J & P Book 3 - Please Don't Leave Me

Chapter 1 - Five and a half years later - September 2008

"Wow! I can't believe how much Andrew looks like his dad," Jenny's friend Jessie commented, as she looked at a family picture, pride of place on the wall of Jenny's front room. They were sitting together having a hot drink, each with a four year old child playing on the other side of the room.

Jenny sighed. "Yes, very much so."

"Oh, does that disappoint you?" Jessie asked. "Would you rather he looked more like you?"

"I guess," said Jenny, realising she had betrayed the sadness in her answer. It wasn't that at all.

The truth was that her husband, Patrick, was not actually Andrew's biological father. Luckily, it was generally assumed that he was. For instance, Andrew had inherited Jenny's dark hair, although not her olive skin, and so he looked more like Patrick in that respect, who was white but whose hair was dark too. Andrew's eyesight was poor, just like his father's, and so at the age of four he was already needing to wear glasses, again something he had in common with Patrick, although Patrick's eyesight was nowhere near as bad as Andrew's.

Looking more closely, however, there were tell-tale signs. Andrew had deep, blue eyes. Jenny had green eyes, and Patrick's were brown. Of course, if anyone ever mentioned this, Jenny was able to explain that she must have inherited the blue eyed gene from her mother and Patrick must have a grandparent with blue eyes. It was possible. But she knew exactly, as did Patrick, whose blue eyes they were.

Besides Jenny, the only person in Jenny's life who knew for certain that Andrew was not Patrick's son was Patrick. Those close to Jenny, her immediate family and closest friends, had their suspicions. Most notably her best friend Lucia, who had voiced those suspicions to Jenny on occasions. But all along, ever since the pregnancy was announced, Jenny had maintained the same line - it was Patrick's baby. Patrick was named as the father on the birth certificate. In every single respect, Patrick was an amazing father to Andrew. Jenny didn't want that compromised in any way. And she'd made a promise to Patrick, long ago, to that effect.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything," Jessie apologised. "Maybe number two will be more like his mummy... Or perhaps her mummy..."

"Ha," interjected Jenny. "You assume there will be a number two."

"Of course there will," teased Jessie. "You'd love a little girlie, wouldn't you? And now Andrew's a bit older... and with your best friend having a baby soon... and me as well of course... Yes, you know there will!"

Jenny smiled. Jessie knew her well. It was something she had been thinking about for a while. She knew Patrick longed for a child of his own, and she wanted that for him so much. But she also worried that if he did have his own son or daughter that he would have a stronger bond with the younger child than Andrew. And she didn't want that for Andrew. Andrew was the most important thing in her world.

"Mummy," Andrew said as he came bundling up to her, "Look at my drawing, it's for Daddy."

"He's going to love it," she beamed. "And I love it. You are a clever kid, just like your Daddy. Is Esme drawing too?"

"Esme is playing with Lego," Andrew commented. Jenny looked across at Jessie. Jessie smiled.

"No change there then," Jessie commented. "Lego mad that child is. It's all going to have to go away when this one arrives." She patted her round belly. "She'll be devastated."

"Oh, she'll have a little while before your baby gets mobile," Jenny reminded Jessie. "But when that happens, she'll have to come and play round here."

"Maybe in the school holidays," Jessie pointed out.

"I still can't quite believe they start school next week," Jenny said. "I really don't feel ready for that."