Chapter 2
Albert's buddies were slick. They had my girlfriends switching sides in no time. Suddenly, everyone was on my team, trash-talking Albert like it was a group sport.
I watched with a straight face. 'If these guys don't snag an Oscar someday, Hollywood's missing out,' I thought.
"Cory," I called out, picking one of them. He shot up like he'd been electrocuted, his voice shaky and nervous.
"B-Bethany," he stammered.
I let out a cold laugh. "Aren't you tired?"
Cory's eyes flicked nervously between me and his buddies, looking completely bewildered. "Bethany, what do you mean? We're just trying to help—"
I didn't let him keep up the act. I pulled out my phone and played the recording I'd just made.
Albert's buddies' faces went red with embarrassment, and Cory fumbled for words, trying to explain himself but couldn't get anything out.
One of his friends nudged him and said, "Bethany, we've got things to do, so we're gonna bail. Catch you later."
My girlfriends chased after them, shouting insults as they went, "Seriously? You're all a bunch of snakes. Get out of my sight. Don't let me see your faces again."
I turned off the recording, and my girlfriends grabbed my hands, trying to comfort me.
They all knew how much I loved kids. Every holiday, I'd give their little ones gifts. Watching those tiny bundles babble and then run around the room filled me with a special kind of happiness.
But Albert never knew any of that.
My girlfriends really felt for me. They had my back and stood up for me.
They'd seen firsthand how hard things were for me and Albert, every step of the way.
It wasn't easy, not at all.
When he married me, he didn't have a dime to his name.
I convinced my parents to invest in his tiny startup and watched him rise and fall, step by step.
Now that the company's finally made it big after all those years of struggle, he went and cheated on me.
That night, as Albert's wife, I was swept up in a tidal wave of public scrutiny.
My phone was blowing up with calls—everyone except Albert. Maybe he was too busy taking care of his kid to bother with me.
Or maybe he was just so busy he didn't even notice he was trending.
Fed up, I switched my phone to airplane mode and cut myself off from everyone.
At 1 a.m., Albert texted me. [Bethany, you found out, didn't you? I tried calling, but couldn't get through. Can I explain?]
I hadn't slept at all. After a while, he sent another message. [Please, just give me a chance to explain, okay?]
He always knew how to play me. Honestly, I did want to hear his side of the story.
Let's see how he'd try to talk his way out of this.
As soon as I switched off airplane mode, Albert called me right away.
"Bethany, I..." Albert began, but he hesitated, unable to finish his sentence.
"Haven't figured out what lie to tell me yet?" I said.
Albert shot back right away, "How could you say that to me?"
He was acting all offended just because I called him out. Did he ever spare a thought for me when he was out there cheating and having a kid?
I stayed silent, and he kept talking.
"How was I supposed to know Joslyn would just upload the photos online the moment she got happy?" he complained.
"Oh, so this is all on me now? Should I have told your side chick to hide herself—and your kid—so nobody would ever find out?" I shot back.
Albert realized he was caught and went silent. So that was his big explanation?
Without another word, I hung up on him, too furious to even listen.
After a while, he sent another message. [Bethany, when I was starting my business, I really believed in being childfree.]
[But now that things are finally going well, is it so wrong for me to want a kid of my own?]
[You're getting older, and Joslyn ended up pregnant. I just couldn't bring myself to make her get an abortion.]
[You could never understand what it feels like for a man to want to be a dad. You just don't get it.]
I read Albert's messages and let out a cold laugh.
So this was the man I had supported for ten years?
I stared out the window at the moonlight, lost in thought.
He was the one who wanted to be childfree in the first place.
I was 26 that year.
Albert's new company was just getting off the ground.
And that was the year I wanted to be a mom more than anything.
Seeing all my friends my age having cute little babies, I wanted one too.
I never had the courage to tell him, since we'd both agreed to stay childfree and spend our lives free and unburdened.
I kept that wish buried for six months, but one day, I just couldn't hold it in anymore.
"Albert, let's have a baby," I finally said.
Albert paused for a moment, didn't say anything, and just came over and wrapped his arms around me.
He took out a cigarette and started smoking.
The tip of his cigarette accidentally touched my shoulder, and I yelped.
"Hey, are you alright?" he said, quickly grabbed some ice and pressed it to my skin. After a pause, he stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray.
"I'm getting a vasectomy tomorrow," he said.
He looked at me, wiped away my tears with his thumb, and said, "This is better for your health, too."
I nodded, doing my best to be the sensible one.
Honestly, I knew exactly why he didn't want kids.
It wasn't just about wanting freedom.
It also had a lot to do with his childhood.
His parents split up when he was little, and he grew up with just his mom. He never got to experience the warmth of a real, complete family.
My world was crashing down.
The truth was that I was already pregnant with his baby.
Not wanting him to feel any pressure, I snuck off to the hospital all by myself, not telling a soul.