The Baby Dilemma

by Rebecca Winters

  “Thank you.”

  Her limbs felt wooden as he assisted her to a chair beyond the swinging doors.

  “Someone will let you know when he’s been brought back. Is there anything I can do for you?”

  Kellie felt like she was in the middle of a nightmare where she was running from something, but everything was happening in slow motion.

  “Could you please phone his secretary and inform him of the accident? He lives here in town. Ask him to call Philippe’s parents.” She would phone everyone later, but for the moment her strength seemed to have left her body.

  He pulled a notepad out of his pocket. “What’s the secretary’s name and number?”

  She gave the aide the information. Once he’d disappeared, she sat there until her terrible weakness had passed. Then she got up from the chair and went over to the woman at the desk.

  “Would you call me a taxi please.”

  Ten minutes later, Kellie entered the apartment. She walked straight into Philippe’s study and sat down at his desk. Withdrawing the gold pen from its holder, one of their many wedding gifts, she reached for a notepad.

  My darling husband—

  Never doubt that I will always love you, but Yvette loved you first. We’ve only been married thirty days. She’s been carrying your baby for eight months. The “for worse” part of our vows didn’t cover that.

  I heard her call out your name. She had no idea I could follow her conversation with the doctor from the outside of the curtain. She was begging, pleading for you to come to her.

  After the things she told the doctor in confidence, there’s no doubt Yvette is pregnant with your son. I don’t blame you for anything, darling. But you must see she needs your help and protection now because she’s very sick with a high-risk pregnancy.

  I know you’re not the kind of man to abandon your responsibilities the way my birth father abandoned my mother and me, so I’m going back to Washington. When I get there, I’ll start divorce proceedings. Soon you’ll be free to marry her and be a full-time father to your child.

  Be assured the only alimony I want is your promise that you’ll do the right thing for Yvette and your son. No one will make a better father than you.

  All my love, Kellie.

  She pulled off her wedding ring and left it on top of the note, then she phoned for another taxi to drive her to the airport. She’d worry about what plane to take when she got there.

  Before the taxi arrived, she changed into wool pants and a sweater. After putting the food in the fridge and straightening the kitchen, she threw some clothes and toiletries in an overnight bag. When her packing was done, she grabbed her passport out of the dresser drawer, left her car keys on top, then walked out of the apartment without looking back.

  The second she got into the taxi, her cell phone rang. She ignored it and told the chauffeur to get her to Geneva as quickly as possible.

  During the drive, the phone went off at least twenty different times. Evidently Philippe had come back from X ray and was wondering where she’d gone.

  The ringing would stop once the doctors told him Yvette was calling for him and he realized how sick she was.

  “Kellie?” Her grandfather’s gray head peered around the door of the restaurant’s kitchen. “The phone’s for you!”

  “I’ll have to call them back, grandpa.”

  He walked behind the huge stainless-steel island where she was preparing the salads. “It’s Claudine.”

  Fresh pain stabbed her heart.

  “You’ve avoided every call from Philippe since you got home a week ago. Surely you’re not going to ignore his sister, too. That’s not right, honey. I’ll take over here. You go upstairs to the office and talk to her.”

  She took a deep breath, realizing this couldn’t be put off any longer. In any event, it wasn’t fair to her family.

  “All right. I won’t be long.”

  “Take all the time you need. You’re so bottled up, you’re going to explode one of these days. It’ll do you good to talk to her. She’s a sweetie.”

  Kellie’s grandfather, James Madsen, was crazy about Claudine who had lived with them for a month during her American homestay. She was a Didier through and through. Dark good looks, intelligent, high class, charm galore.

  He loved talking fractured French to her, and was hurt because Kellie’s marriage to her brother had broken up. Everyone in her family knew the reason why she was getting a divorce. She loved them for never having said a negative word or interfering.

  But she was aware that they were very fond of Philippe. Kellie’s mom was still grieving over her daughter’s smashed dreams, yet they’d all honored her wishes by keeping silent.

  She hurried to the sink to wash her hands. After leaving the kitchen she raced up the stairs to the next floor where their family lived above the thriving restaurant.

  Her grandfather had bought the property and opened it in the late sixties. He’d named it The Eatery, a play on words because they lived in Eatonville, Washington, gateway to the Cascades and Mount Rainier.

  Growing up it had been Kellie’s dream to turn it into a French restaurant one day. All her university education in French, plus her subsequent training as a French chef in Napa Valley, California, had been chosen with that end in mind.

  Then her grandfather had surprised her by sending her to France on a homestay through the university to improve her French. That was how she’d met Claudine. It was there in the Didier home she’d been introduced to Philippe who just happened to be visiting his family for the day.

  One look at him and she’d fallen so deeply in love, her entire world had changed. Evidently it had for him, too, because when the homestay came to an end, he’d followed her back to Washington. Before the month was out they’d celebrated their wedding.

  After experiencing euphoria in her thirty-day marriage to him, she realized life would never hold that same magic for her again. Not ever.

  She’d been trying so hard to put the past behind her. But she knew the second she heard his sister’s voice, the pain was going to come crashing through.

