Chapter 11 - The Life He Never Planned
Pregnancy changed Alfred in ways Mina found unexpectedly funny.
He read everything.
Books.
Medical websites.
Hospital brochures.
At fourteen weeks he became convinced Mina needed more protein.
At sixteen weeks he bought three different pregnancy pillows.
At eighteen weeks he attended an ultrasound appointment wearing a suit and looking more nervous than he had while confronting Victor Moretti.
The technician smiled.
“Would you like to know the sex?”
Alfred looked at Mina.
“Your choice.”
Mina smiled.
“Yes.”
The technician moved the probe.
Then grinned.
“Congratulations. You're having a girl.”
Alfred stopped breathing.
“A daughter?”
Mina laughed through tears.
“A daughter.”
He stared at the monitor.
For several seconds, the feared Alfred Costello could not speak.
Then he reached for Mina's hand.
“She's tiny.”
“That's generally how babies start.”
He looked at Mina.
“Very funny.”
Later, in the parking garage, Alfred remained unusually quiet.
“What is it?” Mina asked.
“My father wasn't good at this.”
“At parking?”
He almost smiled.
“At being a father.”
Mina waited.
“He taught me how to survive. Not how to live.”
“You can learn.”
“What if I don't know how?”
She took his hand and placed it against her stomach.
Their daughter kicked.
Alfred froze.
Again.
His face transformed.
“Was that—”
“Yes.”
“She kicked me.”
“She probably heard you worrying.”
He crouched slightly, speaking toward Mina's stomach.
“Your mother is already making jokes at my expense.”
Another kick.
Mina laughed.
Alfred looked genuinely betrayed.
“You're both against me.”
For one ordinary minute in an underground parking garage, they were simply two expectant parents.
Then Alfred's phone rang.
His attorney.
The federal investigation had expanded.
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Raymond wanted a deal.
And the price of that deal was testimony against Alfred.
