Exception (34 page)

“I was ecstatic. I’ve always wanted to be a dad and we desperately needed the new beginning her words and a baby promised. That put our relationship back on track. We were happy and in love again, or at least I was. But everything changed two and a half months later.

“During a meeting with my thesis advisor, she called me, crying and a bit hysteric, saying that she’d lost the baby. I was so shocked that I hardly remember going home. When I got there she was on the bed, crying. I curled up next to her and held her as tightly as I could. I waited until she fell asleep to cry, not wanting to add my own sorrow to hers. As she slept, I took her blood-stained towel and underwear out of the bathroom and loaded them in the washer, so she wouldn’t have to deal with that, and made some soup, which I took to her in bed once she woke up. I tried to talk about going to the hospital, but she wouldn’t hear about it. According to her, all she wanted was to stay in bed, watch movies with me and forget about all that. I agreed with letting her rest, but I was so fucking worried that something bad would happen to her because she refused to go to the hospital, that I hardly slept that night. I just watched her sleep.

“In the morning I called her doctor to find out what I should do. I told her the story exactly as Georgina had told me, of how she felt a sharp pain in her belly before she felt the warmth of blood between her legs. I told her about the bloody towel in the bathroom and how weak she looked. I even told her about wanting to take her to the hospital, but respecting her desire to rest.

“When I was finally done, the doctor asked me to confirm my name and the name of my wife, which I did. She was silent for a long time, and then she instructed me to talk to Georgina and get her to the hospital where she could meet us. I was freaking out and wanted more information than that, but the doctor was incredibly evasive. She kept insisting that I should talk to Georgina.

“After some time sitting on the sofa, staring angrily at the wall, I finally I decided to go talk to her. When I entered the bedroom, she was naked and standing by the bed.” The sadness in his face and voice was replaced by disgust as he finished his story. “She froze when she saw me and I froze when I saw that she was replacing the bandage over the four inch gash on her inner thigh that she used to fake her miscarriage.”

“Oh my god,” Emily shrieked, horrified, covering her mouth with her hand. “Why would she do that?”

“Does it matter?” he asked with that same cold disgusted voice. “She said she knew she was losing me and got desperate, so she faked the pregnancy in the hope she would get pregnant for real. When, after two months it didn’t happen, she got a little crazy. Needless to say, I gathered my stuff and left the apartment within minutes, with clear instructions for her to get her shit and get the fuck out. I filed for divorce less than a month after that.”

Wanting to comfort him, she moved closer to him and wrapped him in her arms, making a cocoon like he’d made for her. Even though her arms were too small to contain him, the feel of being wrapped up in her was heavenly.

“I’m done with the story, you can kiss me now,” he said, after a long moment of silence.

The demand made her giggle. “I said I
might
kiss you when you were done, don’t get cocky,” she teased, making him laugh before she kissed him on both cheeks.

“Did she ever try to get back together?” Emily asked after a few more silent moments.

“Yes she did, countless times. Not only did she stalk me when I went back to Canada after my trip with Rina, she also harassed my friends and family to annoy me to take her back, which some of them did.” He rubbed the heel of his hand on his eyes with frustration. “Even though I hated her with a passion, I wasn’t cruel enough to humiliate her by telling everyone what she’d done. When people asked, I only said we had some differences we couldn’t work through. She used that to manipulate people, and since they didn’t know the real reasons they tried to convince me to give her a second shot. It was a living hell.”

Emily ran her fingers through his hair, trying to soothe him. “So no one knows?”

“I told my family, Nate and now you, but that’s pretty much it.”

“Was the divorce messy?”

“Not really,” he said, turning so they were once more face-to-face. “It was expensive, but thanks to Mom, we had a pre-nup, which took care of most of the problem. I only had to give her half of the profits I made with investments during our marriage, which was still a lot of money. I also let her keep the apartment in Toronto, and her car, clothes, jewelry, and things like that.”

From the pictures Emily saw of Taylor’s mom and all the stories he’d told her, Emily had envisioned her as a friendly and kind woman, which made the idea of her suggesting her son to get a pre-nup a little surprising. “Your mom made you get a pre-nup?”

He laughed before answering her question. “Not so much as suggested it. As I said, she’s very good at seeing through people, and I think a part of her always knew Georgina was a gold digger.”

“If I ever meet her, I hope she likes me,” she whispered.

Taylor’s laugher belted through the room. “Don’t worry about that,” he said gleefully. “Between everything she heard from me and my siblings, she already loves you, and so does Dad, by the way. Besides, it’s hard for them to dislike people, especially Mom. Georgina was a rare exception.”

For some reason, the idea that he’d been talking about her to his parents made her equally shy and happy. She quickly searched for a change of subject. “At the gallery last week, you told me that Georgina is the reason you don’t date anymore. Is it because she lied like that?”

