Edward still couldn’t believe that Cate was living in convent and in the process of becoming a nun. And he was still reeling from the news that she couldn’t have children. How awful for her. No wonder she flipped when she found out that Derrick’s wife was pregnant. It brought home the horrible fact that she could never have children.
Even if Derrick had left his wife for her, would he have been happy knowing that Cate could never give him children? Would he have wanted to adopt instead? No, most men would rather have children of their own.
No one knew about Cate’s infertility except Gladys who swore she would never mention it to Derrick. “There’s no need for him to know,” she said. “And besides, I doubt that Cate would want him to.”
Edward had agreed with her.
“Poor Cate,” Gladys had said, shaking her head, her expression one of sadness and sympathy. “It’s a terrible thing when you want to have children and can’t.”
“Yes, she was devastated when she found out.”
“And she never told anyone about it until recently when she told you?”
“No. I guess she didn’t want to tell anyone. She kept it to herself all this time.”
“It’s a shame. She’s so young.”
“Yes, it is. I guess I can forget about becoming an uncle in the future.”
An uncle. He would have liked that very much but it wasn’t meant to be. He sighed heavily. Poor Cate. What a tough break. She might have made a good wife and mother. He believed that since her hospitalization, she had changed. She had matured. Gone was the selfish, spoilt brat he had known most of his life and in her place was a woman who wanted to give her life in service to God. At least she hadn’t committed suicide. It would have devastated their parents and him if she had. Perhaps, being in the convent was the best place for her and she could devote herself to a worthy cause.
He wasn’t going to be an uncle but hopefully, Cate was going to be an aunt one day soon. He smiled at the thought. Tonight, he was going to ask Gladys to marry him. Hopefully, she would say yes. He couldn’t imagine her turning him down but he had learned a long time ago to never assume anything.
“I’d better be heading home now,” Gladys said to Derrick.
“Got a hot date?” he asked teasingly.
“As a matter of fact, I’m having dinner with Edward tonight at his place.”
“Sounds romantic. It’s hot and heavy between you two, isn’t it?”
“It’s very serious, yes.”
“Do you think he’s going to pop the question this time?”
“I don’t know.”
“I hope he does. I can tell that you’re crazy about him.”
“Yes. I’m very much in love with him and nothing would make me happier than to spend the rest of my life with him.”
“Well, if he does propose, I want to hear about it as soon as possible.”
Gladys smiled. “I promise, I will call you.”
“I’ll hold you to that.”
“Say goodbye to Amelie for me.” Amelie was taking a nap.
“I will.” They hugged. Then, Gladys left.
Derrick closed and locked the door, thinking, If Edward proposes, then, he will be my brother-in-law after all. Maybe he was meant to be, just not through my marrying his sister but through him marrying mine. How funny life is sometimes.
Notes to Women 