Elisa Read online

  I nodded. “Well, that doesn’t matter. I’ll pay for it.”

  “Doctor visits and tests cost a fortune, Jared.”

  “I don’t give a shit. We are going.”

  “No.”

  I clenched the table with my fingers. “I have money, Elisa. When have I ever given you the impression that I didn’t? And this is my baby too. I want you to go to the doctor and get checked out. You can’t argue with me.”

  She met my gaze. “Jared—”

  “Please, just do this for me.”

  Her eyes widened. “You can’t argue with me about this. Go get ready—now.”

  After she stared at me for a moment, anger brewing her in eyes, she finally left the kitchen and went into the bedroom. I felt horrible for yelling at her but she was being infuriating. I didn’t give a shit about the cost of the doctor. My baby’s health was on the line. And after we got married, her and all the kids would have health insurance.

  She came out forty-five minutes later, her lips pressed together in a line and her gaze averted. I knew she was mad at me but I didn’t address it. Sadie said she would watch the kids while we went to the doctor, so we left without further discussion. I held Elisa’s hand as we walked down the street. Her hand barely squeezed mine.

  I got her into the cab then sat beside her. After I gave the address to the driver, I looked at her. “Ellie, come on.”

  She looked away.

  I sighed. “I apologize for yelling at you.”

  She still said nothing.

  “You were being inconsiderate and it was pissing me off.”

  “Don’t ever talk to me like that in front of our kids,” she snapped, glaring at me.

  I grabbed her hand. “Elisa, I would never do that.”

  Her eyes softened. “Okay.”

  “Don’t ever worry about the cost. In the end, what’s more important? Money or health?”

  “I just didn’t want to go in yet. Maybe in a month or two when the development stages are more critical. We can get more for our money.”

  “Like I said, I don’t care about money.”

  She looked straight ahead and fell silent.

  When we reached the doctor’s office, the nurse ushered us into a room. Elisa lay on the bed and closed her eyes. I stood beside her and ran my fingers through her hair. The tension from the fight seemed to disappear in light of where we were. I could see the happiness of her face. It matched mine.

  “Ellie, can I ask you something?”

  “Of course, babe.”

  “How did this happen?”

  She shrugged. “Well, I guess I got off schedule when I was in the hospital and we had sex right after that. Once we were back together, I was so happy that I didn’t think about it.”

  “So, you didn’t do it...on purpose?”

  She shook her head. “I can’t believe you would even ask me that.”

  “I’m sorry,” I said quickly. “I’m not accusing you of anything.”

  “I admit that I tricked you before you left, but I would never do something like that.”

  “Okay. I’m sorry I even considered it.”

  “It’s okay,” she said quietly.

  I placed my hand on her stomach. “I’m really excited about this. Even if you had tricked me, I would still be happy.”

  “You’re so sweet, Jared. I was so scared about how you were going to react.”

  “Are you kidding? I can’t wait to be a father. I’ve always wanted a baby of my own.”

  “Well, we aren’t married so I wasn’t sure how you would feel about it.”

  “That doesn’t make a difference to me. It’s just a piece of paper, Ellie.”

  “Do you think your dad will be disappointed?”

  I shrugged. “It doesn’t matter if he is. I’m still happier than I’ve ever been. The opinions of other people don’t matter. When you stop caring about what other people think, it makes you feel free.” I rubbed my hand across her stomach. “And when you believe in something so much, you’ll always stand by it forever. No one can take this feeling away.” I kissed her stomach then pulled away.

  “I love you,” she whispered.

  “I love you too.”

  The doctor came in and shook my hand. He was old, frail enough to retire. He started the sonogram machine and placed the lubricated probe against her stomach. When the image formed on the screen, I couldn’t decipher anything. It was a blur of black and gray lines.

  “That’s the heartbeat,” the doctor said, pointing to the small movement within the picture.

  I stared at it, mesmerized by the beauty of nature. My whole life was in that picture, the child I would love forever. “It’s beautiful.”

  Elisa squeezed my hand.

  “Do you know the sex of the baby?”

