7

Coping With Reality

Vera tried her best to ignore her condition in the same way she had in the past, but it was no longer as easy as it once was. There was no denying it now; she was for sure going to have a baby, whether she wanted to or not. She supposed she could still have an abortion, but there would be more complications to it. Supposing something went wrong, supposing that the procedure would somehow leave her sterile...

Yes, sooner or later she would have to make a decision about what to do about the baby or else she'd be a mother before she knew it. She would have to decide if she wanted to abort it, give it up for adoption, or somehow make motherhood work. Neither she nor her sister nor her mother knew it, but her life would very soon undergo a very cruel twist that would force her to make a decision...


It was on a cool day in early November that Vera and Evelyn went out for lunch at a restaurant that wasn't fancy, but was certainly no soup kitchen either. While waiting for their orders to be served, they went into the women's washroom to discuss Vera's 'situation'.

"Now I know this is something you'd rather not think about," said Evelyn as she closed the stall door behind them. "But you had better decide what to do about the baby now or else it will be too late. First of all, you know I'll support you no matter what you choose, but if you don't make a decision really soon, you will have to carry it full term. I won't allow you to go to those women I suggested."

Congratulations, Evelyn, thought Vera bitterly. You have mastered the art of contradiction.

"I'm sorry," said Evelyn as though she could read Vera's mind. "But the procedure is just too risky now more than ever. What if you end up unable to have another child?"

"Then I'll adopt," said Vera, even though she didn't believe she truly would be comfortable with never knowing what giving birth and holding a newborn baby she had created in her arms must feel like.

"What if you died?" insisted Evelyn. She muttered, "Times like these make me wish abortion were safe and legal."

"I don't care," said Vera before she could stop herself.

The look of shock and hurt on Evelyn's face struck Vera harder than any slap. "Vera," said Evelyn softly, "I would care. We've talked about this before, haven't we? Anytime you need me, I'll be here. Don't let this destroy you, okay? Just don't."

The way Evelyn's voice broke up over the word 'don't' reminded Vera of the day her mother said it was hard to see her suffer like this. It made her heart ache enough to make Vera say, "I'll hang on as best I can. For you." She sighed, "Just...know that this is difficult for me, okay? If I don't get back to you within the past two weeks, you'll know I'm not going to abort. As for what I'll do when the baby's born..."

Her voice faded.

"You don't have to think about that right now," said Evelyn. She smiled and gave Vera a light pat on the shoulder. "Now let's go back to our tables. I'm sure our orders will be here by now."


Lombard was not much of a spying fellow. He enjoyed taking risks, but spying was beneath him.

Not on this particular day.

He had seen Vera drive right by his house with another woman in front whom he assumed to be her sister. He planned on following them to wherever it was they were going to, waiting until Vera was alone, and confronting her. He would ask her how dare she do this to him and convince her to drop the charges.

He had finally traced them down to some middle-class restaurant, but didn't follow them inside, for he knew Vera would try to get away. No, the trick was to catch her by surprise. He would wait outside by the building's back door and occasionally peek around the corner to see if she was out yet. When she was, he would wait until she was alone and then confront her.

He grinned to himself while waiting outside. He could picture the humiliation on her face when he accused her of being a backstabbing whore in public and exposed her for what she truly was. And he would stand there and laugh.

Or maybe not, if it made him look like the villain. Instead, he would just give her a pitying grin and walk off, the sleek panther triumphant over the trembling gazelle.

Lombard rubbed his hands together impatiently. He had been standing outside for nearly an hour now, and was beginning to feel the effects of the cold weather. It was getting to the point where he could see his breath whenever he felt the urge to ease tension by breathing in and out slowly.

"Damn it, how long does ordering a meal and then eating it take?" he muttered.

He walked around the side and peeked around the corner one last time. Some people were going, but not one of them looked even close to Vera Claythorne.

"Might as well give up," he sighed. If she wasn't going to come out now, she probably never—hold on.

Lombard retreated ever so slightly. Sure enough, out came two women—one with mousy brown hair, the other with slightly more lively hair wearing the same gray coat she had wore the night she seduced him.

He grinned his wolf-like grin. This was it. Here was the panther easing in on its prey...

"You know, Evelyn, it's funny," he could hear her say. "Ever since we came, I've had the feeling I'm being watched."

He had to get the sister to leave—but how? Damn it, why couldn't he have taken advantage of the earlier opportunity to flatten her tire or otherwise sabotage her car somehow?

"Follow that instinct, Vera," said the other woman. "It's better to be safe than sorry. I'll stick by you, if you like."

"No, you go on ahead," said Vera with a wave of her hand. "Just give me a minute; I think I left my purse inside. As long as there are plenty of people, I'm sure I'll be perfectly safe."

Yes...Lombard felt rather giddy all of a sudden. This was just like the old days, only better...

He waited until the sister was gone. Then, sleekly and silently like a panther, he followed Vera into the restaurant, being extra careful to avoid being caught by the enemy. She didn't have much strength left, but she had enough to know when to scream for help, he knew that much.

He followed her to the booth where he presumed she had had lunch. He flashed his teeth and began to take one step forward...

"Damn," sighed Vera. "That's right."

She got up and marched off, leaving Lombard feeling temporarily defeated, but he quickly picked himself up and silently followed her through the crowd, careful enough to make it look innocuous to anyone else nearby.

She opened the door to the women's washroom. Lombard knew he only had one chance to make this look like a perfectly innocent mistake, and he would take it...


Vera sighed with frustration. Of course, she had left her purse in the bathroom when she had been talking with Evelyn earlier. How stupid was that of her?

"At least no one stole anything," she muttered, quickly going through her purse's contents.

She slipped the purse over her shoulder...and paused. She thought she felt something—like a very quick flutter in her stomach. Was that the baby, or gas?

Her blouse covered up her stomach quite well; you'd never know the difference. She gently unbuttoned the last button on her blouse and lifted it up ever so slightly, just enough to properly see her stomach, which was getting bigger by the day. She ran one hand on her stomach and softly said, "Was that you?"

Her stomach had settled down again, but her nerves were acting up. She had a strong feeling she was in grave danger.

Vera slowly turned around...and saw him.

Philip Lombard.

He was standing there.

Vera froze. Then, she realized he had frozen as well. He looked as though he had wanted to say or do something to her, but then stopped once he saw her belly.

He knew...he knew...

Vera realized she had been stupidly standing there with her blouse exposing her belly the entire time. She quickly buttoned the last button back up and, taking advantage of the opportunity before Lombard could change his mind, marched right past him and pushed the door open.

She was nervous the entire time; she kept turning around to see if he was following her. Fortunately, he was no longer bothering her, so she made it to the car unharmed.

"What happened?" asked Evelyn. "You look white as a sheet."

The man who—stole my virginity, otherwise known as this baby's father, now knows I'm carrying his child, and I don't know if he's going to use it against me in court or not, or if it means I'm in more danger than ever. I assume you'd be white as a sheet, too?

"Nothing," said Vera, shaking her head. "It's nothing. I'm just tired. Take me home."