I made no reply. This was not hard to guess. We were both mothers. I was sure she knew how I felt.
"As a mother myself, I understand you, but I also hope you understand that you're more than just a child's mother right now."
I slowly turned to look at her. "What are you trying to say?" I had a bad feeling about this.
What I needed the most right now was support. I did not want Susan to go against me as well.
"What I'm trying to say is you shouldn't give up on this child." Things still did not go as I hoped.
'Do you suppose I watch Munchkin get tormented by the disease without doing anything?"
My tears started flowing like a broken pipe again. Every time I thought about Munchkin being brought into that abandoned chemical plant by Mason, I would resent myself countless times. It was a resentment that could never be dispelled.
"I'm not saying you can't save him. I'm just asking you to save him using other ways. Besides, I need to remind you that giving up this child doesn't mean you can necessarily keep Munchkin alive."
I did not say anything. I knew what Susan was trying to tell me.
Probability. It was a question of probability.
"I have to try." I knew parents stood a 50 percent chance, but it was already high enough.
"You can try, but it doesn't have to be right now."
Susan was so calm today that she felt like a stranger to me. "How long am I supposed to wait? Until I'm desperate?”
"Yes."
I did not say a word as I felt like I had said enough today.
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Scrambling to Be the Father of His Ex-Wife's Kid