He snorted a chuckle, his upper lip curling up to expose his square front teeth. “Let me get this straight. You’re dumping me? That’s a laugh.” He stomped back to his car, then yelled across the hood, “You’re lucky I ever took you out.”
At eight o’clock the next morning, my doorbell rang several times in rapid succession, sounding like a smoke alarm. Charlie barked from the kitchen, but remained in his basket, his legs sore from his foray into the neighborhood. He must have pulled a muscle somehow.
Still in my bathrobe, I squinted through the peephole to see Darla’s face reduced to the size of a Cheerio. What was she doing here? Phil must be out there too. I decided not to open the door. I was in no mood for entertaining those two, and I knew I looked terrible. As I tiptoed into the living room, someone’s knuckles rapped urgently on the door, and then the bell rang again. I turned back and cracked the door a couple of inches.
Darla stood alone. “May I?” she said. With her shoulders thrown back, she shoved the door open and barged across the threshold. A mass of cold air flooded the hallway. I peered past her at the Porsche 911 Carrera sitting out front, a sign her boutique was flourishing.
“What do you want?” I assumed she was looking for Phil. What else could it be?
“Henry called Philip last night to tell him the good news. Apparently you two have something going.”
If she only knew how wrong she was. “No, we don’t, not that it’s any of your business.”
“I wish I were wrong.” She sounded like she was announcing a death in the family. “Henry said he’s falling for you.”
“Don’t believe it.” I relived the awkward moment he and I shared in this same spot less than twenty-four hours earlier. “Now, please leave.”
“Philip thinks it’s great,” she continued as if she hadn’t heard me. “He said we can all hang out together, double date, be friends. He thinks you’ve changed into a perfect little princess, but you don’t fool me for a minute.” Spittle flew from her mouth and landed on my shoulder. “We both know you wanted to kill his unborn son. And you would have if he hadn’t stopped you.”
The lump in my throat made speaking difficult. “But I didn’t go through with it.”
“Your intention was there. Any woman who’d want to kill her own child is evil.”
“But I was so young back then.” I felt a place deep inside my abdomen cramping, sending an ache across my belly. “And I was scared to death.”
“You weren’t too scared to get yourself pregnant, were you? Philip thinks it was an accident, but you and I know better.”
I said nothing. It would be futile to argue with her.
“When he refused to marry you, you threatened to have an abortion, out of revenge.” Her tirade rebounded off the walls. “It’s the oldest trick in the book.”
“That was nineteen years ago. And I live with that guilt every day. Don’t you think that’s enough punishment?”
“You don’t look like you’re suffering to me. But you will someday. God will have the last word.”
Her words pierced my eardrums like shards of glass. I had to get her out of my house. I inched toward the door, grasped hold of the knob.
“We heard through Rob that you were over at Andrea’s parents’, probably pushing for Andrea to have an abortion,” she said. “Your solution to everything.”
“I wouldn’t do that.”
She moved halfway through the doorway, then she swung around, bringing with her a fresh round of contempt. “You stay out of my life. Unless you find a way to do that, I’ll tell Rob everything. And how about Henry? Wouldn’t he be surprised to find out what you’re really like? Not to mention Lois Grimbaldi.”
“Please.” My hand reached out, but I was afraid to touch her arm. “Why are you doing this? What do you want?” I was ready to pay whatever it took.
“I want you to disappear, to vanish from the face of the earth.” Her nostrils flared. “Steer clear of Philip and Henry. It wouldn’t work out with him anyway. He loves his wife. He still has her picture in his bedroom. You must have seen it. Or haven’t you wormed your way into his bed yet?”
I ignored the slam.
“You’re not his type. Henry’s a godly man who deserves someone better. I happen to know the perfect woman for him. My friend Vicki has had a crush on him for years. She’s just like Barbara—virtuous. Unlike you, she’s been saving herself for the right man. Once you butt out, she’ll have a chance.”
She shot me one more look of scorn. “Women like you make me sick.” She whirled around and strode down the front steps.
Listening to her car rumble down the street, I shut the door and leaned against it. At first, I thought I was fine, but then I felt my features contorting, and a moment later tears rushed out of my eyes. I covered my face with my hands and cried.
Everything Darla said about me was true. When I fell into bed with Phil, I made no effort to protect myself, as they say. I assumed he would marry me if I got pregnant. Sure, he would be upset at first, but he would get over it in a few days, and we would live happily ever after. When I missed my period, I experienced a short-lived time of euphoria, followed by debilitating morning sickness and regret.
I remembered breaking the news to Phil. He took on the look of a man who was being sentenced to a lifetime imprisonment in Siberia. “How could you let this happen?” he yelled. “I’m too young to be a father, and I’m sure not ready to get
