The Mistaken (7 page)

“Morning, love,” he said with a smile and a kiss to
my forehead. “How do you feel? Do you have an appetite?”

“Mm, yes, surprisingly, I do. It smells so good.
Seems like forever since I enjoyed the smell of food in the
morning.” I snatched a crispy piece of applewood-smoked bacon and
stuffed half of it into my mouth. “Not to mention the food itself,”
I mumbled.

Tyler chuckled. “Well, you go sit down, and I’ll
serve you a plate. I made you some decaf, unless you want to join
me for some tea instead.”

I gave my head a firm shake, my mouth too full to
speak as I savored the thick slice of heaven.

“All right then, coffee it is. And the paper is
right there. See what you can dig up.”

With one foot tucked beneath me, I sat down at the
kitchen table. “Ty, this would be so much easier on the computer,
don’t you think?”

He placed a plate of steaming food on the table
before me. “Perhaps, but not nearly as much fun.” He kissed the top
of my head and pressed a prescription bottle of pills into my hand.
“Make sure you take these before you eat.” He gave me a stern look
and moved back to the stove where he served himself a generous
helping of food. “If you’re up to it, I’d like to hit as many as we
can before dinner.”

I looked over the bottle’s label and sighed.
Wellbutrin
. “Did you fish these out of the trash?” I
asked.

“That’s where you left them.”

“And that’s exactly where they belong. I don’t want
to take these anymore.”

“You don’t have a choice, you know that. No more
Paxil. It’s too risky for the baby. And Nardil is too dangerous for
you
.”

I groaned. “But this stuff makes me even more
nauseous than the morning sickness, and it keeps me up at night.
Besides, I feel fine. I don’t need it. I haven’t had any problems
for a long time now.”

“That’s because you’re taking the Wellbutrin,” he
insisted. “And it’s the only one that has no side effects for the
baby.”

“But I’ve been losing weight when I should be
gaining. That can’t be good.”

“Jillian,” he said firmly, “you have enough issues
with your moods as it is. This pregnancy will only make it worse.
You can’t afford
not
to take that stuff.”

I pouted and pushed the steaming eggs around my
plate. “I thought you said you loved my moods. Fire. Isn’t that
what you called it?”

“Yes, well, I can wait a few more months until the
baby is born. Now eat up. It’s getting late. We need to get
moving.”

With a petulant sigh, I nodded and popped one small
pill into my mouth. Like a patient in a mental ward, I opened my
mouth and stuck out my tongue, proving that I had swallowed. He
gave me a bright smile, his eyes crinkling at the corners. With a
shake of my head, I dug into my food and opened the newspaper.

Though it might seem archaic in the age of the
Internet, it had become a weekly routine to spread the San
Francisco Chronicle out on the kitchen table as we shared Sunday
brunch. We would circle every open house ad we could find in the
Sunset District, Twin Peaks, and even occasionally Russian Hill.
Then we would tour as many as we could fit into the day.

I loved Ty’s little house. It was charming with
large bay windows that framed a spectacular view of The City, and
original millwork that fascinated the master builder in Ty. It was
also chock full of wonderful memories that spanned the last few
years. But at well under a thousand square feet, and with two
separate businesses run out of the den, it was far too small to
raise a child. With all the new furniture, toys, and clothing we
were accumulating, the space was quickly becoming cramped and
disheveled—not very safe for a baby. And it was a rental. Tyler and
I both wanted a home we could call our own. So after I shared the
news of my pregnancy, we threw ourselves back into finding a larger
home, one that could accommodate our expanding family.

Feeling comfortably full, I showered and dressed for
a busy day of house hunting. We ventured out into the chilly early
winter weather armed with the well-marked newspaper and a map. We
ran from one open house to another, dodging fat raindrops as they
fell sporadically from the sky. If we didn’t find the home to our
liking, we simply crossed it off our list. But if we thought it had
potential, we spent time discussing what we could do to make the
house fit our needs.