  Her hand trembled as she picked up the receiver in her grandfather’s study. “Hello, C-Claudine?”

  “Kellie—” her friend let out a mournful cry. “At last.”

  She could hardly swallow, let alone talk. “I—I’m sorry it has taken me so long to face you.”

  “Don’t apologize, chérie. I love Philippe, too, and cry myself to sleep every night for what has happened.”

  “H-how is he?”

  “If you mean physically, he’s recovering. The bone on his elbow was bruised, but he no longer has to wear a sling. His knee required surgery. Otherwise he would have come after you.”

  A quiet gasp escaped Kellie’s throat. His injuries had been worse than he’d made out. Who had been taking care of him?

  “Now he’s on crutches to keep the weight off it until it’s healed.”

  Every word from Claudine’s lips tore her apart a little more.

  “Kellie—you have to know that mentally my brother’s devastated you left him,” she confided in a tremulous voice.

  By now the tears were dripping off her cheeks. “Did he ask you to call me?”

  “No. He isn’t talking to anyone about anything. His pain is too deep. I’ve been praying you might have had time to reconsider your decision.”

  “It’s all I think about.” She half-sobbed. “But no matter how I view it, divorce is the only answer. Cutting ties with me frees him to fulfill his moral obligation. You and I both know what kind of a father he’ll make. You’ve seen him interact with your nieces and nephew. It’s one of the qualities about him that made me want to marry him.”

  “My brother can be a model father without marrying her!”

  “Visitation isn’t the same thing as belonging to one family. He mustn’t deprive Yvette’s baby of its father. I had to live my whole life without mine, and I don’t want his son to know the same deprivation. No
t only that, Philippe has wanted to get started on a family. Well, now he has one… Yvette adores him, and their child will be born any day now.”

  “That’s not the point, Kellie. He’s too deeply in love with you to consider marriage to anyone else.”

  “But there was a time when he cared for Yvette. Given a chance, those feelings could turn into love. He’s going to worship his child. If you were in my shoes, would you deny him the chance to raise their infant in his own household with the baby’s birth mother?”

  A brief silence ensued. “I can’t answer that. I don’t know what it’s like to grow up without a father. Obviously it has scarred you much more than I’d realized.”

  “Claudine— I heard Yvette confide in the doctor at the hospital right after they’d brought her in. The pain and the longing in her voice for Philippe killed me. I knew then what I had to do.”

  Again there was a hesitation before Claudine said, “What about your pain and longing for my brother?”

  “It doesn’t matter about me.”

  “That’s what you say now. But there’s going to come a day… I hope you won’t live to regret it.”

  “Please don’t hate me, Claudine,” she begged.

  “I won’t dignify your comment with a response. As for Philippe, I’m sure he wishes he could hate you. It would make things easier all the way around. Have you been to an attorney yet?”

  She sucked in her breath. “Yes. Philippe will be receiving the papers next week.”

  “It’s going to kill him.”

  “Don’t say that.”

  “I have to say it because I know my brother. You think a divorce will force him to marry Yvette, but you’re wrong. He loves you. Our whole family loves you.”

  “I love all of you, too,” her voice trembled. “I love you for caring so much, but Yvette and her baby are the important ones here.”

  There was a pause. “Kellie?”

  She wiped her eyes with the back of her free hand. “Yes?”

  “You’re the only wife he wants.”

  “He’ll change his mind when he’s there for the delivery and lays eyes on his little lookalike for the first time.”

  “I think you’re wrong.”

  “Claudine—”

  “I’m sorry. I promised myself I wouldn’t put pressure on you, and that’s all I’ve done since I rang.”

  “You have no reason to apologize. I’m so awful I haven’t even asked how things are going with Jules.”

  “They’re not.”

  “Why?”

  “Unlike my brother, I think he’s a real playboy who’ll never settle down. He’s too attractive, has too much money. He can put on a convincing act that I’m the only woman for him, but I know deep down that’s not true.

  “One day he’ll get bored and move on. I feel it in my bones. He doesn’t know it yet, but I’ve had my last date with him. I’ve got to keep looking for Mr. Perfect. Unfortunately no one ever measures up to Philippe.”

  It always came down to Philippe.

  No one could compare to him, but Kellie did know one man who had many of her husband’s sterling qualities. It was his good friend, Roger. Ever since she’d met him, she’d thought he and Claudine might hit it off. It was a subject she’d intended to broach with her husband.

  Now there was no more Philippe. At least not in her world.

  “I can tell you want to hang up, Kellie. Please call me once in a while. I couldn’t take it if you cut me off, too.”

  “I would never do that. You’ll hear from me soon. I swear it.”

  “A tout à l’heure, chérie.”

  “À bientôt, chère Claudine.”

  Kellie hung up the phone, dissolved in fresh tears.

  Unable to bear the pain, she ran through the house to her room and collapsed on the bed.

  CHAPTER TWO

  KELLIE?”

  Her head swerved toward the nurse. “Yes?”

  “Dr. Evans wants to talk to you. As soon as you’re dressed, just step into his office.”

  “All right.”

  Dr. Evans had been the Madsen family doctor for as long as she could remember. He’d seen her through everything from tonsils and stitches to fractures and flu.

