Chapter 9

Susan pulled into the parking lot of the roadside diner, checking the paper where she had written her instructions from Glen to make sure she had the right place. True to his word, he had called her that morning and Susan had agreed to meet with him, only if they could go someplace that was far enough out of the way that she didn't have to worry about running into anyone she knew.

She still wasn't sure what he wanted with her. After all, she had made it perfectly clear that she was a married woman. As far as the baby was concerned, she was more than willing to release him from any potential support, financial or otherwise. Between her husband and herself, they were quite able to afford the child on their own. She assumed that was what Glen was so concerned about…most men who were unprepared for fatherhood usually liked to dodge those kinds of responsibilities. Susan assumed that Glen was concerned about how much money she was going to try and take from him for child support. She hoped once she explained the situation to him and ensured him that she wanted nothing more from him, he would be more than happy to leave her and the baby alone.

She could see that Glen was already inside and she felt his eyes on her as she got out of her car and entered the diner. She looked around the place nervously, noticing that it was almost deserted except for a couple of elderly men who were sitting at the counter, talking and drinking coffee. She smiled faintly at one of the waitresses as she slowly made her way back to Glen's booth.

"Hi." he said, as he smiled at her and stood to help her into her seat.

Despite the circumstances, Susan couldn't help but return his smile. He really was a true gentleman and if she wasn't married, she would have grabbed him up in a heart beat.

"Thank you." she whispered softly, as Glen took his seat across from her again.

"Are you hungry?" he asked, as he picked up his menu and looked it over.

"A little." Susan replied, picking up her menu as well.

They sat in silence as they tried to decide what to eat, until they were interrupted by their waitress, who could barely keep her eyes off of Glen long enough to take their orders.

"I think I'll just have a small salad and a glass of water please." Susan said, as she handed the woman her menu.

"Oh come on now! Surely you can eat more than a salad…you're eating for two now, remember?" Glen fussed, before turning back to the waitress.

"Add a cheeseburger and some fries to her order and give me the same." Glen told the waitress, as he flashed Susan another smile.

She rolled her eyes at him and smiled back, surprised that he seemed to be so concerned about her condition. The waitress continued to stare at Glen for another moment or two before reluctantly walking away. Susan turned her gaze to the window, trying to concentrate on the passing traffic instead of the man who was sitting across from her. This whole situation was so awkward…she felt like she was cheating on her husband all over again. They sat together quietly for a few minutes more until Glen finally broke the silence.

"You look good Susan." he said softly, causing her to turn and look at him in surprise.

"Thank you." she replied, blushing at his comment.

"How have you been? Everything going okay so far with you and the baby?" he asked.

"Everything's fine." she whispered, turning her gaze back to the window.

Glen watched her, sensing how nervous she seemed around him now. His heart ached with his longing for her. He would have gladly given anything just to pull her into his arms and hold her and never let her go. But he realized that could never happen. She was already married and no matter how badly he wanted her, he wasn't willing to break up a marriage for his own selfish motives.

"Look, Susan…about yesterday…I'm sorry for just showing up at your house like that. I didn't intend to cause any trouble." Glen said, desperately trying to clear the air between them. "I just wanted to see you again so badly. If I had known you were married….I wouldn't have bothered you."

Susan looked at him and nodded. "It's okay Glen. You didn't know and you left before anything bad happened."

"Anything bad happened?" Glen asked, looking at her in confusion. "What's that supposed to mean? Your husband doesn't hit on you or anything does he?" His blood was already boiling at the thought.

"No. David would never hit me." Susan replied softly. "He just doesn't know about you…about that night. I never could bring myself to tell him…he would be so disappointed in me."

"How long have you been married? I don't mean to be nosy but…that night…you weren't wearing a wedding ring. Have you gotten married since then?"

"I've been married for ten years." she stated, cringing a little as the events of that night played over again in her mind.

Glen gave her a questioning glance. So she had been married that night…that explained why she had left without talking to him the next morning. It was obvious that she regretted what they had done.

"But your rings…"

"You're right. I wasn't wearing my wedding rings that night." Susan answered. "David and I had a big fight a few days before I left to go on that trip. I found out that he had been cheating on me. I was so angry, I took my rings off…I wasn't sure that I wanted to stay married to someone who could be unfaithful to me."

Susan grew quiet when the waitress approached their table again to give them their food. She placed Susan's plate in front of her, then turned to Glen and smiled at him seductively as she placed his food on the table, making sure to lean over far enough to give him an enticing view of her chest….if he had been looking. But instead, he ignored the woman completely, his eyes never leaving Susan as he watched the different emotions play across her face. Frustrated, the waitress threw Susan a hateful glare that also went unnoticed, then turned and walked away. Once she was gone, Glen broke the silence again.

"So what happened between you and your husband? I mean…obviously you were able to work things out…you're still together, right?"

Susan nodded. "I had to forgive him, especially after I was guilty of doing the same thing. We had some issues that we had to work out…it wasn't all David's fault. I went home and we had a long talk and we agreed to try to work out our problems. So far, things have gone really well."

