“I’ll tell him when he gets back. Even though I’ll be a few months along at that point, I know he has a lot on his plate in Hawaii. The last thing he needs to worry about is becoming a father.”
22
Gavin
As my plane touched down in River Valley, I was still surprised that I had pulled it off. I didn’t think that I’d be back so soon. After being sent to Hawaii with the understanding that I’d probably be there for at least three months, if not longer, I had finished everything in less than half the time.
As soon as I had arrived in Hawaii, I drove to the construction site and made sure that everything was running smoothly. The contractors that Mr. Truman hired were more than qualified, and as a result, I reassured him that I didn’t need to be there to oversee all of the developments.
I also negotiated the asking prices for the properties he was looking at and had contracts to buy.
Every seller eventually agreed to my offers, and Mr. Truman couldn’t believe it when I told him. On the flight back home, I had received an email from him, telling me my schedule would be light for the next few months. He wanted me to take some time for myself.
The Uber driver was waiting for me at the airport, so I was back at my mansion in know time. When I walked through the front door, it felt empty without having Crystal inside, or even outside talking to my plants. She didn’t know it, but sometimes I’d sneak away from whatever I was doing to watch her in the garden.
I checked my watch. I wanted to go see if Crystal was still busy at the studio. But it wasn’t long before Richard was knocking on my door. “What, no gifts for your best friend?”
I opened my arms and gave Richard a bear hug. “It’s good to see you, man. How’s everything going with Annie?”
“As well as can be expected. The pregnancy is pretty hard on her, so she’ll be happy once the baby is born. Did you do any site-seeing while you were in Hawaii?”
“Just what I saw at all of the properties the company purchased. It’s beautiful there, though. I can see why Crystal misses calling it her home.”
“It’s a nice place to visit, but I could never call any other place home beside River Valley.”
“Hey, I know you probably eager to see Crystal, but Dad wants to meet with us for a few minutes just to wrap up a few items.”
I followed Richard over to Mr. Truman’s mansion and sat down in his father’s office. “Gavin, I knew you could close this deal. I didn’t know you’d get it done so quickly. I was telling my wife that you were already back in town. She says, ‘hello,’ by the way.”
Richard leaned forward on the desk. “Where is Mom? She was here earlier.”
“Some luncheon, but don’t ask me which one. All I need to know is the size of the check she donates to her favorite causes, and to make sure that it’s not helping one of our competitors.”
I couldn’t help but chuckle. “You have to have a little more faith in your wife than that. I doubt she’d go giving money away to an agency that didn’t agree with your policies.”
He took his glasses off and set them on the desk. “Not on purpose, Gavin. But she gets so caught up in her work. Well, I have to keep my eye on her. A few times, people have taken advantage of her generosity.”
Richard and I waved as we left his office, and I took off for Crystal’s apartment. When I had spoken to her before I left Hawaii, I was careful not to let it slip that I was packing to leave. I had been a bit worried, though, her voice was cheery, but it felt forced. I couldn’t help but wonder if she was sick. She was always texting me how exhausting it was, working such long hours.
When I arrived, I peeked my head into the yoga studio. The receptionist waved at me and pointed upstairs. I knocked on her door several times before she finally answered. Crystal was wearing oversized sweatpants and a t-shirt, and her hair was completely disheveled. Even though I still found her to be completely adorable, I could tell that something was wrong. There was no color in her cheeks, she looked as though she had been either crying or sweating profusely, and her disposition even seemed a bit off.
Crystal cocked her head, and it was hard to tell if she was happy to see me, at first. “Oh, hey, Gavin! What a surprise! She hugged my neck and we kissed. “You didn’t tell me you were coming home so soon. When did you get in?”
She still seemed so weak. I wanted to pick her up and swing her around, but I was afraid she would break. “I wanted to surprise you, Crystal. You look awful. What’s wrong?”
We walked over to the couch, and I moved the blanket and movies out of the way. Crystal just sat down next to me, nervously rubbing her hands together. She refused to look me in the eyes, which I found alarming.
When she didn’t speak for a few minutes, I had to say something. “Whatever it is, Crystal, please just tell me.”
Her hands began to shake uncontrollably, so I grabbed them and did my best to comfort her. Tears started to stream down her face, and all I could do was watch her cry until she was ready to talk, fearful that she had decided to tell me goodbye now that she had received her settlement.
When she finally composed herself several minutes later, Crystal blurted out what was wrong. “I’m pregnant, Gavin. I’m pregnant.”
Without even realizing it, out of surprise, I let go of her hands, causing them to fall in her lap.
Immediately, I knew it was the worst thing that I could have possibly done.
Crystal’s eyes bugged out at me, shocked that I could have done such a thing. She began crying uncontrollably, and her face was turning beet red as she got up and walked away. I couldn’t believe that I had let go of her hands, but it was the last thing I expected her to tell me. She had taken her birth control pill religiously and never missed her period. How could this have happened?
