Page 3 of The Un-Apparent Heir

“It’s up to you,” Lucy said, feeling a pang of guilt. “I’m not quitting my job.”

“I am not saying you should do that, Luce! God, don’t say that.”

Winston brought her a glass of wine.

“Thank you, baby,” Lucy said, pushing the stemless glass across the table to keep it out of grabby little hands.

“I’m just saying, I would rather spend time with this little guy while life is still new and simple than hire someone. I enjoy it more.”

“It's up to you. I don’t want you feeling miserable or bored. We can hire a nanny?—”

“I know, I know. When we have a second one, we’ll have more to do.”

Lucy tried not to recoil, annoyed. Winston was desperate for baby number two. Lucy wasn’t interested.

“In a long time,” Winston said.

He didn’t mean it, adding the remark to cover his ass.

“Uh-huh.”

Lucy kissed her baby boy’s head. She took in the sweet smell of his ginger hair and wanted to stay this way forever. She longed for him to forever be this precious, tiny ball of energy. She wanted life to be simple, even if balancing challenged her. Nights like this at home with Winston cooking dinner and her baby greeting her with big smiles made it worth it.

“Hey Nat,” Lucy looked up from her desk.

Natalie popped into Lucy’s office and closed the door. In her head, she’d broached this conversation dozens of times. It felt different in the moment.

“Hi, darling,” Natalie smiled.

“Big doings?” Lucy asked.

Natalie plopped into the chair before Lucy’s desk.

“Uh, I need to say something and not sure how to say it, so just saying it.”

Lucy nodded, concerned.

“Remember when I said I scheduled an annual visit with my consultant?”

“Sure,” Lucy agreed.

“Well, we saw a fertility specialist.”

Lucy did a double-take.

“It was a positive experience. We’re having some issues. Ed is beating himself up over it because it’s a ‘sperm quality issue.' I’m feeling a bit like a broodmare.”

“I’m so sorry, Natalie,” Lucy said.

She got up and walked around to hug Natalie. “Are you okay?”

“I don’t even know? Like, I’m hopeful. The doctor was positive. Ed is just… he’s shattered. I need to stay positive and believe in it, but he’s so down.”

“He will be okay,” Lucy assured. “He will get over it. Once you two have a baby, it will just be a blip. What do you need to do?”

“We’re going to undergo treatment. IVF. I must keep this under wraps and build all these tests into our schedule.”

“I can help but… don’t you want to tell your mum? She would understand?”

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