Baby Number Two(12)

Chapter 14



"We still have over five hundred boxes of Viagra left to move," Jason,  Silas's boss, informed him as if he didn't already know. "I'm gonna need  you to haul ass on that in time for quarterlies."



Silas nodded, turning his attention back to his work. He'd been slaving  over this latest pitch for days, but he still had a lot of fine-tuning  to do before the big medical convention he was attending at the end of  the month. To add insult to injury, things with Lara had worsened ever  since she'd bumped into him with Blair and Joy, so much so that he'd all  but moved into the guest room.



Wanting a distraction from his thoughts, Silas grabbed his cellphone off  his desk and dialed Joy's number with the hope that she'd pick up.  Hearing her voice had always been a great comfort to him, and he was  definitely in need of a little bit of that right about now.



"Silas," Joy greeted. "What's up?"



"I just wanted to hear your voice," Silas said, smiling to himself.  "I've had one hell of a day. I didn't call at a bad time, did I?"



"No, you're fine," Joy assured him. "I was just finalizing the details  for the party I'm hosting for some of the girls at the shelter this  weekend. A few of them just passed their GED tests, so I thought I'd  reward them. Which reminds me … would you want to come? There's gonna be a  ton of food. You could even bring Lara … "



Joy hated having to add on that last sentence, but she still felt guilty  about her and Silas's little parking lot kiss. Therefore, she figured  it was for the best to invite the both of them.



"Sure," Silas said, eager to see her again. "But … um … I don't think Lara  will be able to make it. She's going to a friend's baby shower this  weekend."



"Oh," Joy responded, secretly grateful. "Well the festivities start on Saturday at noon if you want to come solo..."



Silas jumped at the offer, and he was still floating on cloud nine when  he arrived at the shelter two days later. Joy greeted him at the front  door, and she looked absolutely stunning. The scoop neck dress she had  on clung perfectly to her curves, and she had her hair blown out and  styled in the exact same way she'd worn it at lunch the other day.



Joy spent the next hour setting up decorations and preparing the food,  and Silas couldn't help but admire her as she worked. She moved with  authority and confidence, and it was obvious that she had a natural  knack for interacting with young girls. They practically flocked around  her, and when she spoke, they listened. It was a side of her he'd always  known was there, but she'd been much more reserved in her college  years. Seeing how well she'd come into herself since then was impressive  to say the least.



Silas wasn't the only one impressed though. Joy had been sneaking  glances at him ever since he'd arrived, and she couldn't help but become  tongue tied when he removed his leather jacket to reveal perfectly  broad shoulders that pulled against the fabric of his V-neck. He'd  always been good looking, but age had been kind to him in a way it  wasn't to most men.                       
       
           



       



"Don't stare too hard," Gloria tease. "You're gonna dry out your contacts."



Joy tore her gaze from Silas to glare at the shelter's director. "It's  not what you think," she insisted, already on the defense. "We're just  friends."



"Uh-huh," Gloria deadpanned, opening up a pack of disposable plates and  setting them down on the table along with the rest of the utensils. "Is  that why the two of you have been eye fucking each other ever since he  got here?"



"We are not!" Joy hissed, feeling her face go hot. "We had a past, yeah,  but we're just friends now. Besides … he's off the market anyway. Or did  you not notice that very expensive engagement band on his finger?"



"Oh I saw it. I just don't see what it has to do with this. Trust me-

there isn't anything about the way that man keeps looking at you that says happily taken."



Joy started to respond, but she fell silent when she noticed Silas  making his way over to her from across the living room. "Enough," she  warned Gloria. "He's coming over."



Silas approached the two women and gave them a peculiar smile. Not  giving him the chance to speak, Joy took hold of his arm and offered to  give him a tour. The pair spent the next twenty minutes or so roaming  the halls of the shelter arm in arm, and he listened intently as she  told him the stories of all the girls who called the place home.



"What you do here is amazing," he commented once she was done. "You're an everyday hero."



Joy beamed. "Well, I don't know about that," she said, a coy smile  pulling at her lips. "But I do what I can. I was in a really bad place  after …  you know. Volunteering here was what got me back on the right  track again."



Silas stopped walking and turned to face her. "Is that why you tried to  commit suicide?" he asked in a matter-of-fact manner. He'd heard about  her failed attempt from Blair, but he didn't want to believe it.



Joy frowned. "You know about that?"



Silas nodded. "It was one of the reasons I finally got my shit  together," he admitted. "I already couldn't live with myself for turning  my back on you … after … but hearing what you tried to do killed me. I  couldn't stop blaming myself."



"Well you shouldn't have," Joy interrupted, reaching out to touch his  cheek in an attempt to get him to look at her. "What I did was no one's  fault but my own. You didn't make me swallow those pills, and you didn't  make me lose the baby either." Sucking in a shallow breath, she  hesitated, keeping her dark eyes firmly on his. "As for how we ended … I  forgive you. I just wish you'd forgive yourself."





Chapter 15



Silas left work early the following Monday, making his way home to have a  long overdue conversation with Lara about the state of their  relationship. He knew that she had the day off, and he was going to use  it to his full advantage. As hard as it would be, it was time for him to  come clean to her once and for all.



Silas was greeted by the sound of Lara tapping away on her keyboard as  soon as he walked through the front door, and he took a deep breath  before entering her studio. "I have something I need to tell you," he  said when she refused to acknowledge his presence in the doorway.  "Something important."



That last part seemed to grab her attention. Tearing her gaze from her  computer monitor, she stopped what she was doing and waited for him to  continue.



"First, I owe you an apology," Silas said once he had her full  attention, pausing as he tried to find the right words. "I know I've  been distant lately … but … you need to know that it's not entirely without  reason … "



Lingering on that, Silas removed an ultrasound photo from his jacket pocket and placed it down in front of her.



"I don't understand," she whispered as she studied it, shaking her head in disbelief. "What is this?"



Silas hesitated, taking a moment to gather his thoughts before allowing  the words he'd been holding hostage for too long to fall freely from his  tongue. "That's my daughter," he admitted, bracing himself for her  rebuttal. "Or at least … it would have been had the pregnancy lasted  full-term."                       
       
           



       



Lara looked up at him with wide eyes. "So who is she?" she questioned,  her expression stoic. "The girl this happened with, I mean … "



"Her names Joy," Silas responded. "We dated in college, and long story short, she ended up getting pregnant … "



Lara frowned. "Wait … Joy? Where have I heard that name before?"



"You met her a few weeks back," Silas explained, deciding to be honest.  "She was one of the women you bumped into me with at Filomena. The black  girl with the glasses."



Lara balked at him. "Seriously?" she sneered, letting out a humorless  laugh. "Wow. I knew something wasn't right about that. I guess I just  didn't think you went for dark meat … "



Taken aback by her choice of words, Silas pulled back and scowled at  her. "What the fuck?" he spat, his expression repulsed. "Look, I knew  you weren't going to make this easy on me, but I didn't think you'd go  pulling the race card … "



Not giving her the opportunity to respond, he lurched forward and  snatched the ultrasound picture from her grip before storming out of the  room. "We're done," he yelled from down the hall. "Pack your bags and  be out by sundown."