Jason
I was beginning to feel overwhelmed as the revelation of truth dawned on me and the infinite possibilities began to open up in my mind. Did Laura have a daughter who looked like me? Why? I tried to dig in my mind to see if I had ever seen Laura’s daughter before, but I only remembered seeing a glimpse of the girl a few times, and I had never been interested in neeing her up close since that girl represented what Laura was after she got over me and got involved with another man next door to the point of having a child together, but I had never really seen her up close to be sure that that child was Richard’s daughter.
The possibility of Laura’s daughter not being Richard’s daughter had never crossed my mind, I was so stupid. Good heavens! I got up from my chair with my heart pounding and my knees shaking. I held on to the table, so I wouldn’t fall because I was so shocked. The girl was around five years old, and if I count, it was exactly at that time that Laura and I separated. Laura could have been pregnant at that time and chosen not to tell me, that was such an overwhelming possibility, but still a
possibility.
“Good heavens… Holy shit!” I exclaimed to myself and looked at the girl’s photo on
my computer screen again..
That was my daughter; Laura had had my daughter; Laura’s daughter was my
daughter… I couldn’t deal with that information in my brain, it was too much to
process at the same time. Was I a father? Did I have a daughter?
I immediately picked up my cell phone and called Sanchez, the private detective
who has been helping me follow in Laura’s footsteps since the beginning. The man
answered promptly. “At your disposal, Mr. Davies,” he said..
“Hi, Sanchez. Please research Laura Thompson, maternity hospital, Staten Island, 2018,” I asked, so I could confirm my suspicions once and for all.
“Staten Island, 2018… Okay, it’s on its way,” said the man, his fingers already working. Sanchez was a recognized professional, and he had legal connections with the FBI, so he could easily access government databases and provide reliable
information in real–time without questioning anything, but clearly, he was only allowed to serve important people like me, who were the biggest local government taxpayers, that was one of the perks of being a billionaire.
I drummed my fingers on my desk, waiting for Sanchez’s response, while my mind was racing for hours. The possibility of Laura’s daughter being mine was something so big that it was making me emotional. I never thought I needed a child until there was that possibility. If that little girl was my daughter, I don’t know, but I think I would be the happiest man in the world.
My heart was filling with emotion, while my thoughts were agitated. It was certainly
possible, right? When I was married to Laura, I didn’t have such an active sex life
with her, partly because I foolishly didn’t feel that attracted to her, but we had sex
sometimes, and in the last few months Laura said more often about wanting to have
a child, even though I was always ignoring her, but who knows if Laura managed to
get pregnant with me and now her daughter is the result?
I remembered it as if it had been yesterday when, on a normal morning, I went into
the bathroom to do my morning hygiene and saw the pregnancy test on top of the
sink.
“Laura, come here!” I called for her, she came right away, and I showed her the test in
my hand. “What is it?”
“Oh, this? It’s a pregnancy test,” she replied, somewhat embarrassed.
“I know what it is, but what does it mean? Are you pregnant by any chance?” I asked
rudely, finding it ridiculous.
“No, I’m not,” she replied, and without giving me time to feel relieved, she continued,
“Not yet.
“What do you mean when you say not yet?”
“I… I wanted to surprise you, darling,” she said, with a small smile. “I thought you
would like to know if I was expecting your child.” It was irritating the way Laura
believed in love.