A Swapping Mistake

The baby arrived and we heard her crying. Julie's mom looked at me and I looked over at the baby. She had black hair and had dark skin. Not black but kind of an olive color. My worst thoughts had just hit me. The baby was not mine but Mario's. Julie hadn't seen the baby yet but the look on my face must have been shock as Julie asked, "What's the matter? Is my baby alright?"

The doctor said the baby's fine. The nurse cleaned off the little baby and handed her to Julie. Julie had tears in her eyes as she looked at her baby and then at me. I couldn't speak, my mind was a mess. My worst nightmare had just happened.

I was walking out of the birthing room when Julie asked me where I was going, I told her I didn't know, I needed time to think as I walked out of the room. My parents saw the tears in my eyes as I came to the waiting room. Some of our relatives were there waiting with mom and dad and also with Julie's dad.

"What is it, Shawn? Is the baby alright?" asked my mother.

"The baby's fine," I replied. You can all go and see her now." I walked to the elevators hearing my folks yelling at me, asking me where I was going. I didn't answer, because I honestly didn't know.

I went to a local bar and had a couple of drinks. I waited about two hours before going back to the hospital. I knew I had to face the situation sooner or later. What was supposed to be one of the happiest days of my life turned into a disaster.

My dad was waiting for me in the lobby. He told me he saw the baby and asked what I was going to do?

"I don't know, dad; I love Julie but I know it's not my kid."

Dad told me there was all kind of arguments after I left. Everyone was picking sides and Julie cried almost the whole time I was gone. I walked in the room and Julie was there with my mom and her mother. I asked them both to please step out so I could talk to Julie alone.

"I'm so sorry, Shawn. You have to believe me; I did believe the baby was yours. I was only with Mario the one time and I've never been with another man since we've been married. I asked the doctor again and he said it's easy to be off by a week. He didn't know that date was so important. What are we going to do? I love you so much."

"Julie, I can't raise a child that's not mine, I'm sorry. Give the baby up for adoption and we can go on the way we have been. I can take the heat and we'll just tell people you made a mistake."

"What? I made a mistake? What about you, Shawn? It was you that let all this happen. I went along and am now paying the price. Why can't you just tell the truth and we'll take our daughter home and be a family?"

"She's not my daughter. She's Mario's. Let him have her. I'm not raising a kid that's not mine. You have a choice; you keep the baby and I'm gone."

"You can't be serious? It's my baby! I've carried her for the last nine months. I love you with all my heart, but I'm not giving up my baby because of what people think or say."

I went home that night but couldn't sleep. My mind was a mess. I knew some people would be calling Julie all sorts of names. They didn't know the truth; she didn't deserve it. I remembered my mother didn't seem overly surprised. I went to see her the next day and I asked her why.

"Shawn, when you were just a child you had rheumatic fever and the mumps at the same time. The doctor said at the time that you would fully recover but there might be a chance that you may not be able to father children."

"What? Why didn't you ever tell me?"

"You're only twenty-two and I was waiting to see if you were able to have kids. I had no reason to scare you while growing up. When Julie got pregnant, I was so happy for you but I did wonder."

"Mom, you should have told me."

"What good would that have done? As I told you, the doctor said maybe you wouldn't be able to father children. What are you going to do now, Shawn?"

My dad had come into the room. I know he looked very disappointed. He was crazy about Julie but now this. He asked me if I knew who the father was.

While we were talking, my sister Joyce came into the room She said that after I had left the hospital she had a talk with Julie.

"I asked Julie why she had an affair on my brother, because you love her so much.

"Julie said, 'Joyce, I love Shawn and I didn't cheat on him. I would never do that. I really did believe that the baby was his.' "

"Shawn," said Joyce. "I believe her. I think she is telling the truth. When I asked her more questions she said I needed to talk to you. What the hell is going on, Shawn? We're family and willing to help you but we need the truth."

What could I do? I told them the truth. I saw the sad look on their faces. I just couldn't go through life with them thinking that Julie was a slut that cheated on me. I know I hurt them. No parents want to think of their kid doing what I did.

I tried to explain that we had too much to drink; I never told them about the weed. Of course I did tell them it was Mario and Maria. I was pretty sure they had it figured out already. "It was a one time thing and a giant mistake. I'm so sorry for letting you down as parents. I hope you don't hate me."

"Shawn, you're our son. We hate what you did, but we don't hate you or Julie. Maybe you two were just too young and probably shouldn't have even gotten married yet. Now there is a baby in the picture and she's not yours. What are your plans?" asked mom.

"I gave Julie a choice. The baby or me. I told her to give the baby up for adoption and we could go on with our lives."

"She's not giving up her daughter, Shawn. She already told me that. You can imagine how hard this must be on her," said my sister.

"I can't do it! I can't raise a child that I know isn't mine." I know I had tears in my eyes.

I went in and talked to Julie one more time. She told me again how much she loved me but she wasn't giving up her little girl, even if it meant losing the man she loved more than anyone but her daughter.

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The next day I went in and saw my supervisor and told him I was taking the job overseas. Next, I went to see a lawyer. I was now mad at Julie. She picked this baby over me. Well, I thought she could raise the child by herself or contact Mario and let him support his kid.

Julie's parents picked her and the baby up at the hospital and brought them home. I tried one more time to reason with her but she was adamant about the kid; she was going to keep her. I contacted a lawyer and he said if I was tested and the child was proven not to be mine I wouldn't have to give Julie either child support or alimony. We weren't married that long.

