Liz was speechless. To say that she was surprised was an understatement. Her mind just couldn't come up with a response to Isabel's revelation. She finally summoned up her voice. "Could you repeat that please? I want to be sure I heard you right."

"I said I was pregnant," said Isabel.

"But with who.....it can't be.....you're not even showing," rambled Liz.

Isabel rubbed her stomach as she replied. "I know I'm not. That has been a great help hiding it all these months." She took Liz's hand. "You are the only person that knows. The only person."

"You mean you haven't told your mom and dad? Or Max?" asked Liz. She was still having trouble processing the meaning of Isabel's words.

"Ummm, I couldn't talk to him about Alex dying, why could I be able to talk to him about this? Besides, I told you that you were the only person that knows."

"But...why me? Why did you decide to reveal this to me?" asked Liz.

"Mostly because I wanted advice.......advice as to how to tell my family about this."

"I see," said Liz. She paused a moment and looked at Isabel. "Why did you hide it in the first place? You know that is the first question they will ask."

Isabel sighed. "I don't really know. I guess I just didn't want to give the rumor mongers more juicy tidbits to run with. Besides, my parents were disappointed enough, I didn't want to add to it."

"But, you knew you would eventually have to tell them, didn't you?" asked Liz. "Or were you contemplating other avenues?"

"No, no, no," Isabel said. "The thought of abortion never crossed my mind. I mean, this child is the last link I have to Alex. It is the his last contribution to this world. It would be a crime to deny the world that joy."

"So....what.....were you just planning on waiting for the baby to arrive to let everyone know about it, or did you have some sort of plan to tell everyone...."

Isabel shook her head. "I don't know what I was thinking. I mean, the past months have past like I was in a haze. I haven't been thinking clearly for a while."

"I can understand that," Liz said. She looked down at Isabel's hand, clasped in her own. "So, when is it due? Do you know?" She looked back to Isabel's face. "I mean, in human terms, the baby is ready to come."

Isabel smiled weakly. "I don't really know. I don't know if it will take nine months, like a normal person, or nine years. That is part of the reason I never told anyone."

"Yeah, I guess it would look weird if they knew you were pregnant and you didn't have the baby for like 14 months," laughed Liz.

"Exactly," said Isabel. "I think it will be coming soon, though."

"Why do you say that?" Liz asked.

"I feel it kicking all the time," said Isabel. "The action has increased in the past month too."

Liz sipped the coke in front of her. "Um, can you connect with it? Or have you even tried?"

Isabel looked down to her stomach. "Nope, I can't. All I can do is sense it there. I sensed it as soon as......well, you know how babies come about."

"Ah," murmured Liz. "Umm, did Alex know? I mean, did you tell him before he died?"

Isabel went silent. "No. No I didn't. I was too busy trying to save him." She grabbed another napkin and dabbed at her eyes. "I wish I had though. I don't know , but I think he would have been happy." ************************************

Max shifted uncomfortably. The hard concrete of the sidewalk wasn't that comfortable. It was making his butt hurt. He stood up and looked through the window again. Isabel was in Liz's arms, crying. He really wished he could be in there, but Isabel obviously didn't want to talk to him about whatever was bothering her.

He frowned as he rubbed the small of his back. He would know never to prop himself against a brick wall for any length of time from now on. He checked his watch. 12:30. Damn, were they ever gonna leave? He again considered knocking on the glass. "No, it was just make Isabel mad," he thought. "Besides, if I did that, I would have to talk to Liz, and I'm not sure I'm up to that right now."

#############

Isabel looked down at her watch. 12:30. Her mom and dad were gonna kill her. "Well, it is getting late Liz. My mom and dad are gonna worry." She took one last ice chip from the cup in front of her. "Can we talk about this more tomorrow?"

Liz slid out of her seat and stood. "Yeah, sure. I think we really do need to discuss this further." She waited until Isabel stood and leaned in to hug her. Isabel squeezed her hard. Liz put her head on Isabel's shoulder and whispered, "Thank you for trusting me with this."

Isabel hugged her tighter. "Thank you for listening." She pulled back and smiled. "And thank you for being trustworthy enough to tell."

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