle. Is this how he would reward that devotion? But even as he thought these thoughts, he would look at Christy walking next to him and his heart would flip. He was in love with her.
They got to the room and didn’t bother turning the lights on or even speaking. They took their coats off and starting kissing each other as they had in the apartment above the store. Christina moved away and started to take her clothes off with care, just in case someone was waiting up for her when she returned to the apartment she wasn’t going to risk looking disheveled. She’d say she’d just needed fresh air and went for a walk.
They didn’t waste a moment of time. He quickly brought her to an orgasm and then got on top of her and pushed into her. It was at this moment, as Christina lay on her back with legs in the air that she thought of Gus. Having never even considered infidelity, the entire scenario was surreal. She had never been with anyone but Gus. Nick was completely different than Gus physically. He was laying on her but without weight, and kissing her, whispering to her. Gus didn’t do that. She found that she wished Nick would hurry; she wanted to get home. It wasn’t relaxing or passionate at all. But she held on to him and matched his thrusts until she felt his body shudder and he was done. She got up to go in the bathroom and it didn’t occur to her that he hadn’t used any protection; she wasn’t on the pill because she and Gus wanted to get pregnant; they had been trying since their wedding. Nick’s semen drained out of her and it still didn’t register. She cleaned herself up and went back out to the room; Nick had turned the light on and was waiting for her, wanting to see her naked. Suddenly modest, she smiled at him, but grabbed her clothing and went back into the bathroom to dress.
At the apartment, she let herself in without discovery. The next morning, she didn’t notice that her mother-in-law watched her carefully, standing off to the back of the store, occasionally cl
osing her eyes, trying to get a read on her. It would be the last time Christina would have to sneak out to be with Nick. There were opportunities to get together during the day. No one watched every step Christina took. She often rode the bus to her mother’s house. If there were an hour or two unaccounted for, it hadn’t been an issue, yet.
Chapter 28
Christina went into labor in the middle of the night. She’d gone to bed early after prepping her baking area for the next day. She set the dough in a special box Gus made so it could rise overnight, safe from insects or mice that might be looking for a treat. All afternoon her back had bothered her. Eleni watched her walking around the kitchen, getting slower and slower.
“I think that baby is going to be born very soon,” she said. Christina stopped what she was doing and looked up.
“Are you getting a feeling?” Christina asked. Her mother-in-law walked over to her and pointed to her belly with a questioning may I? look. “Go ahead,” Christina said. Eleni put her hand over the upper part of her daughter-in-law’s pregnant belly.
“It doesn’t take a psychic to know that this baby is ready to come out,” she said. “He doesn’t have one more centimeter to grow. How do you feel? It looks like your back is giving some trouble.”
“It hurts a little, but it’s because I’ve been standing all day,” Christina answered. She didn’t like to complain around Eleni, who patted her shoulder.
“You’ve done enough today. I’ll finish up here; why don’t you go on up?” Eleni said. She wasn’t a taskmaster, but rarely excused anyone from work. There was just too much to do. Christina took off her apron and hung it on a hook next to the pastry counter. She wondered when the next time she would wear it would be. She went up to the room she shared with Gus. A small suitcase packed for the hospital was on the floor by her closet door. She took a shower and got into bed before seven. Gus came in to check on her shortly after and she was already sound asleep.
At twelve-thirty, she woke up having to go to the bathroom and noticed a burning sensation under her belly. She had a little blood on her underpants, too. Not wanting to wake up Gus yet, she took her time washing her hands. Thinking she might be in labor, but not sure, she went ahead and put her make-up on and combed her hair. Looking at her reflection in the mirror, she allowed the face of Nick to drift into her thoughts. She’d kept her distance from him and, out of respect for her husband, refused to see him for the past months. But tonight, she missed him. She suddenly felt desperate to talk to him, to tell him she loved him still and would always love him. But she couldn’t betray Gus like that again. She tiptoed out of the bathroom and went back into their bedroom. Gus awoke, sitting up in bed.
“Are you okay?” he asked. She walked over to the bed and sat on the edge of it.
“I’m not sure. I have the ‘bloody show’. But no contractions yet. There is sort of a tightening feeling down here,” she said, running her hand underneath her belly. She pulled her legs up in the bed. “I think I’ll lay down for a while and see if anything happens. I’m so tired.”
“Should we call the doctor?” Gus asked.
“No, I don’t want to yet,” Christina said. “Everyone says to stay home as long as you can because it is so uncomfortable in the hospital.” But it didn’t take long before she changed her mind. She was lying in her bed trying to rest when the first contraction came. It didn’t flow into her body, as she had expected, but slammed into her back like a medicine ball being thrown at her. And the pain was constant, not rhythmic. After five minutes, she got sick to her stomach and didn’t make it to the bathroom, throwing up the glass of water she had just downed.
“Oh boy, maybe we better leave now,” she said. They pulled the wet sheets off the bed. The movement and the activity woke Eleni up, who came in and offered to take over.
“Help your wife get dressed and take her to the hospital,” she said. Christina was both thrilled and terrified. She couldn’t wait to see the baby, but was scared of labor as a result of the horror stories she’d heard from her mother and grandmother.
