Chapter 3

She saw me come in, put her phone away, and handed me a divorce agreement.

"I was going to wait until after your surgery to divorce you. But since you're back now, let's just sign it."

Her tone was cold. She clearly didn't believe me when I said I wasn't donating the kidney.

"Greta, I really am not donating the kidney. I'm not lying to you."

I could understand how she felt. If I were her, I wouldn't quite believe it either.

I remembered that this kidney thing had blown up into a huge fight between us.

Greta had tried to stop me from donating, and I'd called her heartless and told her to get out.

I knew how deeply I'd hurt her, both in what I did and in what I said.

One sentence about not donating wasn't going to be enough. Of course she didn't believe me.

Greta glanced up, her face blank.

"Miles, knowing how you usually treat your family, do you really think I'd believe you? The two of us don't see this the same way. Let's not stay tied together anymore. Let's set each other free."

I wasn't going to accept that.

I was about to explain when Duane's call came through again.

Wasn't this the perfect chance to prove it to Greta?

I answered and put it on speaker.

"Miles, I'll ask you one last time. Are you sure you won't donate a kidney for Russell?"

I answered without a moment's hesitation. "I'm sure. I will not donate a kidney to Russell."

"You, you—fine. Miles, I gave you your chance. If you're going to be this stubborn, there's nothing I can do. Don't come back to this family again."

Duane thought that would scare me. It didn't scare me at all.

"That family you're talking about, I won't be coming back to. That family is yours, not mine."

I didn't wait for Duane to say anything else. I hung up.

I looked straight at Greta. She blinked, as if she still couldn't believe what she'd just seen and heard was real.

She reached out and touched my forehead, then touched her own.

I didn't move. I let her do it.

"Greta, I don't have a fever, and I'm not lying to you…"

Living it all over, I'd seen so many things wrong, and I couldn't lay it all out at once.

Then it hit me. In my last life, Greta had already been pregnant at exactly this point, and while we were fighting so bitterly, my own stubbornness had cost me my child.

I grabbed Greta's hand and started for the door. She jumped and pulled back.

"Miles, what are you doing?"

"Greta, we're going to the hospital for a checkup. You're already carrying our baby."

I turned my head to tell her. I couldn't see my own face, but I knew my eyes had to be bright right then, full of hope.

Greta froze, her brow creasing slightly as if she were thinking something over.

"That's not possible, Miles. My period just ended, and I've never been regular anyway."

"Let's go get it checked. Trust me."

I had endless patience now. I could get Greta to listen to me, and I could prove that what I said was true.

Half-believing, half-doubting, she let me pull her to the hospital.

I knew she didn't fully trust me. But she was willing to give the two of us a chance.

When Greta went in for the exam, I was so worked up. In my last life I'd lived past fifty, but I had never once felt like this.

It was a nervous kind of feeling, but a good one all the same.

While I was anxiously waiting for Greta, I ran into Duane and Florence. The moment Florence saw me, she came storming toward me.