The Right Life

Karen stood in the doorway,
speechless. She had heard Mort say, on
more than one occasion, that he never informed Amy about moving into Alex’s
home, the marriage, or anything, really.

A
fan? She could be a fan trying to meet
him, couldn’t she? She could just hope
that I would believe her. Unsure of
how to handle the situation, Karen decided that she should tell Mort right
away. “Can you wait here a minute?” she
asked as politely as she could.

“Sure,” Amy
– or this person who said she’s Amy – replied.

Karen left
the doorway and quickly made her way to Mort, who Julia had convinced to play
pin the tail on the donkey. “Mort, I
have to talk to you.”

“What’s
wrong?” he asked, noticing the worried look on her face.

“There’s…”style="mso-spacerun: yes"> She lowered her voice.style="mso-spacerun: yes"> “There’s a woman at the front door.style="mso-spacerun: yes"> She says that she’s your ex-wife, but I
thought that since you hadn’t told her anything, she could just be a fan or
something.”

Convinced
that the latter was the correct explanation, Mort said, “Thank you.style="mso-spacerun: yes"> I’ll take care of it.”style="mso-spacerun: yes"> He made his way to the front door, nearly
falling over when he saw her. “Amy?”

“Mort!”style="mso-spacerun: yes"> She stepped just inside the doorway and
flung her arms around his neck desperately.
Mort’s arms stayed at his sides for a moment – then he gently pushed her
away.

“Amy, what
are you doing here?” he asked.

“You didn’t
tell me you moved again,” she said, ignoring his question.style="mso-spacerun: yes"> “And only a mile or so from your other…”

“Why are
you here?” Mort glanced behind
him. “I’m busy at the moment.”

“I’m…I’m
sorry, I just…”

I’m
sorry. The phone call echoed
through his brain. “You called this
morning, didn’t you?” Amy looked
away. “You called in the middle of the
night too, didn’t you?” She
nodded. “Any, what’s going on?”

“I…I’ve
been missing you,” she said softly.

Mort’s eyes
widened. “You what?style="mso-spacerun: yes"> Amy, I think I’ve spoken to you once in the
last year.”

“I
know. I…I tried calling the number you
gave me, but…well…”

“Where’s
Ted?” Mort asked – not a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

“Home.”

“You’re a
long way from home – from Ted, Amy. Why
are you here? I mean, really?”

“Daddy!”style="mso-spacerun: yes"> Julia ran into the foyer.style="mso-spacerun: yes"> “Come pay!”

Karen ran
in after her. “I’m sorry, Mort, she got
away from me.”

“That’s all
right, Karen,” he said, picking up Julia.
Karen understood and walked away.

“You…you
have a…” Amy quickly did the math.style="mso-spacerun: yes"> Unless he had an affair as well, this
little girl couldn’t have possibly been his - unless he met someone and
things progressed at an unworldly rate…or an “accident” occurred.style="mso-spacerun: yes"> “She’s a toddler,” Amy said, as if Mort
wasn’t aware of this.

“Two today,
actually,” he said. “And no, she’s not
mine. Well, not genetically speaking.”

“Oh,” Amy
said, an all too noticeable sigh of relief coming from her.style="mso-spacerun: yes"> She then noticed the wedding band on Mort’s finger
– it wasn’t the one she’d picked out for him.
Of course it’s not. Why would
he be wearing that? “You’re…um,
you’re married?”

“Yeah.”

“The woman
that answered the door. Was she…”

“No, she’s
my sister-in-law. My wife’s – she
doesn’t need to know you’re here because you ‘miss me.’”style="mso-spacerun: yes"> His voice wasn’t cold; it was more
“matter-of-fact.” “So, what’s the real
reason, Amy?”

Amy
nervously pushed her hair behind her ear, letting Mort see an engagement ring
on her finger. “That is a big
part of it.”

Julia
started to squirm. “Duce…”

Mort put
her down. “Honey, ask Uncle Steve to
get you some juice – Daddy’ll be right there.”
Julia scurried off.

“Mort, I
didn’t know. How could I have
known? Why didn’t you tell…”

“Look, do
you need something or not?” His
patience was thinning.

“Is there a
better time?”

“For what,
Amy?”

“To
talk. Please?”

Mort
sighed. “Do you have a cell?”style="mso-spacerun: yes"> She nodded.
“Give me the number and I’ll work something out.”

“Thank you,
Mort,” she said getting a piece of paper from her purse.style="mso-spacerun: yes"> She scribbled down her number as she said,
“I’m sorry for interrupting.” She
handed him the paper, then turned and left as quickly as she could.

Married?style="mso-spacerun: yes"> I can’t believe he’s married.style="mso-spacerun: yes"> And that little girl…she called him “Daddy.”style="mso-spacerun: yes"> His or not, he has a child.style="mso-spacerun: yes"> Good for him, Amy. You should be happy for him…he deserves it.style="mso-spacerun: yes"> He does…doesn’t he?style="mso-spacerun: yes"> Yes.
Yes, he has the right to be happy…to have a new life.style="mso-spacerun: yes"> I shouldn’t be here…but I need him.