An Unforeseen Turn of Events

Chapter Forty-Eight

"Ms. Goldberg, your 11 AM appointment is here to see you," Linda Page spoke in a high, merry voice.

"Send him in, Linda. Thank you," Christine responded. She forced herself to rise from the chair at her desk. Her legs and arms felt heavy and stiff. She checked her face in her bathroom mirror to make sure she looked calm and normal. Christine approached the door as if awaiting her doom. She had applied a little blush because she had looked so pale in the bathroom mirror, but upon opening the door, she greeted an equally pale Ryan.

"Mr. Monti, welcome to the Marie Cooper Modeling Agency. Please come in." They smiled and shook hands as if they were meeting for the first time.

Standing in the hallway Linda was blushing like a love-struck teenager. Christine took pains to hold her shoulders up high and appear in her usual impeccable professional mode. She thought inside that she must be a born actress -- she planted a small smile of satisfaction on her lips as if she had achieved the apex of her career.

But once they were alone, the acting was over.

"What are you doing here?" Christine asked with gritted teeth after she closed her door. She motioned for Ryan to sit down.

He said nothing but simply stared at her once they were both seated. He appeared to be studying her.

"Wha...", Christine began, but she became caught up in studying him.

Their eyes locked and again they were in their early twenties, shy and awkward, dating, searching for the right things to do and say. Then Christine turned away in an effort to return to the present.

"You're still as beautiful as you were at twenty," Ryan said. He then looked down as if contemplating what might have been. He looked up again and said, "You still wear your signature musk."

Christine's temper eased and she actually smiled. Ryan continued, "I'm sorry. I didn't know the best way to approach you. I was going over in my mind a thousand other ways but nothing worked. I was afraid you would be shocked if you didn't find out I was coming in. I thought about calling your house but just couldn't bring myself to do it. You know, it isn't always easy being famous."

"You could've made an appointment under a pseudonym you know."

"But you still would have been shocked once you recognized me. And we would have had lot of explaining to do to people in your office who saw your reaction."

Christine could not argue with that.

He continued. "I needed to see you immediately and I didn't want to cause any problems with your job... .or with your husband."

Christine's back turned erect at the mention of Daniel. "Ryan," she whispered gently, "why are you here?" How did you find me?"

It took time for him to face her. He slowly met her eyes and told her quietly, "I saw them."

He paused. Neither spoke.

"I saw them, Christine. I saw our children." He stared at her. "Why didn't you tell me?"

She glanced down at her desk, studying it and looking as if she were about to cry. Putting her elbow on the desk and covering her eyes with her hand, she whispered, "Ryan, I caught you with another woman, remember?" She removed her hand and faced him. "Tell me the truth. If you knew about them, you would have wanted me to get an abortion. Isn't that right?"

Ryan did not respond right away, staring down at the carpet. He slowly nodded, his head falling on his chest. "Yes, I'm sure I would have wanted that...I was not ready to be a father."

"Being a strict Catholic, I would never have agreed to that. You were disloyal to me, you cheated on me. That was unforgivable. But those babies needed to be born—they deserved a chance. If you weren't on board, if you were unreliable, what good would it have done them or you to find out?"