Chapter 10.
When I got home, I rushed through the airport to get to Grace. She hadn't gotten a new phone yet, apparently, so I still hadn't called her.
To my surprise, Frank and Grace were standing by the arrivals to greet me. Grace ran up to me and hugged me.
Grace: "Baby! I missed you so much!" She said and kissed me.
Frank: "Hey buddy!"
Me: "Hey...Grace, I need to tell you something..."
Grace: "Wait...me first. I've got amazing news!"
Me: "What....?"
Grace: "Aron....I'm pregnant!" She said and threw her arms in the air from joy, causing her big breasts to jostle up and down.
Frank stood behind her, all smiles.
Me: "What??"
Grace: "I just took a test yesterday. Isn't that amazing?! We're gonna have a little baby! Aren't you excited?"
Me: "Grace...it's Franks baby! Why would I be excited about that?! And...I have to tell you something, I met Felicity on the trip. She told me that Frank had planned to impregnate you all along. He switched out your birth control pills! Felicity was never his wife! It was all lies!"
People in the airport were starting to stare at us.
Grace: "I know, baby, calm down. Frank explained everything to me after we got back from the trip."
Me: "HE...he did?"
Grace: "I'm not gonna lie...I was pretty mad at him at first, but then I came to understand. And I hope you will, too."
Me: "Understand what? He paid Felicity to trick us into getting you into bed with him, and now he's swapped out your birth control to get you pregnant with his child! It's twisted, and sick!"
Grace: "And he only did that because Frank has never had any children of his own. He knew that he couldn't just ask somebody to give birth to and raise his child, so he did what he did out of necessity. I was so angry at him at first, but after thinking about it, I'm taking care of his seed in my belly, and I am going to become a mother. Aron, it feels wonderful just thinking about it. I want this, and Frank just helped me realize it."
Frank: "Grace is such a perfect woman, Aron. I told her everything and she still wants to have my baby."
Grace smiled and kissed Frank in front of everybody, and then she kissed me.
Grace: "Come on, baby, let's go home. We'll talk some more."
Later, when we got home, we sat down in Frank's lounge. Frank and Grace sat opposite me, holding hands. Grace seemed empathetic, squeezing Frank's hands and looking concerned for him.
Frank: "So...Aron. I'd like to explain to you why I did what I did. I hope by the end, you'll have forgiven me. I really do. There's something more you need to know about me."
Me: "What? What more lies could there possibly be?"
Frank: "Aron...I have cancer."
Me: "What?"
My anger already soothed a little. He was dying?
Frank pulled out some scans from a bag next to him, and laid them on the table.
Frank took a deep breath, a slight tremor in his voice.
"It's... well, it's still a bit hard to talk about. They say it's... incurable. They gave me, optimistically, maybe six years. But it could be less."
He looks down at his hands, squeezing Grace's for support
"It's a lot to process, you know? One minute you're making plans for the future, and the next... it feels like the future has been snatched away. There's so much I wanted to do, so much I haven't seen yet..."
He looked up, meeting my gaze.
"I'm trying to be strong, but some days... some days it just feels impossible. The fear, the uncertainty... it's overwhelming."
I was taken aback. I believed him with my whole heart. He was so genuine.
Me: "I don't know what to say..."
Frank: "Look, there's no excuse. What I did was... unforgivable. I was selfish, desperate... I let my own fear and my desire to leave something of myself behind cloud my judgment. I manipulated the situation, and I took advantage of your girlfriend's trust. There's no justifying that."
He paused, struggling to find the words
"The truth is, I was terrified. Facing my own mortality... it made me want to cling to something, anything, that would prove I existed, that I mattered. I know that's no excuse for hurting someone else, but... it's the only explanation I can offer."
"I know I've caused you both immense pain, and I'm truly sorry. I'll understand if you can't forgive me, but I hope you can believe that I never intended to hurt anyone. I was just... lost."
Grace: "Oh Frank...It's... it's been hard. Really hard. To be angry, to feel betrayed... and then to find out about... about your diagnosis. It changes things."
Me: "I still feel so angry about this, Frank. This is unforgivable. We should get an abortion..."
Grace: "This baby... it's innocent in all of this. And maybe... maybe it's a chance for something good to come from something so painful. A part of Frank to live on, a reminder of... of the time we had. It's not a justification, but it's a starting point. We can figure this out, together."
Frank: "Thank you Grace, you're an angel, truly. I hope you understand me now, Aron."
Me: "I do...but this is still so fucked. But I'm starting to understand the desperation behind it."
Frank: "There's more...those drugs I've been injecting you with...it wasn't Trenbolone, or Testosterone. It was Estrogen, the female hormone."
Me: "WHAT?!"
Frank: "I've been chemically castrating you so that I could make sure Grace would get pregnant with only my baby. Sorry..."