2022 WATTYS SHORTLISTED || After being forced into a marriage by her devoutly religious parents, Aspen's husband is diagnosed with a life-limiting illness, and she must find her purpose as well as fight feelings for her husband's nurse. || Aspen Wat...
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Author's Note: The start of this bonus chapter occurs chronologically at the end of Chapter 14, but because of the content, I have placed it after THAT reveal in Chapter 15!
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Her reply to me is a smiley face emoji.
Shit, Nick.
She's married, she's going through a lot right now, plus...
Fuck, it can't be.
It would make sense, though.
When I asked her if she believed in God, it was to gauge what her reaction might be. Will she think this is God's Will or something? Will it just be considered a weird coincidence? I also just wanted to hear her voice, and she probably knows that. This weird line between us is clearly something more than friends; we both know it. It's complicated enough without this realisation on top.
The weird coincidence of her son being called Gabriel was just that. It crossed my mind, but most adoptive parents change the name of the child. Not my parents, though. I remember them mentioning it to me: 'I like the name Gabriel. Angel Gabriel gives the Lord's word to men, plus Gabriel means the strength of God, Nick. It's meant to be.'
Then I got phoned an hour ago: 'Nick, I just had a call from social services saying the biological father of Gabriel has been diagnosed... with Huntington's disease. It's fucking hereditary. His dad had it. There's a fifty-fifty chance Gabriel could have it.'
Aspen sounded so oblivious on the phone. I guess it makes sense: why would she put two and two together? She has enough going on with Joel being sick, having been lied to, being forced into a marriage, giving her son up, working herself out...
Her brain probably doesn't even want to consider the fact her biological son could be so close, and also the reality of Joel's disease will unfold right in front of her.
Part of me really doesn't want to tell her; it's technically not her business because my brother is adoptedunder a closed adoption order. They chose not to have any involvement when they gave him up – I say give him up like they didn't make a decision Aspen clearly regrets – and if Mum and Dad knew...
I don't even know what they'd do. Typical Mum and Dad would probably just shrug and smile it off. The only time I've ever seen them cut up over something was when Georgie died. Georgina. My sister. The sister Gabriel has but will never meet. The whole reason why he's in my family at all.
Aspen reminds me of her. Not in the physical sense, though. The way Aspen has this clear personality under all of her self-consciousness, yet I keep seeing a little of her actual personality beneath it all. A little smile that lights up her whole being, the way she looks at things like nature – when I gave her the daisy the other day – and her depth. It's weird to not know her, yet I feel like I do at the same time.