After five hours of running around, searching for a
parking spot, then touring each home, we had finally reached the
end of our list, exhausted and rather discouraged. The last house
was up on Russian Hill, a district normally out of our price range.
But the homeowners had entered into a short sale agreement with
their lender which could allow us the opportunity to enter the
market in an otherwise unaffordable neighborhood.

As I entered the foyer and walked through the
well-appointed space, a charge of excitement coursed through me. I
looked back over my shoulder and saw Tyler’s face light up as he
ran his hands over a display of intricately carved moulding. The
home was beautiful and well-designed. The kitchen and bathrooms
were tastefully updated with the original millwork well-preserved.
It had the right amount of bedrooms to allow us more children, as
well as space for each of us to maintain a home office. And as I
stood in the middle of my favorite room, I couldn’t help but think
that the house was meant to be ours.

“Look, Ty, the wood floor is in perfect condition. I
love that dark cherry color.” I walked over to the large bay window
and pulled up on the built-in window seat. “Hey, there’s storage
under here. All it needs is a cushion and some pillows on top.”
Then I pointed high up at the wall near the ceiling. “It has
beautiful crown moulding, too. And a chair rail. This would make a
perfect nursery, don’t you think? I could put a wallpaper border up
at the top and a painted striped wainscot below the rail.” My mind
spun with a burst of energy at all the possibilities. I turned to
Ty, anxious to hear his opinion.

Much to my surprise, he didn’t even look at the
details which had captivated me. He stood in the doorway, his
well-muscled shoulder leaning against the carved wood trim and his
arms crossed over his broad chest. He smiled at me with amusement
dancing in his eyes as I twirled about the room.

“I like it, too,” he said, his eyes pinned on me in
my excitement. “You can see the spires of St. Peter and Paul’s from
the living room.” Leave it to Ty to focus on the surrounding
architecture.

“
I figured you’d like that. And
what about the kitchen? Did you see that range? It’s one of those
professional kinds. And, you know, my parents are only a few blocks
away, plus there are a couple of parks within an easy walk. Oh, Ty,
it’s perfect but…can we afford it?”

While the house was a little above our limit, I
didn’t think he would have agreed to see it if he didn’t think we
could afford it. My photography studio was booked solid, and Ty had
remodeling jobs lined up through the end of the year. We were in
great shape.

“I think we can swing it,” he replied. “We’ll never
know until we put down an offer.”

I jumped up and down, squealing in delight, then
threw myself into his arms. High heels clopped down the hall in our
direction, and a head popped in through the doorway. The seller’s
agent whooped in embarrassment and recoiled with a polite apology
back into the hall. Ty held me tight and spun me around once before
lowering me to the floor and kissing me breathless.

Everything moved pretty fast after that. Since we
had already been pre-approved, we put an offer down, which was
accepted after a month of tense negotiations. After all the
inspections were completed, it was just a matter of time until
escrow closed. We filled it with shopping, packing, and reading
baby books. We tried numerous times to contact Nick and share our
good news, but he was nowhere in sight, and rarely returned our
calls. So we focused all of our attention on preparing for the
move, my pregnancy, and our baby.

“Guess what, Ty?” I asked one evening as we filled
and labeled moving boxes.

He looked up, his wrinkled brow easing as he threw
me a brilliant smile. His eyes sparkled as blue as the South
Pacific with enticing little creases that blossomed at the corners.
I gazed at him and lost my train of thought, as I often did. We’d
been together for several years, but the sight of his smile and the
lilt of his adorable accent continued to capture my attention, as
they did most women.

Tyler was oblivious to the women who ogled and
stared after him, young and old alike, and even some men. And it
wasn’t just his face that turned their heads either. His body was
perfect, and in my mind, rivaled that of any Greek god ever carved
out of marble. I was constantly catching women giving him the once
over before settling on his backside. Some turned away in
embarrassment as I caught their eye, but most slid me a look that
seemed to say, “You lucky girl!”

I admit, I was proud to have landed such a
spectacular specimen of mankind. What woman wouldn’t be? But when
it came right down to it, it was the pureness of his heart that
captivated me most, and it didn’t hurt that he loved me, even with
all my flaws.

Ty waved his hand in the air. “Hello…Jill?” he
called out.