  Lately she’d been having headaches and could pinpoint the onset of them to the day Kellie’s attorney had sent Philippe’s solicitor the divorce papers by express mail. The packet had gone out a week ago. Since then, the calls from Philippe had stopped.

  It was what she’d wanted, but she couldn’t help but be anxious about him and needed to know if the baby had been born yet. She could always phone Claudine. However a part of her was afraid that if she did that, she’d break down crying again and it would make her headaches worse.

  Hopefully Kellie’s doctor could prescribe something to take them away. The normal over-the-counter drugs weren’t helping.

  A few minutes later she left the examining room and walked into his office. He was waiting for her. “Sit down, Kellie.”

  After she’d taken a seat opposite his desk he smiled at her. “I believe I’ve discovered the source of your headaches, but I’ll leave it up to your obstetrician for a final determination.”

  Kellie blinked. Obstetrician?

  He stared at her. “You didn’t have any idea you were pregnant?”

  She lurched in the chair. If she hadn’t been holding on to the sides, she might have fallen out of it.

  His expression grew solemn. “I take it you and your husband hadn’t planned on starting a family yet.”

  “No— I—I mean we did want a baby. But we c-can’t have one now. We just can’t!” she cried in anguish.

  He leaned toward her, looking at her in that confiding way. “Kellie? In twenty-five years I’ve never seen you this emotional. Obviously something traumatic is going on in your life, thus the reason for the headaches.”

  His confiding tone had the effect of opening the dam. She buried her face in her hands and sobbed.

  He passed her the box of tissues on his desk. “Tell me what’s wrong.”

  Dr. Evans had always been like a father confessor, but for the first time in her life, she found she couldn’t talk to him. Not about this.

  How could she explain her feelings over finding out she was pregnant with Philippe’s child when he was awaiting the birth of his son right now? Maybe Yvette had already delivered.

  “I’m sorry,” she said a few minutes later, lifting her head to wipe her eyes. “Please forgive my outburst. Thank you for seeing me, but right now I’m afraid I have to go.” She shot out of the chair.

  His concerned gaze followed her to the door. “I’m the one who’s sorry. In light of your pregnancy, promise me you’ll get hold of an OB right away. Dr. Cutler’s one of the best. His office is on the second floor. Tell him I referred you.”

  She nodded. “Thank you, Dr. Evans.”

  “You want to have a healthy child. Don’t wait too long to start your prenatal care, and don’t take any medication unless you’ve cleared it with your OB first!”

  “I won’t. Goodbye.”

  Kellie couldn’t get out of his office fast enough.

  She hurried down to the car park and drove back to the café. It opened for lunch in half an hour. She needed to get busy going over the dinner menu.

  Her family didn’t know she’d been to the doctor. Until she’d made a decision about what to do, she didn’t want to tell them what she’d learned. At the moment she was still trying to absorb the news with all its ramifications.

  In order to avoid conversation, she parked behind the restaurant and slipped in the rear entrance which was used for delivery people. Luckily the other chef and the serving help were working at a steady pace. There was no unnecessary talk, especially on Fridays which brought in the large weekend crowds of tourists on their way to and from the Cascades.

  Her grandparents did the cashiering while her mom ran the dining room. That left Kellie in the kitchen to hide her grief over an unten
able situation. But by four o’clock that afternoon her head was splitting.

  She told the other chef she needed to quit for the day. Excusing herself, she went up to her room and called Dr. Cutler’s office for an appointment. The receptionist fit her in for the following Friday.

  When Kellie explained about her headaches, the nurse came on the line and told her of one painkiller she could take that wouldn’t hurt the baby.

  Kellie thanked her for the information and hung up. She’d already tried it, but she’d received no relief. The only thing to do was go to bed and hope she could sleep it off.

  To some degree her solution worked. A short nap seemed to stave off the worst of the pain.

  Over the next seven days while she waited to find out if Philippe’s solicitor had responded, she would excuse herself to lie down as soon as she felt a headache coming on.

  After her appointment with Dr. Cutler on Friday, Kellie made the decision to tell her family about her condition. As soon as they closed the restaurant for the night, she would sit down with them.

  “Kellie?”

  “What is it, Roy?” she asked the college age waiter who’d come in the kitchen for the steak dinners she’d put under the warmer.

  “Someone’s out in front wanting to speak to you. The woman said she’d wait until you had a break.”

  “I’ve already had mine for today. Who is it?”

  “I don’t know. I’ve never seen her before or believe me, I would have remembered.” He smiled. “It was Lee something. Her last name started with an M, but I can’t pronounce it.”

  Kellie didn’t know a woman named…wait a minute— No. It couldn’t be that Lee, the wife of Philippe’s best friend, Raoul.

  While Kellie had lived in the apartment with Philippe, Prince Raoul Mertier Bergeret D’Arillac, ruler of the French-Swiss cantons and his new twenty-six-year old American bride who was the same age as Kellie, had still been out of the country on their honeymoon.

  Though Kellie had never met either of them, she’d seen the news clippings of their royal wedding among the things in Philippe’s desk. He also had hundreds of photos and various videos of Raoul and his friends out climbing.