Chapter 8 - The Woman Who Thought She Was Protecting Me
Marin listened to that voicemail from her wheelchair. Neither of us said anything for a long time.
Finally I said, "Renata blocked you."
She wiped her eyes. "She made calls that weren't hers to make."
Renata had worked for me for nine years. She knew my calendar better than I did. She screened my email, my phone, my meetings, my door. And somewhere along the way I'd handed her more power over my life than I'd ever admitted.
The next morning I asked her to meet me in a small consultation room off the maternity floor. I set my phone on the table between us.
"Listen to these."
She listened to all three.
By the end of the last one, she was crying.
"Nathan, I thought she was trying to drag you back into the divorce. You told me — you told me no personal distractions."
"She was carrying my child."
Her hand went to her mouth. "I didn't know that."
I believed her. Somehow that made it worse.
"That's the whole problem, Renata. You didn't know. And you decided anyway."
"I thought I was protecting you," she whispered.
I looked through the glass toward the NICU, toward Eli.
May you like
"You protected me right out of knowing my son existed."
I didn't raise my voice. There was nothing left to yell about.
