Page 10 of Coming Home for Fall
“I know. I’m sorry. Work’s been crazy.”
She chuckled. “Work is always crazy with you.”
“Yeah, fair enough,” he said. “But things have been even crazier than usual. Erica was out of town visiting her aunt for a bit, and I had to pick up all the slack for nearly two weeks.”
“Is her aunt okay?”
“Not really,” he admitted. “Her health has taken a turn for the worse, which is why Erica wanted to spend as much time with her as she could. She had a tumor removed from her stomach. They think she’ll bounce back from it, but sadly I think she probably has less than a year left...”
Callie inhaled sharply and sat down in David’s desk chair. “Oh, no. I’m so sorry to hear that. Is there anything I can do to help? How’s Erica holding up?”
He paused. “She’s doing okay. She and her aunt were close growing up, but her aunt’s also in her late seventies now and none of this is much of a surprise. She didn’t take very good care of herself throughout her life. Sorry if that sounds judgmental, it’s just the facts...”
Taylor was always about “the facts,” and he often did come off judgmental when he wasn’t careful. Callie knew her son was one of the most loving and sympathetic people on the planet though, so she always gave him the benefit of the doubt—even if it drove his sisters crazy.
“Ah. Well, still, that must be hard for the whole family,” Callie said, her expression furrowed with concern. “Will you let Erica know I’m thinking about her? I’d call, but with her busy schedule, I feel like that might only add to her stress.”
“I’ll let her know…” He laughed under his breath. “And it’s funny you mention the work stress. That’s actually kind of the reason I’m calling.”
“Oh? What’s going on? Is everything okay at work?”
“Yeah, work’s fine,” he replied. “It’s actually booming. But thinking about losing her aunt and seeing her in a hospital bed has made Erica shift her priorities a little. She’s been thinking that maybe both of us should take a step back from the business and focus on other things.”
“Oh, really?” Callie did her best to mute the enthusiasm in her voice. She’d been waiting for years to hear her son talk about prioritizing other aspects of his life over the practice, but she didn’t want to jinx it by seeming too excited.
“She… She wants us to start trying to have a baby.”
At this, Callie was unable to hold it together. She gasped and covered her mouth before her son could hear her begin to cry. “Honey, that’s wonderful,” she said once she’d composed herself enough to speak. “I’m so happy for you two!”
“Yeah, well… It’s not that simple.”
The hope in Callie’s eyes faded. “What—what do you mean?” But she bit her lip when she realized she’d overstepped again. When did she get so good at saying the wrong thing?
Since Taylor and his wife were in their forties now, things weren’t that simple, and poor Erica was probably terrified to be starting this new journey in her life at that age. “You know,” she said tentatively. “Plenty of women have babies in their forties. Not to mention, they’ve come a long way with fertility treatments. And she’s always been so healthy!”
“It’s not Erica.” He sighed. “She went to the doctor last month and they told her everything looked great. She shouldn’t have much trouble at all getting pregnant, actually.”
“Oh, great. I’m not surprised. But then…”
“It’s me,” he said with shattering finality. “I’m the problem. I’m the reason we aren’t going to be able to have a baby. I–I did some tests as well, and apparently, I’m basically sterile.”
Callie froze in the chair, her body stiffening. “Oh, Taylor. Sweetheart. I’m so sorry. That—that must’ve been difficult to hear. Did they say why they think this might’ve happened?”
“They said I’ve probably always been this way. It wasn’t an issue until Erica and I began thinking about starting a family. We were both so excited, and now I don’t know how to tell her that all our plans need to be tossed out the window.”
Callie shook her head. “No, that’s not true. There are other ways to have kids. Like surrogates or sperm donors... You could adopt!” He said nothing, so she kept going. “It’s not the end of all your plans, honey. You can still have a family. You will still be a dad. It just might look a little different than you originally imagined, but that’s okay.”
He sniffled, and Callie clutched her chest, her heart aching for her hurting child. “I just know that Erica’s gonna be really disappointed. She was so happy, but now I need to tell her it’s not going to happen.”
“She’ll understand! Of course she will. You just need to talk to her, the sooner the better.”
“Easier said than done.”
She released a weary sigh. “You know your wife better than anyone, Taylor. I won’t pretend like I know exactly how she’ll react, but I think you’re freaking yourself out for no reason. If she’s disappointed, it won’t have anything to do with you. It’ll be about the situation. You’ll have to let her process her feelings, obviously, but once she’s had some time, you two will findanother way. I really do think you’ll feel better after talking to her.”
“Yeah… Maybe you’re right.”
Callie knew she wasn’t getting through to him, but she hoped her words might sink in after they hung up. “You guys are coming for Thanksgiving, right?”
