Open House(24)

After Priya lied to the detective and told him she knew nothing, she canceled class and raced home. Elliot’s nursery was all set up for his arrival, and that’s where she found Brad, sleeping in the rocking chair, still in his scrubs from the previous night when he’d assisted in an emergency surgery. Brad had turned on the sound machine, and a steady heartbeat filled the room. “Brad,” Priya managed to say, and when he woke, he rubbed his eyes and grinned at her. She couldn’t figure out why, until he asked, “Is it time? Is the baby coming?”

“No,” Priya said as he got out of the rocking chair and strode toward her. Her heart was beating so fast she thought she might die right there and lose everything. She righted herself against the changing table. “A detective just came to my class, Brad. Asking about Emma McCullough.”

Brad stopped dead. What he’d done was all over his face, and Priya knew she’d never need to ask if he’d slept with Emma.

She let go of the table. She felt a little steadier now. He’d cheated—she could deal with that; it wasn’t a crime. But if he’d hurt Emma, she needed to know now, so she could end it. “Did you do something to her?” Priya asked, her words barely audible amid the pulse of the sound machine.

Brad shook his head. “No,” he said. “No, no, I didn’t. Priya? Sit.” He gestured to the rocking chair, but Priya was sick of people telling her to sit down.

“No,” she said. “I don’t need to sit, I need you to tell me if you . . .” She bent forward, unable to finish her sentence. She tried to straighten up, but suddenly she wasn’t feeling very well. Her stomach tightened like a fist, and she clutched her lower belly.

“Priya?” Brad asked.

She couldn’t speak. Liquid trickled into her underwear and leggings. It wasn’t a gush like in the movies, but it was unmistakable. It was time to have Elliot.

As they sped toward the hospital, Priya screamed through contractions, and when she had a break from those, she screamed at Brad. He admitted to sleeping with Emma—he didn’t even try to lie. He apologized profusely, and swore up and down that he didn’t hurt her, that he could never hurt her, or anyone. By the time they arrived at the hospital, Priya could barely walk. An orderly put her into a wheelchair and wheeled her into labor and delivery. The contractions were coming on faster now, and she and Brad spoke in hushed voices while nurses came in and out of the room. Tears streamed over Brad’s face as he apologized, and Priya tried to face the reality that her fiancé had slept with a twenty-one-year-old girl who had disappeared and might be hurt. If she believed him, she needed to protect the father of her child, but if she didn’t, she needed to turn him in, to protect someone else’s child. This contradiction played through her mind on an endless loop, but then there was the urge to push, and suddenly she couldn’t focus on anything other than this baby who wanted to be born. She looked up at her fiancé’s pleading face hovering over hers, and she decided to believe him. She took his hand and started breathing and pushing, screaming and crying. Minutes later, Elliot emerged with cries of his own. Priya held her baby close, warm against her chest, and never spoke of Emma McCullough again.





SIXTEEN

Haley

Haley woke from her dreams drenched in sweat. Emma still filtered through her mind in the space between asleep and awake. I’m waiting for you to find me, Emma had said, dressed in the same white tank she’d been wearing the night Haley saw her in the lobby for the last time. Figure me out, Haley. Please, look a little closer.

“Dean!” Haley heard herself cry out. She turned toward him, but the sheets were empty. She swung her legs over the side of the bed and saw moonlight on the floor. The clock on their bedside table read just past midnight.

“Dean?” Haley called as she stepped across the wide wooden planks. A blue glow came from the bathroom, and she followed it. She swung open the door to see Dean sitting on the cold tiled floor, his back pressed against the bathtub. He was staring down at his phone, and when he looked up, his features were so furrowed she hardly recognized him.

“Haley,” he said. He set down his phone with the screen side against the tiles, making them ghostly white. “You okay?” he asked, standing and coming toward her.

Haley rubbed her eyes, but she didn’t feel tired anymore. She glanced down at Dean’s phone. “I’m fine,” she said as he wrapped his arms around her. “It was just a dream.” She tried to let herself relax into his embrace, but she couldn’t. “What were you doing in here?”

“Just work emails,” Dean said. “I couldn’t sleep.” He pulled her tighter against his chest until she felt too hot and itchy against his Yarrow sweatshirt, until she couldn’t breathe right. She pulled away, gasping. “Let’s go back to bed,” she said, trying to shake a feeling she couldn’t quite name.





SEVENTEEN

Priya

The next morning snow fell heavily from a white sky. Priya drove along the interstate toward Josie’s open house, gripping the wheel and arching forward. The wipers beat away the snow, and Priya tried to focus on the clean patch of road in front of her. It was 10:49, and she wanted to be there right when Josie had told her to be—just before eleven—so she could get this over with. Hopefully the snow wouldn’t delay Josie’s open house visitors, because Priya needed an easy out. What a lovely home! she imagined saying as she excused herself from Josie and any potential clients.