  He shook his head. “Sorry. That won’t be determined until the second trimester.”

  I nodded. “I’m excited to know.”

  Elisa smiled. “I hope it’s a girl. I want another one.”

  “I would be happy with either one.” I looked at the doctor. “So is everything okay?”

  “She’s perfectly healthy. She doesn’t need any special accommodations or treatment. I’ll just get you some vitamins.”

  I breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you so much.”

  “Congratulations,” he said as he walked out.

  Elisa sat up and I helped her to the floor. She pulled down her shirt and hid the pale color of her skin. I wrapped my arms around her, unable to hide my excitement.

  The nurse returned with a bag and gave it to Elisa. She placed it in her purse then we walked to the lobby.

  “Stay here,” I said when I helped her sit down in a chair against the wall.

  “Where are you going?” she asked.

  “I’ll be right back.” I walked to the counter until the nurse looked at me. “I would like to pay for the visit today.”

  “Well, we’ll contact your insurance and have them billed.”

  “My girlfriend doesn’t have insurance.”

  She looked at her computer and pulled up Elisa’s name. “I see.”

  I opened my wallet and handed her the credit card.

  “You usually just send a check after you get the bill.”

  “I don’t want her to see it,” he whispered. “Can we do this here?”

  She nodded. She pulled up the forms then printed them out. When I looked at the number I was astounded by the cost. I didn’t think twice about it and handed over my credit card. I hoped Elisa couldn’t see what I was doing.

  The clerk ran it through the machine then handed it back to me. “Thank you, Mr. Montague.”

  “Have a good day,” I said as I turned away. I walked back to Elisa and helped her to her feet.

  “What was that?” she asked.

  “They asked me to fill out a survey,” I lied.

  She stared at me. “Thank you for everything, Jared.”

  I smiled. “I’ll always take care of you.”

  “I know.”

  I grabbed her hand and we walked back to the townhouse.

  “After the baby is born, I’ll start working,” she said.

  “What? Why?”

  “Well, Tommy and Becky will be in school by then. And I don’t want Ethan to support me forever. He’s got his own life.”

  “I’ll take care of you. I thought I made that clear.”

  “Well, I want to help out with the bills and stuff. We’re a team.”

  I stopped and looked at her. “And what are we going to do with our baby? Someone needs to take care of it.”

  “We can hire help.”

  I shook my head. “We aren’t doing that.”

  “I can’t expect you to take care of all of us. I want to help.”

  “No.”

  “Jared—”

  “I don’t want a stranger taking care of my kid,” I snapped. “I want it to be you. I want to come home and see you greet me with a smile and kiss. I want y
ou to cook dinner for me and spend the day with our children. I don’t want you to work, Elisa.”

  “But that isn’t fair.”

  “How? That’s exactly what I want.”

  “Well, I’ll start working after the baby gets old enough.”

  “And what about our other kids?”

  “Our other kids?”

  “I want to have at least one more.”

  “You want to have four kids?” she asked incredulously.

  “Five, if you are willing.”

  “Jared, kids are expensive.”

  “Don’t ever worry about money. I have plenty of it.”

  “But I want to be equals.”

  I sighed. “It would be different if you had a career that you loved and were passionate about, but if you just want a job for money, then no, it’s not going to happen.”

  “I’ve been taken care of my whole life. I want to be independent.”

  “Baby, being a full-time mom is a job. You don’t get paid, but it’s pure work. I’m sure you agree with me.”

  She didn’t say anything.

  “And being a homemaker is work too. Please don’t feel like you aren’t contributing to the family because I work in business and you don’t.”

  She squeezed my hand. “Okay.”

  “If you want to get a job when the kids are much older, then sure, but we can manage without it.”

  We walked a few blocks before we crossed the street, approaching the townhouse a few feet down the road. There weren’t too many people out. Everyone was in the shopping centers completing last minute Christmas shopping.

