Spinelli walked through the front door of his house with a heavy heart. He wasn't sure how Maxie would take his news. After all, he had the last thirty years of Georgie's life laid out in a single file. A rather thick file.
He himself hadn't believed what he'd read about his sister-in-law. He was surprised to read of her accomplishments and of her sadness. It was a terrible thing to lose a loved one. But it was even worse to lose your entire family.
To give himself a moment of composure before he faced his wife, Spinelli walked up the stairs toward their bedroom. In the room, he put the file by Maxie's side of the bed—so that Georgie would not suspect that she was being looked into. As he threw water over his face, he made sure that his face told nothing of what he'd spent the afternoon reading. There was no time like the present to face Maxie.
When he walked into the kitchen, Maxie was at the sink, her hands elbow deep into the dishwater. He came up behind her and wrapped his hands around her waist. She grinned, turning and bringing her soapy hands to his cheeks.
"Spinelli! I thought I heard you come home," she exclaimed, kissing his lips and then turning back to her task.
"Yeah, I was upstairs. I found the information and it's upstairs in the bedroom," he said, his eyebrow raised slightly. He didn't really want to talk about it right now. Not with Georgie coming home any moment.
She mimicked the raised eyebrow. "Okay," she said, drawing out the first syllable. "Did you find anything interesting?"
He shrugged. "There's a lot of interesting information, Maxie. You will just have to read it for yourself."
She cocked her head. "Damien." Turning back to the counter where she picked up the dishcloth. She wiped the counter in a long circular motion as Spinelli stared at her.
Suddenly her shoulders began jerking up and down as sobs filled the room. Spinelli closed his eyes and crossed the room to her, wrapping her in him arms. She held on tightly as the tears continued to fall.
"Oh God! Why won't she just talk to me? Why do I have to sneak around and ask you to look into her life? I just want to get a little piece of my sister back. We used to talk about everything and now, all we ever do is polite small talk. I don't do polite small talk, but I don't know what to do!" she stepped back and threw her hands into the air, exasperated.
"I don't know Maxie. I wish I had the answer to all your questions, but I don't. No one does. We just have to wait. In the mean time, I love you Maxie Jones. And nothing, nothing is going to change that," Spinelli said, kissing her deeply.
Outside that close room, a person stood in the shadows. And that person closed her eyes and realized that once again, the secrets were taking a toll on her life.
GH*GH*GH*GH*GH
Molly pulled her car up to the big brownstone where Lila lived. She stopped the car and stepped out, grabbing a stack of boxes and two plastic bags containing their meal. As she did, Mattie waved her hands in the air and raced across the street.
"Hi, I got here as soon as I could. Is she home yet?" Mattie said, breathless.
Molly nodded. "Yeah, she's home. I called her when I was getting the food." She walked across the sidewalk and opened the door, holding it open for Mattie.
"Okay, now what? Now we have to convince Lila that she's really pregnant? I don't think that Lila will listen. She'd rather live in the land of denial," Mattie pointed out. She reached for the boxes, which Molly relinquished gratefully. Together they walked to the elevator and stepped inside. Molly pushed the arrow pointing up and the elevator lurched as it ascended through the building.
"Maybe, but she has to face the facts. She's pregnant. And in a matter of seven months or so, she will be a mother. And Cameron Spencer with be a father," Molly replied, arching her eyebrow.
"I wish that she would have come to the hospital. That way, I could have done an exam and everything," Mattie said, biting her lip. She wanted to make sure that Lila and her baby were okay.
"And she will, once we talk to her." It was said with assurance as the bell dinged and the elevator door opened. Molly strode down the hall toward Lila's apartment. Mattie quickly followed behind.
They stood in front of the closed door after Molly had knocked. They knew that Lila was on the other side, hesitating because she wasn't willing to face the truth.
Finally the door opened and a tired-looking Lila stood in front of them. "Hi," she said, opening the door wider to allow them to enter.
Molly took the bags from Mattie, walked into the kitchen and set all the packages on the counter. In the living room, Lila was still standing by the front door while Mattie slipped out of her coat and draped it over a chair. No one spoke.
Finally Lila grew annoyed with the silence. "I suppose I know why both of you are here." She placed a palm on her flat stomach, which showed that she was at least acknowledging her situation.
"We just want to help…" Mattie started.
"We just want you to know that you aren't alone," Molly finished quickly.
Lila sighed and dropped into her big plush chair. "I don't know what to do. And at the moment, I don't know which scares me more, the fact that I'm pregnant or that I have no idea where to go from here. I mean, I'm pregnant, expecting, with child. In a matter of months, I will be completely responsible for another life and I can barely keep my own from falling down around me!"
"Lila, Lila, calm down," Mattie soothed, standing up to walk behind her friend and giving her a brief shoulder rub.
"Well, we can't tell you what to do exactly. But we can help make your choices a little easier," Molly replied.
Lila shook her head. "I know that I will have to tell Cam, but I'm afraid. Not afraid of what he'll say or do, but of how it will change us. I mean, we have been in a constant state of limbo forever and we were just beginning to get to a really good, solid place. And now, I'm pregnant."
"Are you angry that you are pregnant?"
Lila shrugged off Mattie's hands. "I can barely comprehend what caused this, let alone how I feel about this baby. I-I'm not mad, more so surprised. I never planned—never even thought about getting pregnant. And now that I am, well, it changed the entire playing field." She stood up and stalked to the window, looking out into the night. "I will tell Cameron, but I won't get married simply because of this baby. I am a career-driven independent woman. I don't need a man to help me. He can still be as involved in this baby's life as he wants. But unless I know that he wants to marry me because he loves me and wants to spend the rest of his life with me, we shall remain single, involved parents," she finished with a quick nod and both Mattie and Molly knew that she was very sure of herself.
"Okay, so now that we have the intervention part of the evening out of the way, we should eat," Molly said, standing up and walking to the kitchen. Lila followed her.
"Is that Chinese I smell?" she asked excitedly.
"Yes, chow mein and pork fried rice," Mattie answered, helping Molly unload the bags and cartons.
"I hope that you got extra egg rolls," Lila said, taking the top off of a carton of almond chicken. She smelled it and smiled. "I'm barely pregnant and already I want all the food I can get!"
"I'm sure that you didn't feel that way this morning," Mattie replied dryly, knowing that her friend had suffered horrid morning sickness earlier in the day and that it would most like occur in the same way for the next few weeks.
Lila grimaced and shook her head. "No, but I now I'm great. And I'm starving! I'm also sure that this is my first craving." She grinned and upon finding the carton of the egg rolls, but into one with enthusiasm.
Molly cracked a small smile and shared a quick look with Mattie. Clearly, it was going to be a long, long seven months.
GH*GH*GH*GH*GH
So, how's the story so far? I'm sorry that I haven't updated in a while. I've been busy, but also, I was a little stuck. I don't know where to go from here. I'm hoping that some of my readers can give be a little insight. Where do you want this story to go? Please, help me!!