I never wanted her to feel pressured, so I always told her to let nature take its course. But deep down, I wanted a child more than anything.
No matter how hard I racked my brain, I couldn't understand why Elaine would get an abortion.
The rest of the meal tasted like cardboard. My stomach churned the entire time.
Halfway through dinner, I made up an excuse about something at home and left in a hurry.
The moment I got back, I tore through the apartment, searching for any trace of the procedure.
I finally found it in the study's wastebasket: an ultrasound printout dated last Friday.
I sat in the living room staring at the crumpled slip of paper on the table. She'd made the decision to terminate in a single day.
The urge to call Elaine and demand answers hit a breaking point.
The number you have dialed is currently unavailable...
Every attempt, the same result. The call was rejected.
My mind drifted back to that afternoon, when Elaine had bailed on me yet again.
"Charles, I have to go out with Mr. Gray tonight to discuss a contract. Just go to the reunion without me."
When Elaine had come to the engineering department to tell me that, my mood had already bottomed out.