Love Child

The monotonous ring of the telephone pulled Chris from the dark folds of sleep. His hand groped for the cellphone he had tossed onto his nightstand the day before. He begrudgingly hit 'talk' and put it to his ear. "Hello?"

"Hello?" A feminine voise rang in his ear. "Chris? It's Jill."

At that moment, Chris was wide awake. "Jill? It's... This is really you?" He felt tears swell up behind his eyes, threatening to break through and run down his face.

"Yeah, it's me..." Jill's voice was sad as she spoke. "I'm sorry... that I left."

Chris had a short flash back of the night he and Jill had shared months ago. Her lips on his, his body against hers, a night of pure love. Chris wasn't sure what he should reply, but was saved from the choice as her voice came from the phone again.

"I... I'm coming back..." She whispered. "I was..." She took a deep breath. "I was hoping that we could meet somewhere."

"Of course!" Chris was breathless. "Where? Do you have a place in mind?"

"Uh, yeah... I was thinking that little cafe, Quiet Daylight?" Jill offered.

"Meet you there at twelve tomorro-" He was cut off by a baby crying in the background.

"I'm sorry, Chris. I've got to go. See you tomorrow at twelve." She was apoligetic.

"Okay. Good-bye, Jill..."

The line went dead. Chris found his cheeks were wet with tears at the euphoric joy of speaking to her again. He flopped onto his back and closed his eyes, remembering the day she had left.

Chris' eyes shot open when he realized the presence of the woman he loved was gone. He sat up and called out "Jill?"

When he didn't get a reply, he stood and walked out of the bedroom. He was only in his boxers, so he shivered a little at the frigid air. December always left the apartment a little cold.

"Jill?" He tried again. The apartment screamed emptiness back at him. His feet took him to the kitchen, and then down the hall to the livingroom. He found no evidence of his beautiful woman there.

Until he saw the note on the door.

Chris,
I had to leave.
I'm sorry.
I love you.

He sighed at the painful memory. He still had the note, half-crumpled in his nightstand drawer. He would take it out at times after having a nightmare. It reassured him that she loved him, and that the love they had made hadn't been a dream.

He did this now, reaching his arm over and taking hold of the small piece of paper. He held it to his lips, picturing her writing it. Had she been crying? Had she been straight faced? He didn't know.

They had only been together for about a week or so before she had left. There had been one night that they had made love, convincing each other that they were perfect for each other.

But she had left. There wasn't anything he could do about that.

~!~!~!~

Chris woke up the next morning anticipating his meeting with her at noon. He had dreamt of her that night and was aching to see her again. No matter what happened, he would still love her.

Whether she had found someone new and only wanted to put his mind at rest, or she had joined a convent, he would love her.

Chris suddenly remembered the baby crying in the background. Had Jill found someone else? Someone who already had a child? Or was it her child? Chris wanted this question to be answered. He prayed that she was still single and still loved him though.

He sprang out of bed and threw a shirt on over his head. He stood still for a moment and sprang into action again, "Pants! Yeah, pants would be good."

The next few hours crept on slowly for him, his anticipation growing each moment. Finally, around eleven fifteen, Chris climbed into his truck and drove as fast as he could to 'Quiet Daylight.' He got there almost exactly at twelve.

A small bell jingled as he opened the door and walked in. He saw her sitting at a booth against the wall. He walked up to the table and said almost disbelievingly "Jill." She looked up at him.

"Chris!" She smiled. Chris sat down across from her and noticed that she had a baby in her arms.

"This... This is my daughter. Her names Karin." She stuttered and bit her lip. Chris started a little at the name. It had been his mother's.

Chris looked at little baby girl that had the distictive blue eyes that had come from Jill.

"She has your eyes." He said before asking, "Who's.. uh.. who's the father?"

"She's a love child. But I'll always love her father..." Jill stated as she gazed down at the strawberry cheeked child. Chris felt depression crawl up on him when he heard her say that she loved the infant's father. He pushed it to the back of his mind.

The baby girl giggled as her mother tickled under her chin. Chris scooted in next to Jill to get a better look at Karin. She reached out her chubby baby hands for the man. 'It's almost like she knows...' Jill thought with a smile.

"Mind if I...?"

"Go ahead." Jill handed the precious bundle to him.

He smiled at Karin, letting her wrap one tiny hand around his finger. "She's beautiful. Just like her mother." He looked up at Jill. There was so much he wanted to say, to ask. 'Are you staying? Do you still love me? Don't go...'

"Hey there, Karin!" Chris cooed to the baby. She giggled, keeping her grip on the man's finger. "Karin Valentine, you beautiful baby!" Chris said in a sing-song voice.

Jill smiled. "That's not her last name."

Chris turned to the woman. "Wh, What is it?"

Jill smiled again, putting her hand on his arm. "I'm sure you'll like it." She was toying with him, delaying the answer. Or maybe she was still afraid. "Her name is Karin Redfield."

Chris stared at Jill for a moment in utter shock. "Redfield?!" He pulled her in and kissed her before she had even comprehended that he had moved. When he finally pulled away, he looked down at the child in his arms his vision slighty blurred by tears.

"So.. she's ours...?" He asked, his voice no more than a whisper.

"Yeah, she's our daughter." Jill leaned herself against him, "I was afraid you wouldn't accept her. That's why I left. I thought you might want me to get an abortion... I didn't want it to tear us apart..."

"Never!" Chris exclaimed, "I've always loved kids, and now I finally have one with the woman I love!" He wrapped his free arm around her in a tight hug, and didn't want to let go.

"Careful." Jill took her daughter back so both of of his arms were free. She leaned into his side, happy as she could be.

Chris stood and pulled her up. "C'mon. Lets go home."

~!~More than a year later~!~

"Daddy! Up!" Karin demanded to her father.

Chris laughed and bent down to scoop up his daughter. "Alright! Alright!" He laughed and kissed her forehead. She giggled. He tickled her stomach so she laughed again.

She patted her fathers face. "Bad daddy!"

He laughed. "Why am I a bad daddy?"

"Cause oo tickled me." She pretended to scowl at him.

"Chris!" Jill's voice came from down the hall.

Chris' face turned serious at the frantic sound of his wife's voice. He set Karin down in her playpen and was down the hallway in a moment. "What? Are you okay?" Jill looked at him, there was a smile on her face and her eyes were moist.

"Chris! Look!" She held out the object in her hand, and his eyes grew wide. His eyes flickered to her hopefully. She had a chesire cat grin plastered on her face. "I'm pregnant!"

Chris walked into the living room without saying a word. Jill followed, wondering what he was doing. She watched as he pushed the couch up against the door and sat down.

"What are you doing?" She exclaimed.

"Barricading the door." He stated. "You're pregnant. I don't want you leaving again."

Jill rolled her eyes but kept her grin. Plopping down on the couch next to him, she kissed his cheek. "I won't leave this time you big lug!"

He kissed her briefly. "You'd better not."