Page 9 of Mistaken Intention

“They haven’t?” I can hear the surprise in his voice.

“No. Lexi told me that just the other day, when I was talking to her about coming to pick me up from the airport. She said she’s gonna arrange to stay at her sister’s place in Boston the night before I get back, to save driving up from New York, and then having to go to Newport all in one day. She seemed a little nervous about asking, and I wondered why, which was when she told me she hadn’t seen her sister since she stayed there just before Maisie was born.”

“But that was four months ago,” he says.

“I know. I can’t imagine going that long without seeing you and Ella. We might have done it before, but only because of work commitments, or when Ella was studying in Europe.”

“Exactly. They don’t even live very far apart, and yet…”

“And yet, they’re obviously not that close.”

There’s a brief pause and I can almost hear him thinking, working out the significance of what I’ve just said. “What are you gonna do about it?” he asks.

“I’m gonna talk to Lexi when I get home.”

“About her sister?”

“Not exactly. I can hardly come straight out and say I’ve been in love with her all this time, but I’ll probably see what’s going on with Lexi… try to find out if she’s got another guy in her life, and take it from there.”

“You’re not worried about Lexi getting involved with someone else, then?”

“Of course not. She’s a free agent. As long as she doesn’t stop me from seeing Maisie, she can do whatever she wants.” He chuckles. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. It’s just you’re so different.”

“Yeah. That’s what fatherhood does for you.” I stop talking, realizing what I’ve just said, and how insensitive it sounded. He and Livia have been trying to get pregnant for a while. Hunter told me shortly after Maisie was born, when I noticed how subdued Livia was and asked if she was okay. I was worried she might be sick, but he told me they’d been trying for a baby since before their wedding, and getting nowhere. The look in his eyes gave away how much he wanted it, too, so I doubt he needs reminding of the joys of being a dad… not when he so desperately wants to become one himself. “I’m sorry, Hunter. That wasn’t very subtle of me, was it?”

“It’s okay,” he says, although I can tell it isn’t.

“I take it there’s still nothing happening?”

“Not for want of trying.” I can’t help smiling, relieved he can’t see me.

“Would it be better if I kept Maisie out of the way while we’re at the house?” I ask, wondering how I’m gonna manage that, considering I’ve already promised Lexi I’ll take Maisie swimming in the pool.

“No, it’s fine,” Hunter says. “Henry’s at Newport, and Livia’s handling it just fine. Having Maisie there won’t be an issue. And besides, Ella’s excited for Henry to meet his cousin.”

“I’m excited to meet Henry myself.”

“He’s enormous compared to Maisie when she was that age,” he says, and then he pauses for a second or two. “There’s just one thing…”

“What’s that?”

“Don’t tell Ella about Livia and me.”

“That you’re trying for a baby, you mean?”

“Yeah.”

“I assumed she already knew.”

“No. I only told you because you noticed something wasn’t quite right with Livia, and I didn’t want you to think she was sick. The thing is…” He’s struggling to talk and takes a moment. “The thing is, I think we both thought it would just happen, you know? She told me she’d had problems with her periods, and that was why she was taking birth control pills. But in that dumb, naïve way people have of believing in something, just because they want it to be true, we thought she’d stop taking them, and instantly get pregnant. We didn’t see the need to broadcast our efforts, because we thought we’d be telling people she was pregnant within weeks. And now, the longer it goes on, the harder it is to talk about.”

“Are you seeing anyone? Professionally?”

“A doctor?”

“Yeah.”

---