  I felt Elisa pull away from me. “What are you—”

  I stopped when I saw Elisa being held by the throat with a knife. A man wearing all black with a beard held the edge to her throat. I didn’t even see him. I had no idea where he came from. My first instinct was to attack him but I knew that was stupid. Elisa started to whimper in his arms, tears falling down her face.

  I raised my hands in the air. “I’ll give you whatever you want. Please don’t hurt her,” I begged. I reached into my pockets and threw everything I had: my wallet, keys, sunglasses, phone—everything. I took off my jacket and threw it on the ground. “You can get a few hundred dollars for the jacket. Please let my girlfriend go.”

  He still held the knife to her throat while he inched toward the pile.

  I kept my hands in the air. “Ellie, it’s going to be fine. Just stay quiet.”

  She whimpered again.

  The man kicked the goods around before he looked back at me. “Show me your pockets.”

  I pulled them out then raised my hands in the air. “You got it all. Now let her go—please.” I kept my voice steady so Elisa would stay calm. I had never been more scared in my life. I wished the fucker was holding a knife to my throat—not my pregnant girlfriend. When he blinked, I recognized the freckle on his left eyelid. The anger burst through me in a crescendo.

  As soon as he glanced down again, I made my move. I sprinted at him and grabbed the arm that held the knife to my girl’s throat. I twisted it down and slammed his arm on my thigh, dropping the knife to the ground. I pushed Elisa away. “Run!” I turned back to the man and gave him everything I had. Now that he didn’t have a weapon, he was scared. I punched him in the mouth, then the gut, and then the groin quicker than he could think. I moved so fast that I could barely see what I was doing.

  When he kneeled down, he reached for the knife, but I kicked it away then kicked him in the head before pinning him to the ground and pushing his face against the frozen concrete.

  “Elisa, grab the phone and call the cops.”

  With shaky hands, she picked it up and made the call. I didn’t take my eyes off the attacker. He made sudden attempts to free himself when he used all of his energy, but I used my weight to keep him down. I wasn’t letting him get away.

  Elisa stayed on the phone while we waited for help. She was crying the entire time. I wanted to comfort her but I couldn’t. I had to concentrate on that motherfucker so he wouldn’t escape.

  When cops pulled up, they grabbed the guy and handcuffed him. I immediately rushed to Elisa and held her to my chest. “You okay?”

  She nodded but didn’t speak, crying into my chest.

  The cops questioned me while I held her. I told them everything that happened. “It’s the same man that assaulted Elisa before.”

  “How do you know that?” the officer asked.

  “He has the freckle on his eyelid. Elisa identified him.”

  The cop looked at her. “Is that true?”

  She nodded.

  “Thank you. We’ll investigate it.”

  “Thank you,” I said.

  They climbed into their vehicles then drove away. Elisa was completely immobile so I carried her home. When we walked inside, we avoided the kids and went to the bedroom. Ethan and Sadie followed us and left the children in the living room.

  Ethan opened the door. “Is everything okay?”

  I held Elisa and rocked her back and forth. “Shut the door.”

  They came inside then stepped toward us. I told them the whole story.

  “Oh my god,” Sadie said as tears sprang to her eyes.

  Ethan was silent, speechless.

  “But you caught him?” Sadie asked.

  I nodded. “The cop said they’ll investigate it and determine if it is the same guy. I’m a hundred percent sure it is.”

  “Did she get hurt?” Ethan asked.

  “No. He didn’t hurt her.”

  Elisa sat up and pressed her forehead against mine. “You saved me.”

  “I’ll always save you.”

  “That was risky. You shouldn’t have done that,” Ethan said.

  I stared at him. “We’ll talk about it later.”

  Elisa looked at me. “What?”

  “Nothing,” I said.

  “Tell me,” she whispered.

  “I had to do something because I think he was going to kill you.”

  She gasped. “What?”

  “What are the odds that he would be right by our townhouse unless he was looking for you? I think he wanted revenge for pinning him as a suspect.”

  She covered her mouth and started to cry harder.

  I looked at Ethan. “So no, I didn’t have a choice.”

  Ethan ran his fingers through his hair. “Thank you so much. I—I don’t know what to say.”

