EIGHTEEN || D. SWING.

CHAPTER 18.

December 24th, 1969

"Chestnuts roasting on an open fire, Jack Frost nipping at your nose...Yule-tide carols being sung by a choir, and folks dressed up like Eskimos..."

"What do you want, Julia?" Richard Anderson whispered harshly through the phone, making sure to keep his voice low as to not grab the attention of his family members still in the dining room.

"We need to talk."

"Right now? For God's sake, it's Christmas," he said looking over his shoulder, "Shouldn't you be at dinner or something?"

"Yes, right now," she said, getting agitated, "I don't care what day it is, you're gonna listen to what I have to say for once."

"I don't have to do anything, Julia. I'll call you back at 11, there's too many people-"

"I'm pregnant."

All of the breath in Richard's body made an exit as he tried to comprehend her words, head shaking rapidly while he tried to deny it.

"No...no, that's not true. Are you sure?"

"Yes...I'm absolutely positive," Julia answered, trying to keep her own voice down, "I found out this morning. And-and it's real. It's the truth."

"Found out how? From your little-" He lowered his tone again, "Your little doctor friend? Tell me, what school did he study at again? Don't call my house with this bullshit, Julia, not now."

"I have it on good authority," she said, "I don't care what you think about Michael-he is a licensed doctor and we did the test two weeks ago and it just so happened that he gave the results this morning. I'm not trying to ruin your Christmas, I'm really not."

He could hear the strain in her voice as she started to fall apart, and on the other side of the phone, tears streamed down Julia Hailey's face as she covered her mouth.

"Baby...I'm scared. I don't know what to do. I didn't wanna call you tonight but I can't keep this from you," she sobbed, "I just got this job I-I can't lose it...I can't. I don't know what to do."

Richard closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, trying not to come to tears himself.

How could he have been so stupid? So careless? Being with Julia was already a risk-he was married. Denise was supposed to be the love of his life. They had been going steady since the 10th grade and married as soon as they graduated from high school and she got pregnant with their son, Joseph. But then, he became a teacher and went out to a conference in Charlotte and met her. A sweet, timid, doe-eyed college student with the prettiest brown skin he'd ever seen in his life.

Julia was a colored girl. Black. The same type of woman that his father had warned him to stay away from because black women like her were Jezebels and naturally yearned for the attention of all men, that's why they were curvy and had bigger facial features than white women.

Richard had stuck by this his whole life, marrying Denise, having a son and then a daughter just a few months before meeting Julia.

It was a whirlwind romance, that was for sure. He loved his wife and his family...but God, he would be a liar if he said that he didn't love Julia too. She was smart and bright and all kinds of wonderful, she understood him and his plight of being in a marriage that he no longer wanted to be in. Yes, he loved Denise but she was so temperamental, constantly whining and nagging and crying about insignificant things she considered "problems". That...and he was sure that she was seeing another man. All the signs had pointed towards it, so much that even his younger brother could tell something was going on between her and one of the neighbors. So in some way he felt unloved and lonely, and that's where Julia cane in. Because she made him feel loved, no matter how far apart they were.