I lived at my parents' for the next two weeks before going overseas. I never even said goodbye to the woman I thought I loved. I let her have everything we owned except for a few suitcases of my clothes. We didn't have much and I didn't have to pay anything in support.

My parents stayed out of it but my sister told me I was making a huge mistake, that Julie loved me and I was giving up the best thing in my life. I told Joyce that the decision was made by Julie, she had a choice and the choice she made was the baby that wasn't mine.

I left for Iraq the next day.

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I was extremely busy my first month in the Iraq-Kuwait area. My specialty was doing electrical work and some of these areas were devastated. The problem was the destruction was so bad we had weeks of cleanup before we could even begin rebuilding. We went one building at a time, cleaning up the debris and then started reconstruction and in many cases, rebuilding the different structures. It was far from a cakewalk. So much rubble and waste needed to be cleaned up.

We began with hospitals and schools. I even worked late at night trying to make life a little more bearable for these people. I felt good doing my part to help restore these buildings and help these casualties of war. They were just innocent people who were bombed by some of their own people.

Most of us workers slept in a building together. We had the necessities like water and electricity. It was kind of like sharing a dorm with schoolmates except we were all grown men just trying to make an extra buck. Most were single or divorced like me. There were a few married men also. I knew how both sides felt.

I was there three months when my divorce papers came through. I was so hoping it wouldn't happen, but it did. I went outside by myself and cried. Julie was the best thing that ever happened to me but because of our stupid swapping night and Julie not giving up the baby, we were no longer married.

Of course I thought of Julie often. She's one of the reasons I worked so late. As long as I was working, my mind didn't focus on Julie. Another month went by when I received a letter from my sister Joyce who asked me to call her. Phone calls were expensive so I only made calls about once a month. It was usually my mom or Joyce I talked to.

She told me that Julie agreed to sign the divorce papers and let me have my freedom. I felt bad; I didn't want freedom, I wanted Julie.

I had told Joyce that I asked my lawyer to locate Mario and start proceedings to get support for Julie and the baby. Joyce told me that Julie put a stop to it. She didn't want any help from Mario; in fact she didn't want him to know about Gina. Gina is what Julie named the baby. She was named after her mother whose name was Virginia.

"Joyce, how is Julie doing?" I asked.

"She's doing alright for a divorced mother with a child," replied Joyce.

God, that hurt! I didn't want to argue with Joyce. That part was over with. We agreed to disagree. She was my sister and I loved her but I don't think she understood what I was going through either. I wanted Julie; I just didn't want to raise a kid that wasn't mine.

"Shawn, I'd lied to you," said Joyce. "Physically Julie is doing fine. Financially, she is in kind of a bind. I know her mom and dad are helping her out some and children's services are helping her also. The baby was sick and was in the hospital a few days and Julie didn't have the finances to cover it."

"Is the baby alright?" I asked.

"She's fine now. She caught a cold and it turned into pneumonia. Of course she didn't have any insurance since the divorce and the baby wasn't covered under yours since you didn't claim her. They ran up about an eight thousand dollar bill that Julie has to make payments on each month.

"If she would have gone after Mario, he would have been responsible for his kid and have to help support her. Why didn't she do it? My lawyer was going to help her."

"She doesn't want Mario in the baby's life. If she would go after him for support, he would have a right to see Gina anytime. He could actually get custody part-time. Julie wants nothing to do with him. The birth certificate says, 'father unknown' and she wants to keep it that way."

I finished talking to my sister and sat and thought for a while. I contacted my lawyer and asked him if I sent any money to Julie would I be obligating myself in anyway. I wanted to help her a little financially but not be held accountable for any support in the future.

He told me I could always make a gift to anyone. It would in no-way make me responsible. He mentioned it would be best to do it through a family member rather than directly from me.

I contacted my mom and asked her if she has ever seen Julie. She was almost mute for about what seemed like a minute but was probably only a few seconds.

"Yes, Shawn. We see Julie every week. She brings the baby over and we visit for a couple of hours."

"What? I can't believe this! My own parents are turning against me," I said.

"No, Shawn, it's not like that at all. We have always liked Julie and she visits with us. She takes her baby wherever she goes. She's doesn't talk bad of you at all. In fact she always asks about you."

"It's not my kid, Mom; doesn't anyone understand that?"

"We all understand, Shawn. Nobody's blaming you for anything. It doesn't mean we can't be friends with Julie, does it?"

"I'm sorry, Mom. I guess I'm just thinking stupid. Look, Mom, Joyce said that Julie is having some financial problems. Is that true?

"Yes, Gina was sick and she had some medical expenses. Why are you asking?"

"I want to help. I'm making a lot of money and investing most of it. I want to send some money and I want you to give it to Julie to help pay up some of her expenses."

I heard my mom crying on the other end of the phone. "Mom, stop crying, please. Look, just give it to her and don't tell her it's from me."

"No, Shawn, I'm not lying to her. We'll tell her the truth. How much will you be sending Shawn?

"Joyce said her debt was around eight thousand dollars. I'll transfer ten thousand. That should help her pay off her debt. Mom, I love you and you take care. I have to go now."

I put more time into my work. I was working twelve to sixteen hours a day. I got a letter from my mom saying that she gave Julie the check and she cried for an hour. It made me cry. Damn, why is life so cruel?

*

Thank you for reading chapter 1.

A big Thank You to LadyCibelle and Techsan for editing this story.

Comments are always welcome and appreciated.

DG Hear