Page 3 of Love In Harbor Falls

Tears filled my eyes because I couldn’t believe he was being so unsupportive.

“Well, I don’t want to wait. I’m thirty-four years old.” I threw my napkin on the table and went upstairs.

All I wanted was a baby with him, but he didn’t seem to share in the enthusiasm of starting a family, which hurt me to the very core of my soul.

“Listen, sweetheart,” he said as he walked into the bedroom, sat on the edge of the bed, and grabbed my hand. “I just think IVF is going to be harder on you, and I don’t want to see you go through that. I know plenty of women from the office who have been through it, and it didn’t work. It left them more depressed than when they didn’t get pregnant naturally. Chloe had invitro six times, and it didn’t work.”

“That doesn’t mean it won’t work for us.”

“True, but it may not, and I don’t want to see you any more hurt than you already are. Let’s just keep trying ourselves for another six months. That’s all I ask. If it doesn’t happen, you can go back to Dr. Shaw and start the process. Okay?” He placed his finger under my chin and lifted it so I was looking at him.

As much as I hated the idea, I knew I wouldn’t win this one. One of the qualities I didn’t like about him was he was stubborn and liked things done his way. But I didn’t want to wait to start IVF.

* * *

Another month passed, and when I climbed out of bed in the morning and went into the bathroom, I found my period had started, which meant no baby again. I gripped the edge of the marble countertop, lowered my head, and let the tears fall. After composing myself, I decided I needed a day to myself, so I called my boss and told him I was taking a personal day.

“Why aren’t you ready for work?” Darren asked as he sat at the island, eating a bagel and drinking a cup of coffee.

“I started my period.”

Reaching up into the cabinet, I took down a cup and filled it with coffee.

“I’m sorry, sweetheart. Come here.” He held out his arms.

I climbed on his lap and pressed my forehead against his while he held me.

“Are you just going to sit around here all day?” he asked.

“No. I was thinking about taking a few things to Goodwill and then heading over to the spa for a facial and a massage.”

“Good idea. You deserve to be pampered. If you’re going to Goodwill, I have a couple of old suits you could take if you don’t mind.”

“No. Not at all.”

“They’re in the back of the closet. The black pinstripe and the navy blue one. I really need to get going.” He glanced at his Rolex.

I climbed off his lap, and he kissed me goodbye.

“I love you. Enjoy your day, sweetheart.”

“I love you, too.”

CHAPTER3

Adalyn

After getting dressed, I went into the closet, pulled a few of my things out, and tossed them on the bed. Reaching all the way in the back, I grabbed Darren’s two suits and set them with the rest of the clothes.

“I better check your pockets first, Mr. Richards. You always seem to leave something in them,” I spoke out loud as I reached into one of the pockets of the pinstriped suit. “Good boy.”

Reaching into the left inside pocket of his navy blue suit, I found a folded white piece of paper. Holding it in my hands, my lip started to quiver, and my body began to shake. The paper was from the office of Dr. Fisch, a urologist on the Upper East Side. The only words my eyes could focus on were the ones typed in a box in the center of the page.

Vasectomy – $3,500

Paid in Full

My eyes diverted to the date, which happened to be three days after I miscarried our child two years ago.