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Amber left the apartment on East Sixty-Second Street carrying a small suitcase, her credit card, and a wad of money. Jackson had called earlier to let her know he’d be there by nine in the evening, and she was going to make sure he walked into an empty apartment. She was tired of this waiting game. One day he was going to tell Daphne, and the next day he had an excuse for why he couldn’t. She wasn’t going to take it any longer. This was showdown time.
She’d booked a room at a small hotel under a different name. The note she left said simply:
I’m afraid you don’t love me or our son. I don’t think you have any intention of leaving Daphne to marry me. If you don’t want this child, I will see that he doesn’t come into this world.
With great sorrow,
Amber
At ten past nine her cell phone began ringing. She ignored it. In a few minutes it rang again, and once more she refused to answer. This continued for twenty minutes, and then he left a message.Amber, please. Don’t do anything foolish. I love you. Please call me.
Amber heard the pleading and panic in his voice, smiled, and turned off her ringer. Let him call all night and wonder where she was and what she’d done. She turned on the TV and laid down on the bed. This would be a long, boring night, but the time had come for a drastic move on her part. I’m not going to be the patsy again, she thought, and fell into a fitful sleep.
She’d gotten up several times through the night to go to the bathroom, and each time she checked her phone. Call after call from Jackson, and messages and texts that alternated between begging and fury. The last time she got up was four in the morning, and finally she slept uninterrupted until eight o’clock. She got up and called room service. Decaffeinated tea and yogurt were delivered twenty minutes later, along with the morning paper. She scanned the pages with little interest, and then she waited. And waited. And waited.
At two in the afternoon she punched in Jackson’s number. He answered before the first ring was complete. “Amber! Where are you? I’ve been trying to reach you since last night.”
She whispered into the phone with a quivery voice. “I’m sorry, Jackson. I love you, but you forced me.” She let out a quiet sob to emphasize her pitifulness.
“What are you talking about? What have you done?”
“I have an appointment in an hour, Jackson. I’m sorry. I love you.” And she hung up.
Let him stew with that for a while, she thought. Her phone rang again, and this time she picked it up on the fifth ring.
“What?” she said.
“Amber, listen to me. Don’t do this. I love you. I love our son. I want to marry you. I will marry you. I’ll tell Daphne tonight. Please. Believe me.”
“I don’t know what to believe anymore, Jackson.” She made her voice sound weak and tired.
“Amber, you can’t go through with this. You’re carrying my son. I won’t lose my son.” He sounded furious.
“You’ve forced me to do it, Jackson. It’s your fault.” She heard him sigh, and then his tone changed.
“No, no. I know I’ve been dragging my feet, but it’s all for us. I was waiting for the right time.”
“That’s just it. It seems like the right time is never going to come. I can’t wait forever, Jackson. And neither can this appointment.”
“You would actually kill our child? I can’t believe that. Our beautiful little boy?”
“I can’t have this baby by myself and unmarried. Maybe you think it’s all right, but I wasn’t raised that way.”
“I promise you we’ll be married before he’s born. I promise. But come back to me, Amber. Where are you? I’ll come get you now.”
“I don’t know—”
Jackson cut her off. “We’ll go back to my apartment. You can stay there. Forever. Please.”
Her lips curled into a catlike smile.
***
Jackson was there within the hour. She got into the back of the limo and gave him what she hoped was a pitiful look. His lips were white, and his face was set in a scowl.
“Don’t you ever do that to me again.”
“Jackson, I—”