“Is that Deidre speaking?” Grace asked.
A chill ran along his shoulders. It felt as if Deidre were in the room. “Yes, I believe so... It’s been a while.” He would have recognized her voice anywhere. It was such a distinct mix of Southern drawl and New England twang.
“The child is so sweet.” Grace sighed. “How lucky she was to have such a beautiful baby girl.”
Slowly the images shifted to show the home she lived in, the front steps and the street in front of Deidre’s house. There were closer shots showing Emma’s rosy complexion and her glossy red curls. Aidan recognized the backgrounds in the photos—all were places around Deidre’s home and office.
Grace took his hand. “Have you seen any of these before?”
“No. Never,” Aidan said as the video showed Emma in a pink party dress, her red curls framing her face. There was something so familiar about her, about the way she cocked her head and smiled at the camera. Deidre could be heard in the background wishing Emma a happy third birthday.
The camera panned close, so that Emma’s face filled the screen. Aidan stared for a minute, slowly becoming aware of something he couldn’t mistake for anything other than what it was.
“Aidan. Look!” Grace cried. “She’s got the same cleft in her chin as you have. And her smile. Oh, God. Aidan. Her smile is yours.”
Aidan swallowed against the impact of the little girl’s face. She did have his chin... “A lot of people have the same feature. Let’s not jump to conclusions.” Fear mixed with foreboding clutched his heart. He moved his chair closer to Grace’s and pulled her hand into his lap. “This little girl is beautiful, but she could be anyone’s little girl,” he said, unable to grasp the truth of what he’d seen a few minutes ago.
The next photo was of Emma hugging a large teddy bear. Deidre’s voice could be heard once again. “Aidan, if you’re watching this, it means I am gone. I need you to care for our daughter. I had the DNA testing done just a few months after Emma was born. There is no doubt that you’re the father. Emma has your smile, your curls and that cute little cleft in her chin. My last wish is that you provide her with a loving home and care for her in my stead.”
The next photo slid onto the screen, a close-up showing Emma laughing at the camera as she clutched another teddy bear, this time a black one with a big red bow, her round cheeks glowing. She moved up close to the camera. Close enough to see every feature on her tiny face. The smile was so endearing, the little girl so happy and carefree. This beautiful child was innocent and would pay the price if he denied her.
“She is your daughter and you are her father. Please love her with all your heart as I have. Please,” Deidre pleaded.
Grace pulled her hand away. “You believe her, don’t you,” she said, her voice cold and distant.
Disbelief shook him. What if this little girl was his daughter? What would he do if she were? Even the thought, the possibility of a child opened something inside him, something he’d never really felt before. He looked at Grace, saw her anguish and put his arm around her shoulders.
Grace pushed him away.
There had to be some mistake. It was so unreal—the lawyer’s call, the emotional trip here, the realization that there was a pretty good chance Deidre’s daughter was also his. “Grace, we are going to have the DNA test redone. We’ll pick a lab back in Charleston and I will pay whatever it takes to have the testing done as fast as possible. We won’t jump to any conclusions until then.” He cleared his throat. “This is so difficult for you, finding out that I had relations with Deidre. I’ve hurt you in ways I never intended...ever. But we’ll work this out, somehow. You’ll see.”
Grace wrapped her arms around her middle and nodded at the screen. “Aidan, look at her. She is so much like you in her appearance and her smile. How could you think this isn’t your child?” Her voice sounded choked with tears as she huddled in the corner of her chair.
“Grace, please, let’s wait and see.” As the video ended, despite his denials, he knew Emma was his daughter. He knew because the close-up shot revealed that Emma’s left eye held the same tiny glint of a different color that his mother’s had. A bit of pale yellow in the blue of the iris. A family trait. “Let’s get that lawyer in here and then we can arrange the testing. After that, we’ll go home and wait for the results.”
He rose, waiting for his wife to stand, resisting the urge to take her in his arms and convince her that what had happened five years ago had been long over, even before it began. “I love you. My relationship with Deidre was wrong and a complete betrayal of you and of us. Whatever the tests show, I want you to know that I have never loved anyone the way I love you.”
Slowly Grace stood, being careful to stay away from him. Regardless of what he wanted, he knew she would not allow him to touch her. “My only hope is that you see your way clear to forgive me,” he said.
Without looking at him, she said, “Aidan, I can’t forgive you. Every part of my life has changed, all because you betrayed what we had together.”
SEVERAL WEEKS LATER Grace placed a seafood casserole in the oven and set the timer. Her words in the lawyer’s office had proven prophetic, because everything about her life had changed. The drive home had been a long, silent one with each mile forcing her to face the cold truth. She could think of little else but what Aidan had done with that woman—a woman who claimed that her child was his.
The easy closeness Grace and Aiden had shared had disappeared as if it never existed. She’d moved into the guest bedroom, too tired to sleep as her mind went over that day at the Planters Inn.
Meanwhile, Aidan behaved as if nothing had changed. He’d worked long hours, as he always did. Because of his behavior, Grace couldn’t help but worry that maybe Deidre wasn’t the only affair he’d had, that he might have spent the past few nights in the arms of another woman. She was embarrassed at how naive and foolish she’d been to never question anything her husband had told her. She’d even considered hiring a private detective to follow him, something she was deeply ashamed of, but she’d found herself doing all sorts of things she would never have dreamed of a month ago.
She’d given everything, every part of herself, to her marriage. She’d never once considered having an affair, and she despised the fact that her husband had felt the need to have one. Sure, it had been rough going through the tests, trying to have a baby. But he wasn’t the only one wishing that it could be over while praying for a baby to make their life together complete.
What hurt most was that now she had to face the fact that he didn’t want a baby nearly as much as she did. He could deny that, but it was true. He’d seen fit to have a fling with someone during the darkest period of her life, and he’d resisted talking to the adoption lawyer.
She’d begun to realize that all her plans for a happy life with Aidan that included children lay in ruins. A part of her was sure that there was nothing left between them.
She realized that most of her friends would see her willingness to try to repair her marriage as degrading and pointless, given his infidelity. But despite these past few weeks, she knew Aidan to be a decent man.
To talk about adoption in the middle of this crisis was pure denial on her part. Yet she hadn’t let go of that dream, that possibility of getting a child. She supposed, underneath it all, she needed to keep her life as normal as possible and to believe that she and Aidan had a chance to survive this if they worked hard enough.
So she’d made dinner. For them and two of their friends, Cecilia and Dave. As though everything was fine. As though Grace and Aidan were actually considering adoption. It was better than facing the evening alone, which was what she’d been doing since seeing the photos of Emma.
Aidan