Chapter 2: You play, you pay

The Christmas season was over and we had a cold spell all January. That pretty much kept me working indoors, i.e. in the lab and I was making excellent progress with my assigned project. I saw Max Rosenzweig regularly and nothing in his behavior indicated that he knew about Lillian and me. I was not planning to enlighten him.

In early February Lillian had not called once. I resigned myself to the realization that our evening together had been a fluke, a one-night stand. I was very surprised when one Friday evening in mid-February my phone rang and I recognized Lillian's voice.

"Rudy?" The way she spoke my name already gave me a foreboding. This was not a call to refresh our acquaintance.

"Hello, Lillian," I answered trying to convey friendliness. "That is a nice surprise. I had not expected you to call anymore."

"Listen Rudy, I know this is sudden but I need to talk to you. I'm in a bit of a tight spot. Do you think your vintage car can make it to Charlottesville?"

I thought only briefly. Right after our encounter I had contemplated such a trip.

"Sure," I answered. "As long as there's no snow, no problem. When should I come?"

"Umh, tomorrow? It's rather urgent."

"Can you tell me why?" I asked getting worried. This sounded ominous.

"Please, not on the phone," she begged. "Can you just come? I'll explain then."

"OK, I'll come. Can you give me an address?"

"Just follow the signs to the Downtown Mall. I'll be waiting near the visitor parking. Can you be here by twelve? It's a three hour drive from Bethesda."

"Yes, I can do that. I'll leave here at nine. Are you sure you want to meet me there or should I try to find your place?"

"No, no. I can't miss you, not when I'll hear your engine."

I heard a soft laugh on the other end. That consoled me. If she could tease me, things could not be bad. Yeah, right!

I left on time the next morning. Traffic was still light on the beltway and on I-66. I switched to Highway 29 at the Gainesville Exit and followed it all the way to Charlottesville. Even with my ancient Benz I made good time and it was a quarter to twelve when I found the visitor parking for downtown Charlottesville.

Before I could park the car Lillian was there and opened the passenger side door to slip in.

"Hi, Rudy. Thanks for coming on such short notice," she said with obvious relief.

She didn't look happy though. She looked more like a bearer of bad news.

"Hi Lillian. I'm happy for the chance to see you again."

There was a ghost of a smile on her face. "You're sweet, Rudy. Listen, your heating is not too good. Can you drive down that road? There's a small restaurant where we can sit. My treat."

Obediently I drove a few hundred yards until we stopped in front of a small restaurant. Inside Lillian found a secluded table in a corner where we sat down. A waitress appeared and Lillian ordered for the both of us. When the waitress had taken the order and was gone, Lillian faced me with a determined look on her face.

"Rudy, there is no easy way to say this so I'll just speak it out. It seems I was wrong about my cycle. I'm pregnant."

Talk about being shocked! My mind whirled trying to cope with this outlandish idea. Hadn't she said... ? Was is possible? Was it my child?

"I told you, you were only my third man, Rudy," she said calmly as if she had read my thoughts.

I took a deep breath to calm down. I looked into her eyes. There was fear in them and a silent plea.

"So, what can we do?" I asked.

She pressed my hand, exhaling deeply. "I ... I don't know yet," she answered. "There are a few options. One, I can have the baby and give it up for adoption. Two, I can have the baby and raise it by myself. I'm sure my parents will support me but they might ask you to contribute financially. Three," she blushed, "I can have the baby ... we can have the baby and care for it together. That doesn't mean a wedding, okay?"

I noticed that she did not mention abortion and I was secretly relieved that this would not be an option for her. I firmly believe that a woman must decide if she is able to carry a child to term but it would have torn me apart to have my baby aborted. I quickly thought about the options she had listed. I did not like number one. Who knew what nut cases the adoption agency would come up with? Number two was not attractive either. I would pay without having rights to the child. Then I realized what Lillian really meant with option three. It meant some form of partnership. I took a deep breath again. We had only known each other for a few hours. That was not enough for such a commitment. But still...

Lillian watched me as those thoughts bounced around in my head. I looked back at her. She was a cute girl with a wonderful personality. Did I like her. Yeah! Could I envision living with her? How as I supposed to know that? I did not know her.

"Listen Lillian, first let me say that I will be with you. You will not be alone. Your option one does not sound right to me. Number two is ... It looks like I'll buy my way out of this. But number three, I mean, we have known each other for a few hours only."

"I know," Lillian sighed.

"Maybe, we can do something in between number two and three," I suggested. "I can be there for you and help you. I can help you raise the child and we can get to know each other better. Then, in a year or two we can decide between number two or number three."

A thick tear ran down her cheek, but she pressed my hand. "You're a decent guy, Rudy," she croaked. She composed herself. "I'll have to tell my parents, and soon."