I snorted, embarrassed to have been caught
daydreaming yet again, even after all this time together. “Sorry, I
was just thinking. You know, I’m well into my second trimester now.
I think it’s safe to tell everyone about the baby. My parents and
sister. Maybe Nick. I don’t think they’ve noticed. I haven’t gained
much weight, and I’ve been wearing a lot of loose clothing.”

He dropped the load of books in his arms and walked
up to me. “You must be relieved. I know you were worried,
especially about your meds. And all for nothing. See? Told you so.”
He spooned me from behind and nuzzled my neck. His arms snaked
around my waist, his hands splaying over the bump in my belly. Then
he rocked me from side to side as he whispered in my ear. “So how
long will it be, until I can feel her moving inside you?”

I spun around in his arms and pulled back. “Her?
What makes you think it’s a girl?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. Wishful thinking, I
guess. I keep picturing a little girl with long, dark curls and
eyes that melt my heart. Man, will I be in trouble with two of
you.”

I couldn’t help but smile, but then I shook my head
and ran my fingers along his brow. “Well, I think it’s going to be
a boy with eyes the color of a summer sky. Just like his daddy.” I
pressed my lips to his and curled my arms around his waist.

He pulled me in tight and returned the kiss. I felt
a slight flutter deep within me, as I often had over the last week
or two, but then suddenly, I reared back with a gasp as a firm kick
poked me from inside.

“Oh my God! Did you feel that?” I asked.

“Feel what?”

I grabbed his hand and pressed it to my belly. After
a moment, another jab startled us both. He gasped this time, his
eyes round and wide.

“I felt
that
,” he exclaimed with a huge grin.
“Wow! That’s...amazing. Thank you.” He leaned in and kissed me
again. “I love you. You know that, right?” He cupped my face and
pulled my forehead to his lips. “You’re the best thing that ever
happened to me. Ever. I couldn’t live without you.” He smoothed his
palm over my belly. “Either of you.”

We stood there smiling at each other like idiot
teenagers, a quiet moment of deep bonding, but it was interrupted
by his cell phone’s
God Save the Queen
ringtone. He pulled
it from his front pants pocket and checked to see who was
calling.

“Ah, it’s David Sharp. Let’s hope he has good news.
Escrow should be closing any day.” Excitement danced across Ty’s
face as he drifted away and received the call from our mortgage
broker. But his smile, so enthusiastic when he first answered,
faded away quickly. His mouth drooped open and his brow knitted in
concern.

“What? You’re sure? And there’s nothing we can do?”
he asked David after a long silence. He stood and listened for a
moment longer then his shoulders sagged as he dragged a hand over
his face. “Right. I understand. Well, I guess we’ll try again in a
few months then.” He paused again and looked me in the eye. “Right.
Okay, we’ll talk to you then. Yeah, thanks David.” He ended the
call with a sigh and a shake of his head.

“What’s wrong?” I asked as a nervous flutter rolled
through my stomach.

“David said the bank ran a final credit check on us
yesterday. He said it’s routine just before escrow closes, to make
sure we haven’t run up any undisclosed debt.”

“Yeah, so. Why would that be a problem? We don’t
have any large balances.”

“Well…it seems we do. Or at least
you
do.”

“What? No way! I only have the one credit card and I
only used it once up in Napa right before we got married. That
charge was for less than a hundred bucks, and I’ve already paid it
off. There is no balance.”

“Not according to your report. Apparently, there’s
an $18,000 balance as of two weeks ago.”

“
$18,000!”

The flutter in my stomach rolled higher as bile rose
up into my throat. Thundering down the short hall, I raced for the
bathroom and vomited. My arms and legs shook as I knelt on the
floor and gripped the toilet. Tyler followed in behind me and held
back my hair, his palm swirling in slow, comforting circles along
my back.

“Easy, Jill. There’s no need to make yourself sick
over this.” He filled a cup with water and held it out to me, along
with a towel. “Here, drink this. Take a few deep breaths.
Everything will be just fine.”

“We’ve lost the house, haven’t we?” I asked,
breathless after gulping the water.