Gertie

Chapter 4

April 1993

    The pregnancy test was positive. Marlena stared at it in shock. She was pregnant, and now she had to tell Roman. She didn't know who was the father. It could be Roman, but in her heart, she knew, it was likely John. She was going to need a blood test, there was no other option. Running her hand softly over her flat stomach with a soft smile, she wondered if she was carrying John's child, and she found that she wanted it, more than anything, to be his baby.

    Roman had come home late the night before, and she could hear him downstairs. Sighing deeply, she decided to get the conversation over with, before he left for the day. Given Roman's work schedules, she might not see him again for days. It was almost a relief to be pushed into ruining her marriage. Wrapping herself in her robe, she headed downstairs. Just as she reached the bottom, she saw Roman already at the front door, shrugging into his coat.

    "Roman, I needed to speak with you before you leave," she said softly.

    "Doc, I'm in a hurry. McCall is waiting for me, so she can file this report," he said, waving a folder in front of himself for emphasis. He was angry with her. He had been since he'd realized that she'd slept with John in San Francisco. The bruises he'd seen on her body, and the sadness she'd carried in her eyes for the past two months, were a testament to that. A constant reminder of her infidelity. Roman could barely stand to be in the same room with her, and yet he couldn't manage to end things either. Instead they stayed in a constant purgatory of their own making, each one refusing to take the final step that would sever their ties.

    "I'm pregnant," Marlena said quickly, wanting to get the words out as fast as possible.

    Roman stopped moving, halting in his tracks. And there it was. He stared at her. It was several seconds before he said carelessly, "You gonna call John, and tell him he's about to be a daddy again?"

    "It—it could be your child...there's a chance it could be yours. I'll need to do a blood test," she whispered.

    "Don't fuck with me, Doc. It's John's baby. I saw the bruises on you when you came back from San Francisco," Roman said in low voice, filled with vitriol. "Your thighs looked like someone had been grabbing at you pretty hard. How did he do it, huh? Fucking you against a wall would be my guess," he sneered. "I never knew you liked it a little kinky," Roman told her. "If I'd known that you like it rough, it might have saved our marriage."

    He turned to walk out the door, and stopped, when Marlena said softly, "I'll do the blood test...I wanted to tell you first. I owe you that much," she whispered.

    Facing her, Roman said with thinly veiled contempt, "You don't owe me anything, Doc. You'll have divorce papers by the end of the week. I'm not raising someone else's fucking bastard."

    Marlena lifted her chin with pride, looking into Roman's eyes, "I wasn't asking you, too. I'll need a few days to find a place, and move out," she said. Getting a divorce was almost a relief.

    Right before he stormed out of the house, Roman said, "Take your fucking cats with you."

    The echo of the slamming door still rang in her head five minutes later. Marlena thought about crying. She thought about falling to the floor and sobbing at the way her life had turned out, but she didn't. Placing her palm over her abdomen lightly, she smiled. She'd do the blood test, just to be sure, but this was John's baby. She could feel it. She sat on the stairs, leaning her head against the wall when Jon climbed into her lap, and curled up, purring contentedly. Her other two cats, which she had named Strawberry and West Virginia, only loved her when the food bowl was empty; however, Jon, the tabby with one eye, and missing half an ear - he loved her and cuddled her all of the time.