“Isn’t that anything else they can do for you?” Natalie sat and took his hand again.
“Had as much chemotherapy as I can stand, thank you very much. And now they say I’ve probably got a few weeks. I wanted to make sure I spoke with you just in case they’re patronizing me, or like the guy in the next room, I slip into a coma.”
Tears welled up in her eyes. She hadn’t seen him for close to fourteen years but the thought of him no longer being in this world broke her heart. In all honesty, a day hadn’t gone by when she hadn’t thought about him, even if it was just for a passing second. Him and…
“I have a request.” He coughed again.
“And what’s that?”
“I want you to find our baby…well, I guess it’s probably our teenager by now.”
Natalie squeezed his hand. That had been the other person she’d thought about everyday since she’d given birth.
Their baby.
“Jon, I…”
“You’ll do it right?”
She nodded. Finding him or her without Jon was going break her heart, but if that’s what he wanted, she’d do it.
“Once I’m gone my attorney will be contacting you. He has some items I want to give to the child. Also, when my condo’s sold, I’ve requested that the money go to the child for their college education.”
Natalie swallowed. He’d obviously thought a lot about this. About their child. Sometimes she thought she was the crazy one for still harboring a longing for what they’d lost.
“And when you find him or her; tell them that I love them and that I loved their mother more than anything else in the world.”
“Jon, please stop because this is breaking my heart.”
Natalie burst into tears and set her head down on Jon’s chest. She could hear his heart beating just like she did when they snuggled together after making love. Just like the night when she’d gotten pregnant.
****
Natalie pulled up in the driveway of her parent’s home and got out of her car. She headed to the door. She’d come from Jon’s funeral, and while she just wanted to go home and have a good cry, she had to get this out of the way.
Digging through her purse for the key, she looked up to see the door now open and her parent’s maid, Kym, standing there smiling at her.
“Hi, you want to come in?” she asked.
Natalie stepped into the foyer. “Are my parents home?”
“They sure are, and they’re both in the sun room.”
“I’ll go back there and see them.”
“You want anything to drink or eat?”
“Some tea would be great.”
She nodded and left while Natalie made her way to the back of the house, through the dining room, and into the sun room where her mother and father both sat reading.
Her dad was the first to spot her.
“Hi darling.”
He stood and hugged her. Her mother glanced at her over the top of her reading glasses.
“I take it by the outfit you’re wearing that you went to Jon Nelson’s funeral.”
Natalie hadn’t known whether or not to wear her black dress and shoes. She knew Jon wouldn’t want everyone looking sad and drab, but in the end, her proper upbringing had won out, and all black had been the color choice of the day.
“I did.”
“Yes, I saw his obituary a few days ago. You obviously did too.”
Her father offered his seat, and Natalie sat.
“No, Jon’s sister called me, and I went to see him at the hospice last week.”
“That was very nice of you,” said her father sitting next to her.
“It’s actually the reason I’m here.”
“Darling, I thought any business with Jon was well in the past,” said her mother.
Natalie knew this wasn’t going to be easy.
“It might be for you, but it never has been for me.”
Her mom and dad glanced at one another.
“Now, what’s brought back all these silly memories again?” asked her mother
“Jon’s requested that I find our child.”
Her mother jumped up from the chair like it suddenly had an electrical current running through it. “Still the same old Jon Nelson; even in death trying to cause problems for our family.”
“Mother, would you for once in your life have something nice to say about him? He’s gone, you never have to see him again so some respect would be nice.”
“I know it’s not polite to speak ill of the dead, but he was always trouble. He was back then, and it seems even in death he’s playing with your head. You had a baby. The baby was adopted, so it’s the end of that story.”
Her mother threw down the book she was reading, walked to the window and looked out, all the time pulling on the necklace around her neck. Natalie stood and walked over to stand beside her.