Second Chance

Chapter 16

I HAD SHARED MY NEWS, all of it bad. Everyone ran it over glumly.

I nodded to Jill. “Now you.”

Cindy jumped the gun. “Bennett's not going to run again, is he?” In her eight years in the prosecutor's office, Jill had shot up to be his number two in command. If the old man decided to step down, she was the logical choice to be appointed San Francisco's next D.A.

Jill laughed and shook her head. “He'll be propped up at that oak desk the day he dies. That's the truth.”

“Well, you've got something to tell us,” pressed Claire. “You're right,” she admitted. “I do... ”

One by one, Jill met each one of our gazes as if to ratchet up the suspense. Those normally piercing cobalt eyes had never looked so serene. At last, a crooked little smile crept across her face. She let out a sigh, then said, “I'm pregnant.”

We sat there, waiting for her to admit that she was just putting us on. But she didn't. She just kept those sharp eyes blinking right in our faces, until thirty seconds must have gone by.

“Y-you're joking,” I stammered. Jill was the most driven woman I knew. You could catch her at her desk most any night until after eight. Her husband, Steve, ran a venture fund for Bank America. They were fast-track achievers: They mountain-biked in Moab, windsurfed on the Columbia River in Oregon. A baby... “People do it,” she exclaimed at our amazement.

“I knew it,” Claire exclaimed, slapping the table. “I just knew it. I saw the look in your eyes. I saw that sheen on your face. I said, something's toasting in that oven. You're talking to an expert, you know. How long?”

“Eight weeks. I'm due the end of May.” Jill's eyes sparkled like a young girl's. “Other than our families, you're the first people I've told. Of course.”

“Bennett's gonna shit graham crackers.” Cindy cackled.

“He's got three of his own And it's not like I'm trading it in to go off and grow grapes in Petaluma. I'm just having a baby.”

I found myself smiling. Part of me was so pleased for her, I almost wanted to cry. Part of me was even a little jealous.

Most of me still couldn't believe it. “This kid better know what he's in for.” I grinned. “He'll be rocked to sleep by tapes of California case law.”

“No way,” Jill laughed defiantly. “I won't do it. I promise I won't do it. I'm gonna be a really good mom.”

I stood up and leaned across the table to her. “This is so great, Jill.” For a moment, we just stared at each other, our eyes glistening. I was so damned happy for her. I remembered when I was scared shitless because of a blood disease I had, and Jill had bared her arms to us and showed us her terrible scars; she explained how she had cut herself in high school and college, how the challenge to always go to the top had so deeply ruled her life that she could only take it out on herself.

We threw our arms around each other, and I squeezed her.

“Was this something you've been thinking about?” Claire asked.

“We'd been trying for a couple of months,” Jill answered, sitting back down. “I'm not sure it was any conscious decision, other than the timing seemed right.” She looked at Claire. “The first time I met you, when Lindsay asked me into your group and you talked about your kids... it just sort of set off a spark in me. I remember thinking, She runs the M. E.'s office. She's one of the most capable women I know, at the top of her profession, yet this is what she talks about.”

“When you start out working,” Claire explained, “you have all this drive and focus. As a woman, you feel you have to prove everything. But when you have kids, it's different, natural. You realize it's no longer about you at all. You realize... you no longer have to prove anything. You already have.” “So, hey... ” Jill said with glistening eyes, "I want a little of that, too.

“I never told this to you guys,” she went on, “but I was pregnant once before. Five years ago.” She took a sip of water and shook the dark hair off the back of her neck. “My career was in overdrive you remember, there was that La Frade hearing - and Steve had just started running his own fund.”

“It just wasn't the right time for you then, honey.” Claire said.

“That wasn't it,” Jill answered quickly. “I wanted it. It was just that everything was so intense. I was pulling stints at the office until ten. It seemed like Steve was always away.” She paused, a remote cloudiness in her eyes. I had some bleeding. The doctor warned me to cut back. I tried, but everyone was pushing on this case, and I was always alone.

“One day I just felt my insides explode. I lost it... in the fourth month.”

“Oh, Jesus.” Claire gasped. “Oh, Jill.”

Jill sucked in a breath, and a hushed silence fell over the table.

“So how are you feeling?” I asked.

“Ecstatic... ” she replied. “Physically strong as ever... ”

Then she blinked remotely for a moment and faced us again.

“Truth is, I'm a total wreck.”

I reached for her hand. “What does your doctor say?” “He says we'll keep a close watch and keep the sensationalist cases down to a minimum. Run it in low gear.” “Do you have that gear?” I asked.

“I do now.” She sniffed.

“Wow.” Cindy chuckled. “Jill's suddenly got drag,” referring to the dot-com term for anything that could keep you from your job 24/7.

In Jill's eyes, I saw a glorious transformation taking place, something I had never seen before. Jill was always successful.

She had that beautiful face, that hard-charging drive. Now I could see at last that she was happy.

Beautiful tears welled up in her eyes. I had seen this woman stand up in court against some of the toughest bastards in the city; I had seen her go after murderers with an undeterred conviction. I had even seen the scars of self-doubt on the insides of her arms.

But until that moment, I had never seen Jill cry.

“Dammit... ” I smiled. I reached for the check. “I guess I pay.”