Glen felt his heart tighten a little more at her words. As selfish as it was, a small part of him wished that they hadn't been able to work things out. Then, maybe she would have been free to be with him.

"I'm glad things are going well for you." Glen lied, forcing himself to smile at the comment. "I guess when you have ten years invested in something, it's worth fighting for to make things work."

Susan nodded again, as she picked at her food.

"What about you?" she finally asked, curious to know more about this huge man that was sitting across from her. "Have you ever been married before?"

"Yes. My wife and I divorced about three years ago." Glen replied.

"I'm so sorry." Susan replied, wondering how anyone could let a man like Glen slip through their fingers. "How long were you married?"

"Almost five years." he answered with a sigh and Susan took it as a sign that this was a subject he didn't like to discuss.

"I'm sorry Glen. I shouldn't have asked you about that. It's none of my business."

"It's okay, Susan. It's not really that big of a deal…it's just kind of a long story."

"Well, we've got plenty of time while we eat…if you feel like talking about it, that is." she replied with a smile.

For the remainder of their lunch, they discussed Glen's marriage…his ex-wife, her kids, his disappointment at having failed at the one thing that meant the most to him. Listening to his tales about his painful divorce, Susan was even more thankful that she had been able to work things out with her husband. She hated the thought of ever having to go through something like that with him. But at the same time, Susan couldn't help but feel sorry for Glen. His ex-wife had obviously hurt him badly. He seemed like such a good man. He certainly deserved to find someone who truly cared for him and who could make him happy.

Once Glen had finished talking about his marriage, they both grew silent again for several moments, until Glen finally spoke again.

"Look Susan…about the baby…"

"I don't want anything from you Glen." she interrupted. "I know you're probably worried about how much child support I'm going to ask from you and I just want you to know that I don't want or expect anything from you. David and I are quite capable of handling everything. You can leave here with a clear conscience and know that you will never hear from me again."

Glen stared at her in surprise for a moment, choosing his words carefully before he spoke again.

"Susan, I'm not just going to walk away from my child. I've waited forever to have a child of my own and I'm not going to pass up the chance to be a father. Money is the least of my worries."

Susan looked at him in shock.

"Glen…you can't be serious. I've already told you…David doesn't know about you…he thinks this is his baby. I can't tell him the truth…he can't find out about what happened between us that night." Susan replied, trying to keep the panic from creeping into her voice.

"Susan…this child is as much mine as it is yours. I'm sorry if my presence causes a problem for you…the last thing I want to do is cause trouble in your marriage. But I'm not going to give up my child…"

"Glen you can't….I'll have to tell David the truth…I can't let him know. Please don't do this. Please….just go and leave us alone…" Susan pleaded.

"Susan…"

"No Glen. This is my life…my marriage…my future that you're talking about. I'm not going to let you waltz in here and destroy everything that I've worked so hard to keep together."

"I'm not talking about your future…I'm talking about our child." Glen replied calmly. "Look…just sit down and tell your husband the truth…I'll even take all the blame for it…he can be angry with me instead of you.."

"I can't do that." Susan replied, the tears beginning to fall at the thought of losing her husband.

"I'm sorry Susan but I'm not going to just walk away. I can't do it." Glen replied. "I've already made up my mind. I'm going to look around town for someplace where I can live and I'm going to stay here on my days off, when I'm not traveling. I want to be near you and the baby. I want to know that things are okay with the both of you and I want to be there when my child is born…"

"NO!" Susan yelled, as she scrambled from her seat and grabbed her things. "You have no business here! Just stay away from me Glen! Just go away and leave me alone!"

Susan quickly headed for the door and Glen jumped up to follow her.

"Calm down Susan…please. It's not good for you or the baby.." Glen pleaded, as he caught her gently by the arm and tried to turn her around to face him again. Susan wrenched her arm free from his grasp and slapped him hard across the face.

"Leave me alone!" she screamed, before turning and running out the door.

Glen rushed to the doors to follow her outside, but just as he reached them, the waitress who had brought them their food stepped into his path.

"Forgettin' somethin' handsome" she purred, as she held up the piece of paper in front of his face. "Don't go tryin' to run outta here without payin' your bill…I'd hate to have to call the law on you…even though the thought of you in handcuffs does sound mighty nice."

Glen glanced at the ticket, then reached for his wallet and jerked out two twenty dollar bills.

"Here. Keep the change." he growled, throwing the money at the woman as he rushed passed her and headed outside.

By this time, Susan was already pulling out of the parking lot and Glen kicked his tire in frustration as he watched her leave. He considered following her, but he was afraid if he upset her too much, he might cause her to wreck and he certainly didn't want to put her in any danger. He decided instead that he would head back into town and look for a place to stay. He would try talking to Susan again later, once she had a chance to calm down. He needed to find a way to get through to her and make her understand how badly he wanted this child. He had to…because there was no way in hell that he was going to walk away.