Page 14 of Second Chances
Chapter 9
As Megan unpacked thecontents of her suitcase into the dresser drawers, the ultrasound picture fell out of the pocket of one of her sweatshirts. Charlotte had told her to burn it, to get rid of it, but she wanted to keep it. She knew that she might need a reminder about why her life had suddenly been turned upside down. She worried that one day she might start thinking about all of Alex's good qualities, conveniently forgetting his deception.
How was it fair that he could have a baby and she couldn’t? She and her doctors had spent the last eight years wondering why she wasn't able to conceive. Alex had gone to his own doctor and told her that his sperm motility and count was fine, but for some reason, even after tracking her temperature, using all the tools that she could, short of in vitro, her body was unable to give her what she wanted most - a baby.
She was open to in vitro, but Alex wasn't. They had argued and fought, but he believed that if they couldn't conceive naturally, it wasn't meant to be.
"So, it was meant to be with your mistress, was it?" she muttered under her breath and wiped away her tears.
She had started to put on makeup, she wanted to look presentable for when Josh arrived but decided that she was being foolish. She threw her hair up into a ponytail and splashed some cold water onto her face to try and minimize the swelling, to mask the fact that she had been crying.
"Hey, you. I think we could use some fresh air," she said to the dog who tilted his head in response. She ran up the stairs to her bedroom and pulled on some socks and a sweater. There was a purple down coat in the entryway hallway and some fur-lined winter boots.
‘Make yourself at home,’ Megan repeated Charlotte’s words to herself as she pulled on her friend's boots.
Timber was a great walker, he didn't pull on the leash and he looked to her for instruction. They wandered through the winding streets of Sugar Peaks and Megan marveled at the homes. The mountain homes looked like they had been dropped out of a magazine, but aside from some landscaping trucks, there were no signs of life. They lapped the various cul de sacs twice and then headed home to the biggest house on the block.
Once inside, Megan curled up on the sofa and patted the spot beside her. Timber jumped up and paced in a small circle, before curling up in an impossibly small donut shape beside her. She put on some daytime television and fell asleep, waking at noon. She ate a bowl of cereal and then took Timber for another walk, then came back for more cuddling. She tried to read a book, but her racing thoughts wouldn't let her brain register the words on the paper. She fell back asleep and was awoken by the doorbell. She shot up from her nap, embarrassed that dusk had fallen and the only thing she had done all day was to walk the dog. She made small talk with Josh and handed him the leash, mumbling some excuse about a call that she had to get back to.
She did this for the rest of the week. She walked and cuddled with Timber, slept, ate convenience breakfast food, and lulled herself to sleep with a bottle of wine every day. She was embarrassed but didn't know what else to do with herself.
Then Friday morning came, but instead of Josh at the door, it was Charlotte's cleaning lady. She stepped into the house and Megan could've sworn that she heard the woman 'tsk'. She looked at Charlotte's house with fresh eyes, the dishes were unwashed, boxes of cereal were littered across the counter along with a collection of empty wine bottles.
When Josh arrived, he looked past Megan, "Ah, I see your staff have arrived."
Megan turned to look at the cleaning lady who was angrily tossing the bottles into a recycling bin and muttering under her breath and it dawned on her.
Josh thought this house was hers.
