Janet’s heart kept telling her to go to him, but he had said no. She loved him; he was hers now. What more could she do for him than love him with all her heart and bear his child, Virginia Elizabeth Santini?
Picking Virginia was not hard for either of them. And he had suggested Elizabeth for Mama Elizabeth. Janet agreed she was a great woman.
After a few minutes, she found her sunglasses and hat and went to him.
He was still bent over, gagging on his sadness, the tears drowning his face.
“Babe…” She pulled him into her arms. “I’m so sorry, sorry for all that has happened. You will soon have a daughter, our child conceived from our love for each other. You will finally find your peace and the happiness you deserve. I love you.”
Janet was surprised at his reaction to the news conference. Now she questioned why she had insisted they watch it. Ric hadn’t mentioned anything about losing his babies for some time. And when they discussed they would name their daughter after Gini, he was calm and seemed very pleased that Janet had brought it up. Gini and Janet had been close friends their entire youth. She’d had many sleepovers at the Anderson house, and Elizabeth and her mother were good friends.
Janet was sad to see what had happened to Gini, but Gini had always been driven, so Janet wasn’t surprised that she was determined to have a good life in spite of her disabilities, or that she had found a wonderful husband to take care of her and share her life. That’s what Janet wanted with Ric, a loving, sharing relationship. She felt she had the perfect man.
Ric was not the type of man she thought she would marry, however. She’d always been attracted to “bad boys.” None of those relationships lasted because the men were all about themselves, and she tired of them quickly. More recently, she had decided she didn’t want to be attached to a guy. She needed her space. But Ric changed all that; he was so giving and totally hers. His life was fun, and she couldn’t wait to get back to him when they were apart. She’d never been so happy. And having a child, again so different than what she thought she wanted. Being a mother had never been a dream of hers. Children would cramp her style and interrupt her career. But she knew Ric was going to be a wonderful hands-on daddy. And she really wanted to give him a child, a big piece of his puzzle that was missing—obviously, being a father was something important to him. They were going to be the perfect family.
He continued to cry, squeezing her tight, running his hand down her long red strands of hair, over and over and over. She would never understand his great loss or how much he loved Gini. Janet would never know…
Franco, listening to the press conference, put his cell phone on the table after Catherine had walked out of the room. The grief was still sharp, as was the anger at the world that had taken so much from his Gini. He could remember her as she had been before the accident so perfectly—her sass and brains and style. But he was used to these thoughts. He crawled back down on the floor with his daughter.
She had just learned how to roll up into a sitting position. Every time she did, she giggled, filling his heart with her adorable smile. Her big round eyes and soft dark curls brought him joy every single day. He would always have a part of his beautiful Gini with him as long as he lived—Virginia Elizabeth Legotti, the girl he would always love.
Parts of Robert’s statement ran on the local news that evening. The TV anchors all commented on how sad it was that Ms. Anderson’s life had been altered, but they were glad to see her happily married and wished her well. That was the last any of them heard about it. Disabled women rarely make the news.
Chapter 7—Jessica
The C-section was scheduled for July fifteenth, and Robert made sure everything would properly fall in place by setting up nanny interviews.
They were spread over two evenings in a row at the condo, with two women each night.
The first night, Gini and Robert went to answer the door together. The lady was older and plainly dressed.
Gini immediately turned away. “No… be, one.”
Although Gilda was a nice woman, it was clear to all of them she was not a good fit.
Robert and Gini went to the door together about an hour later. This woman looked to be about Debbie’s age. And again, Gini proclaimed, “No, be… one,” and walked away.
There was a tension in the air through the interview. Corina made it quite clear that she didn’t do housework or cooking, would only do the baby’s laundry, and staring right at Debbie, she declared she certainly was not going to be a nursemaid to Gini. With those words, Debbie stood and walked out of the room.
“I’d like to thank you for coming,” Robert said, getting up when Debbie left. He led Corina to the door alone.
The next night, the first applicant was a young woman in her mid-twenties. At the door, Gini looked up at Robert and smiled. “Be… one.”
Alyssa was pleasant with a perky personality. She talked to Gini as she talked to the others, asking her questions