She labored through the night, pacing the floor of her room the only way she could stand the pain. Periodically, she’d stop and rest at a window sill that was the perfect height for leaning against. She was beyond simple speech or even screaming. Who had the energy for that? Gus got the hint quickly to leave her alone. I wish someone would come and put a gun to my head, she thought. And then blessedly, the urge to push overwhelmed her and, having been warned not to push too soon, she walked into the bathroom to escape exposure, shut the door and squatted down like a peasant. Within minutes, she felt a new sensation, fullness in her vagina, and realizing that if she stayed in that position for much longer, her baby might be delivered on the bathroom floor. She stood up and walked to the bed.
“Tell the nurse to come here, will you Gus? I think this baby is ready to come.” After the nurse examined her and determined that, yes, she was about ready to deliver, the pace of activity in the room picked up exponentially. “We’re going to see our baby!” Christina said to Gus, forgetting in her euphoria that the baby’s father may be at home back in Brighton. Chatter and movement came to a halt when the little baby had fully exited his mother’s body.
“We have a boy,” the doctor said. Christina cried out to Gus. “We have a boy!” The doctor handed the baby off to a waiting nurse. She took him over to a special heated table where a pediatrician was waiting. Gus went over to watch them weigh and measure the baby; he hadn’t noticed yet that the staff was awfully quiet. When he got closer, he didn’t understand what he was seeing; the baby’s intestines were lying off to his side of his body. A nurse took a moistened pad of some kind and covered the tissue up.
“What’s wrong with him?” he asked. “That doesn’t look normal.” He hadn’t looked at the baby’s face yet; they were working on him, trying to intubate him because he wouldn’t start breathing on his own. Gus knew it was bad, so he stayed out of their way. Finally, a nurse came over to Gus.
“Your baby has a problem with his ability to breathe. That’s why we are putting the tube down his throat. Why not go back with your wife, and as soon as we are done evaluating him, Dr. Peterson here with come and talk to you both. Go on now, go be with your wife,” she said. Gus reluctantly moved away from the baby. Christina was smiling, chatting away why the doctor sewed up her episiotomy.
“How’s he look?” she asked him, smiling. “I can’t wait to hold him.” Gus noticed the doctor kept his head down while he worked. He was definitely not going to make eye contact.
“They have to do something to assist with his breathing, Chris,” Gus said. “The doctor will talk to us in a few minutes.”
“What’s wrong with his breathing?” she asked, suddenly frantic. “Is he okay?” Her doctor, finally finished, stood up and tore his gown and mask off.
“Christina, it’s not that uncommon to have to help a baby breathe at first, okay? As soon as Dr. Peterson is finished looking him over, he’ll be in your room to talk to you about your baby,” he said, and proceeded to get out of there before she could ask any more questions. The nurses helped Christina transfer to a stretcher and took her to her room to wait for the doctor.
Within the hour, Dr. Peterson came to Christina’s room to tell the parents the unfortunate news about their baby. He stood with his eyes averted, speaking words that would destroy this mother’s life, all the while crumbs from some goodie left in the doctor’s lounge falling out of his mustache onto the front of his lab coat.
“Your baby has Down’s Syndrome,” he announced. Besides his telltale facial features, the baby had part of his intestines growing outside his body and would require surgery to put them back in the abdominal cavity. They weren’t sure whether or not his heart was normal; cardiac issues were sometimes part of the Down’s picture. Neither of them was prepared for such news; Gus was in shock and Christina inconsolable. They named him Christopher. The tradition was to name male babies after the grandfather, but th
ey weren’t calling him Nicholas. He also didn’t want the baby to be named after Gus’ real name: Costandenios.
It took all his energy to act the concerned and loving husband and father. He’d never talked to Nick about Chris’s confession; whether or not Christina told Nick that Gus knew was an unknown. Gus struggled for a short time; what good would it do to confront his brother now? He wondered whether or not a paternity test should be done. Would it even show who the father was? The DNA testing of the time could determine if the child was from a certain paternal line. But excluding someone within the same family would be both expensive and time consuming. The day after his birth when surgery was eminent, the issue was resolved. During a routine type and cross test that would prepare blood for the baby if he needed it during the operation, baby Christopher’s blood type came back type B. Gus’s type was O and Christina’s was A. Nick’s was B. There was no way Gus could be Christopher’s father. Gus was devastated, but he would stick by his wife and raise the baby as his own.
But the baby’s problems were another matter. Gus wondered how a grocery store manager would pay for the care the baby needed. Nick would have to contribute something financially. His brother would have to pay up. Nick came to the hospital as he had every evening since Christina delivered; the dutiful brother-in-law. He stood next to Gus, looking in the nursery at the babies. Their baby wasn’t at this window; he was back in the intensive care nursery with a tube going down his throat into lungs. Gus had been crying; the news of the blood test and the precarious physical problems overwhelming the tiny baby too much for Gus’s gentle demeanor. Nick moved closer to his brother and put his arm around his shoulders for support.
“Anything I can do for you and Christy let me know. I’m here for you,” he said, believing himself sincere, but not fully understanding the implications of what he was saying. Gus blanched at the endearing name Christy; Nick was the only person who used it.
The Greeks of Beaubien Street Page 17