“Yeah, but it wasn’t just the lying, it was everything,” he said, his previous humor completely gone. “After all her shit, I stopped trusting people. I began thinking that if my own wife, the woman who I’d been with for almost ten years, was able to manipulate me like that for money, the prospects for new people wasn’t very good. That’s why I only kept superficial relationships and never talked about my family or my involvement with TRC. I guess it’s the same for you, right?”

She nodded before answering. “Yeah, if my mother and my only boyfriend could treat me like that, I didn’t have much hope for someone new.”

They lay in silence holding hands, lost in opposing pools of brown and blue until their eyelids became heavy with sleep and they both yawned.

“I’m sorry Georgina was such a crazy bitch, Tay.” Emily’s groggy voice finally broke the silence.

A slow, sleepy smile spread across Taylor’s lips. “Thanks. I’m sorry your firsts were wasted with that asswipe.”

Her lips curled with the same tired smile. “Me too, but I’m glad I saved you some.”

“The story?” he asked, partially opening his eyes to look at her.

She didn’t answer, nor did she look at him. She only spread her lips in the sweet smile he adored. He watched her, wondering how someone who’d been through so much could still be that beautiful and that sweet.

“I should go to bed,” she finally said.

He shook his head and kissed the top of hers for the final time that night. “I don’t think so, let’s just stay here. Goodnight, Ems.”

“Goodnight, Tay.”

I
N THE
months that followed, Taylor and Emily enjoyed the advantages of putting their pasts behind them. They felt free and at peace with themselves and each other, in a way neither had for a long time. Though those around them could see the changes their in behavior, the details of that night were kept a secret. It hadn’t been a decision they made together; in fact, they’d never even discussed it, but they both agreed that the intimacy they shared that night was only theirs to share and treasure.

For the rest of the summer, Emily’s trips to NYC became more and more frequent. With her duties rearranged to fit a single day a week, she would drive to New York every other Sunday night and stay in the city with her best friend until Thursday morning, when she’d return home for the book club and weekly meetings with Simon.

The time they spent together in the city was spent mostly outside the apartment. Taylor had taken upon himself the task of introducing the very best of New York to Emily, which included several museums, coffee shops and high-end restaurants, as well as tiny little eateries and more than enough Broadway plays. The time they spent apart, however, was highlighted by sour moods and piles of work, as well as too long runs and even longer phone calls to release some of the stress. They knew that keeping a somewhat normal life was necessary, especially with the end of summer approaching and the inevitability of a fuller schedule for Emily. However, it didn’t make the reality of it any less unpleasant.

Weekends were mostly devoted to their friends and establishing Taylor’s place within the group. The more he participated in their traditions and gatherings, even the ones he considered weird, like PJ&B, the more he understood and treasured them. The group was a family, one he was proud to become a part of, and nothing proved that more to him than the Fourth of July celebration.

As a member of Emily’s tight group of friends, Taylor had obviously been invited to attend the Webbers’ poolside celebration lunch, something he, Zack, Jody and the hosts were looking forward to. He’d been a nervous wreck the week before, but the second he stepped inside the white colonial house his nerves went out the window. Simon and Johanna were as easy to love as their surrogate daughter, and they’d welcomed her new friend with open arms.

With July blending into August and the fall semester fast approaching, Taylor and Emily started spending more and more time with her family, who now viewed him as one of their own. Many of those meetings were spent with Simon and Emily discussing the material for his lectures, while Johanna and Taylor stayed in her studio, venturing with a brush and talking art.

The week before classes started again saw Emily in a fuss. On top of her work she had to prepare the set of books for the club, and deal with an inbox flooded by messages from students requesting spots for the book club meetings as well as the study group. With all of that on her mind, Emily barely had time to breathe which cost her many things, including hours of sleep and the long phone calls with Taylor.

Aside from spoiling Taylor’s mood significantly, the shortened communication between him and Emily helped him get through his workload faster, and by Thursday afternoon he was done with his week’s obligations and decided to go to New Haven and help his friend in any way possible.

Sitting at her dining table in a comfortable, old summer dress with her hair piled on top of her head in a messy bun, Emily was completely absorbed in the review she was writing when a knock came from the door, startling her.

Zack and Toby were coming for dinner but they had a key and never, ever knocked. Besides, it was still too early to be them. Mortified by the way she looked, Emily walked to the door and peeked through the peephole.

Standing outside her apartment, holding an overstuffed duffle bag was Taylor. If his face was any whiter, he’d be a ghost. The sight of him made her heart jump and filled every cell in her body with worry.

“Hi Tay,” she greeted as she opened the door, her voice dripping with concern. He didn’t answer, nor did he make any move to step inside, which only served to worry her further. “Sweetie, are you okay? You look a little pale. Do you need me to take you to the hospital?”

Taylor looked at her face and shook his head very slowly, but still didn’t say a word.

“Why don’t you come inside so we can talk?” she asked.