Todd’s river

Alice and Todd were making love in Alice’s bedroom. Which was also her living room and in fact her only room. She had a single mattress - they enjoyed lying close to each other.

It’s not the first time they hooked up. They have known each other for more than six months but have never clarified the nature of their relationship nor have they made any mutual plans or commitments for the future. However, the physical contact between them was warm and loving. When they finished making love Todd would lie down on Alice’s tummy, resting his body against hers for quite a while, in order “to hear each other’s heart beat,” he said. A few minutes upon this ritual he’d get out of bed, stretch, and throw away the used condom into the dark grey plastic trash bag on the floor, on the right corner of the room, and then walk away and disappear into the void of the bathroom.

In regards to the trash bag it is important to note that Alice did not have a lot of trash and therefore used the same dark grey plastic trash bag for a few months. Moreover, the trash she threw in there was usually just ‘dry’ trash like tickets of concerts she has been to or business cards of people she will never do business with. The used condom with Todd’s liquids in it was an exception, but she wasn’t aware of it being in the dark grey plastic trash bag as it was always Todd who dealt with the used preservatives while she had the sweetest ‘after-sex’ sleep.

The temperature in the trash bag was 37.5 degrees. The trash bag doubled its dimensions over the passing months. Alice thought that she must have accumulated lots of trash. However, she didn’t replace the trash bag. It was either laziness or perhaps care for the environment. Nevertheless she used the same dark grey plastic trash bag for at least nine consecutive months. The latter was nurtured by the scraps of food Todd threw in there when Alice wasn’t watching and by the humidity in Alice’s room (especially the extreme humidity while the activity of love making was happening in the room.)

From time to time Alice would lie on her mattress by herself and hear squeaking noises coming from the corner of the room. She would assume it is a mouse or perhaps the wind blowing onto the plastic. She wouldn’t bother checking the nature of the noises and certainly not the trash bag contents.

One day, about fifteen months after Alice and Todd have first met, Alice came home and went for a lie down in her room. While she lay on her mattress spreading her arms and legs to the side, she suddenly heard a loud baby’s cry. It sounded as if it came from inside the room, but how can it be? She opened her eyes and saw in the corner of the room the dark gray plastic trash bag swinging from side to side. Yet Alice hadn’t opened the window this afternoon. The bag was swollen like a large football and the cries were definitely coming from there. Alice slammed herself a couple of times on the cheek to make sure she isn’t still dreaming but it was fact, her trash bag was making baby noise.

At first she was paralyzed by fear, she couldn’t move. But then she took several deep breaths and slowly and quietly, tip toeing, walked to the corner of the room. She grabbed the dark gray plastic bag by its two handles; it was heavy and unsteady. She looked inside and to her astonishment she found there a baby boy. She quickly took the boy out of the trash and pulled it onto her shoulder. He was filthy, yet from close by he had the sweet smell of a baby. Her eyes were field with tears. The baby stopped crying and looked around with big eyes, she looked at his face. Yes, his nose was like… his ears resembled… the shape of his chin was like… Todd’s!

She didn’t understand a thing. Maybe Todd got another woman pregnant and didn’t know what to do with the baby so he brought it over to her house and put it in her trash? She was running different possible scenarios in her head. Todd got another woman pregnant nine months ago obviously. They, Alice and Todd, were sleeping with each other already nine months ago, she calculated. The period just before Christmas was nine months ago; yes they were sleeping with each other! She remembers.

But since they never talk about anything that matters, who knows, maybe he was sleeping with another girl at the same time, maybe it’s a very young girl, sixteen or so. Maybe this other girl cried in his arms so he had to consolidate her: “of course we are having this baby, don’t worry my sweet, we’ll find someone to help us.“ He got that girl pregnant and then thought about her, Alice. He will ask Alice to help them care for this baby. However, since there was zero communication between them he didn’t know how to present the situation to Alice, he didn’t know how to ask for this enormous favor, how to explain the situation.

Maybe it’s her, Alice, maybe she didn’t listen, maybe all this time he tried to talk to her but she was too self absorbed, to selfish, enjoying the light character of their relationship. “A relationship without drama” she thought all this time, but in the meanwhile there’s a huge complication: Did Todd get another girl pregnant and put their baby in Alice’s rubbish bag?

Hang on, when did she last see Todd? Last Sunday, it is Saturday today. How could the baby have lied in the rubbish bag for six consecutive days without making a noise? No, that is not possible. Her flat mate must have let Todd and the baby in. Alice goes to her flat mate and asks her whether Todd came by with a baby. The flat mate however did not see Todd “for a very very long time” she said. Alice looks at the baby again, for a moment she thinks that the baby’s eyes shape look like hers, similar to her eyes in her own baby pictures. However she quickly abandons this thought.

Alice went for a nap, she put the baby near her. Lying down was always a solution when she was absolutely lost. She and the baby slept for about 45 minutes till the baby started crying again. This time it was hard to calm it down. She decided to call Todd, he was her (quiet) boyfriend after all.

-what’s the crying sound in the background?
-you tell me (she instantly got angry, she remembered the other girl.)
-what do you mean?
-what do YOU mean??? (She raised her voice.)
-should I come over?
-yes you should!

She didn’t necessarily want to see him now, after what he has done to her, but she needed an explanation and she needed help.

Todd arrived quickly, only 20 minutes have past since the phone conversation. The baby was still crying. Alice and Todd were trying to talk about things that matter for the first time, while trying to overcome the noise of the baby simultaneously.

-who’s baby is this?
-were you seeing another girl all this time?
-what are you talking about?
-it is your baby, look at it (he looked.)
-it looks like you Alice

Todd became pale, he started to regret their quiet relationship; all this time he thought they had something going, he felt close to Alice, but really, he doesn’t know anything about her.

Alice looked at the baby. It was heart braking; the baby was unhappy, she didn’t have much experience with babies, it is possibly hungry, tired, dirty, sick, lonely? She didn’t hear what Todd was shouting, she ignored him and when he was done shouting (she’d never seen him shout before) she asked him to take her to the hospital.

The doctors said it was a healthy young baby. They asked Alice if she had thought of a name. She instead explained that she found it in her gray plastic trash bag in her room. The male doctor looked at the female doctor and proposed to conduct a DNA test.

Alice agreed because she wanted to know if it was Todd’s baby. Todd agreed because he wanted to know if it was Alice’s baby. They didn’t look each other in the eyes, they didn’t trust each other. It didn’t occur to them that it might be their baby.

Alice checked on the baby every hour while their DNA was in the lab. She was fond of the baby. The nurse asked her if she was going to breast feed it, she was shocked by the question.

While she was waiting for the results her mother called. Alice told her mother what has happened, she was crying, she was tired. Her mother said, “Honey, are you crying out of happiness?! I am crying too.” she hang up the phone, her mother didn’t understand.

At 6pm her mother arrived to the hospital. At the same time the male doctor came out with the DNA results. Alice’s mother kissed Alice, she kissed Todd too. The Doctor announced: “It’s your baby Alice, it’s your baby too Todd.” he smiled. ”Congratulations.”