Chapter 7 - A Heartbeat and a Second Boundary
Elias arrived at the appointment twenty minutes early.
He brought no flowers.
No expensive gifts.
Only a notebook filled with questions he was afraid he might forget.
Adelaide noticed.
“You made a list?”
“I have missed seven months. I don’t want to miss anything else.”
The doctor performed an ultrasound.
When the baby appeared on the screen, Elias stopped breathing.
“There she is,” the doctor said.
The baby moved one small hand near her face.
Elias covered his mouth.
Adelaide watched him carefully.
His reaction did not erase the past, but it mattered.
“Her growth looks good,” the doctor explained. “Her heartbeat is strong.”
The room filled with the steady rhythm.
Elias cried without trying to hide it.
Afterward, he and Adelaide sat in a quiet café across from the hospital.
“I want to support you financially,” he said.
“I can support myself.”
“I know. This is not about your ability. It is about my responsibility.”
Adelaide considered the distinction.
“We can create an account for medical and childcare expenses.”
“Whatever makes you comfortable.”
“And you will not use money to influence decisions.”
“I won’t.”
“The baby will live with me.”
“I expected that.”
“You can visit, and later we can discuss shared custody.”
Elias nodded.
“I want to ask something, but you can refuse.”
“What?”
“Can Sophie be involved?”
Adelaide looked down at her tea.
“I never stopped loving her.”
“She never stopped loving you.”
“That makes everything harder.”
“I know.”
Adelaide agreed that Sophie could attend the next appointment.
The little girl arrived carrying a drawing of four people standing beneath a large yellow sun.
One figure was Elias.
One was Sophie.
One was Adelaide with a round stomach.
The smallest figure was labeled BABY SISTER.
“I didn’t give her a name because you didn’t tell me one,” Sophie explained.
“We haven’t chosen one yet,” Adelaide said.
“Can I make a list?”
“You may suggest names.”
Sophie pulled a folded piece of paper from her pocket.
“I already made a list.”
There were forty-three names.
Elias laughed.
Adelaide did too.
For a moment, they felt like the family they had once expected to become.
Then Adelaide remembered how easily that family had broken.
After the appointment, Elias walked her to her car.
“Margaret asked to see Sophie,” he said.
“What did you tell her?”
“That Sophie will see her only after the therapist believes it is healthy.”
“Did she blame me?”
“At first.”
“And then?”
“I told her blaming you would end the conversation.”
Adelaide leaned against the car.
“You never did that before.”
“No.”
“Why now?”
“Because you should never have needed to defend yourself alone.”
His answer reached a place inside her she had tried to close.
But healing was not the same as forgetting.
“I am not ready to trust you,” she said.
Elias nodded.
“Then I will respect that.”
“And stop appearing at the hospital without asking.”
“I will.”
“And do not tell Sophie we are getting back together.”
“I haven’t.”
“She hopes we will.”
“So do I.”
Adelaide looked at him sharply.
Elias continued before she could respond.
“But my hope is not your obligation.”
That was the second boundary she gave him.
May you like
This time, he kept it.
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