  “Say nothing,” I said. “I would die for Elisa. I would do it again in a heartbeat.”

  Sadie rubbed Elisa’s back. “It’s okay, honey.”

  She clutched me tighter. “I don’t know what I would do without you.”

  “You’ll never find out.” I looked at Ethan and Sadie. “I got her. We’ll talk more tomorrow.”

  They nodded then left the bedroom, closing the door behind them.

  24

  Elisa was a zombie for the next week. I didn’t know what to do to help her. I knew this was something that I couldn’t fix. She was traumatized more than any person should ever be. She had been attacked twice in two weeks. That wasn’t good for any sane person.

  I took care of the legal stuff as much as possible. I testified against the assaulter, Jim Robbins, and recounted every second of the incident. I gave a written statement and was as cooperative as possible. I wanted to see that fucker rot behind bars.

  Elisa was asked to come in once to testify and confirm that he was the same attacker from both incidents. It took me a long time to convince her to go, and I still needed Ethan’s and Sadie’s help to persuade her. I didn’t think she was weak. I knew she was severely traumatized. She was so disturbed that we didn’t make love for over a week.

  She told me how thankful she was that I saved her and how she felt safe with me, but she couldn’t forget what happened. It woke her up in the middle of the night, screaming. I knew the recovery process would take a long time.

  When Christmas Eve arrived, she was a little better, but I th
ink it was because she was trying to put on a brave front for the kids. She didn’t want to ruin the holidays for them. We watched Christmas movies while we drank hot cocoa. We invited my dad over and he immediately loved the kids. He spent more time talking to them than to us.

  Sadie told me that my father never even knew I left. She was convinced that I would come back so she never told him the truth. And since my mom never talked to my dad, I knew he would never find out. It worked out pretty well. I’m glad that my sister knew me so well.

  “Dad, I have to tell you something,” I said.

  “What?” he asked as he looked at me. He was playing with Tommy’s toys and seemed more interested in doing that.

  “Elisa and I are having a baby.”

  “What?”

  I nodded. “It’s true.” I patted her stomach.

  He stood up and clutched his chest. “I’m gonna be a papi?”

  I smiled. “Yeah.”

  There was moisture in his eyes for a moment but he blinked it back. “That’s great, son.” He hugged me tightly and patted my back. “I’m so happy.” He turned to Elisa and hugged her. “This is wonderful.”

  “We are very excited about it,” I said.

  “Now I have three grandchildren.”

  Koku barked.

  “I mean four,” he said quickly. He looked at Sadie. “And I hope more are on the way.”

  She smiled. “They’ll be here eventually.”

  My dad hugged me again. “I’m so proud of you, son.”

  I was not expecting him to say that. If anything, I thought he would be disappointed. “Really?”

  “Yeah. You found the woman you love and who loves you. You’re a family.”

  “We’re all a family, Dad.”

  He nodded. “I’m so excited. Have you started planning?”

  Elisa looked at me. “We are still discussing everything,” she whispered.

  We spent the rest of the evening talking about the baby, brainstorming names for boys and girls. I didn’t have any in mind. I didn’t even care if it was a boy or a girl. I just wanted it to be healthy and happy. If we had a girl, she would be beautiful like Elisa, and that would cause problems with boys. But I guess that is the same issue even if we had a boy.

  After my dad left and everyone went to bed, Elisa and I went into our bedroom. I was so thankful that everyone was just as excited for this baby as we were. Even the kids seem excited, though they didn’t seem like they really understood what we were saying. We crawled into bed then turned off the lights. I kept the bedroom door open at night so I could hear everything in the house. I preferred to keep it shut but Elisa couldn’t sleep unless the door was open. She insisted that I check the gun in the drawer every night as well. Since she was so traumatized, I did whatever I could to make her feel more comfortable. Perhaps in time she wouldn’t be so paranoid. I had no right to berate her about living in fear. I had never been held at knifepoint before, nor had I ever been mugged—much less twice. And my spouse didn’t pass away because he was killed by a mugger.