Free The Other Side of Midnight by Sidney Sheldon Page B

with the father?”
    “He’s not here.”
    “You know abortions are illegal. I could get into terrible trouble.”
    Noelle studied him a moment. “What’s your price?”
    His face tightened angrily. “Do you think everything has a price, Noelle?”
    “Of course,” she said simply. “Anything can be bought and sold.”
    “Does that include you?”
    “Yes, but I’m very expensive. Will you help me?”
    There was a long hesitation. “All right. I’ll want to make some tests first.”
    “Very well.”
    The following week Israel Katz arranged for Noelle to go to the laboratory at the hospital. When the test results were returned two days later, he telephoned her at work. “You were right,” he said. “You’re pregnant.”
    “I know.”
    “I’ve arranged for you to have a curettage at the hospital. I’ve told them that your husband was killed in an accident and that you are unable to have the baby. We’ll do the operation next Saturday.”
    “No,” she said.
    “Is Saturday a bad day for you?”
    “I’m not ready for the abortion yet, Israel. I just wanted to know that I could count on you to help me.”
    Madame Rose noticed the change in Noelle, not merely a physical change, but something that went much deeper, a radiance, an inner glow that seemed to fill her. Noelle walked around with a constant smile, as though hugging some wonderful secret.
    “You have found a lover,” Madame Rose said. “It shows in your eyes.”
    Noelle nodded. “Yes, Madame.”
    “He is good for you. Hold onto him.”
    “I will,” Noelle promised. “As long as I can.”
    Three weeks later Israel Katz telephoned her. “I haven’t heard from you,” he said. “I was wondering if you had forgotten?”
    “No,” Noelle said. “I think of it all the time.”
    “How do you feel?”
    “Wonderful.”
    “I’ve been looking at the calendar. I think that we had better go to work.”
    “I’m not ready yet,” Noelle said.
    Three weeks passed before Israel Katz telephoned her again.
    “How about having dinner with me?” he asked.
    “All right.”
    They arranged to meet at a cheap café on the rue de Chat Qui Peche. Noelle had started to suggest a better restaurant when she remembered what Israel had said about interns not having much money.
    He was waiting for her when she arrived. They chatted aimlessly through dinner and it was not until the coffee arrived that Israel discussed what was on his mind.
    “Do you still want to have the abortion?” he asked.
    Noelle looked at him in surprise. “Of course.”
    “Then you must have it right away. You’re more than two months pregnant.”
    She shook her head. “No, not yet, Israel.”
    “Is this your first pregnancy?”
    “Yes.”
    “Then let me tell you something, Noelle. Up until three months, an abortion is usually an easy matter. The embryo has not been fully formed and all you need is a simple curettage, but after three months”—he hesitated—”it’s another kind of operation, and it becomes dangerous. The longer you wait, the more dangerous it becomes. I want you to have the operation now.”
    Noelle leaned forward. “What’s the baby like?”
    “Now?” He shrugged. “Just a lot of cells. Of course, all the nuclei are there to form a complete human being.”
    “And after three months?”
    “The embryo starts to become a person.”
    “Can it feel things?”
    “It responds to blows and loud noises.”
    She sat there, her eyes locked onto his. “Can it feel pain?”
    “I suppose so. But it is protected with an amniotic sac.” He suddenly felt an uneasy stirring. “It would be pretty hard for anything to hurt it.”
    Noelle lowered her eyes and sat staring at the table, silent and thoughtful.
    Israel Katz studied her a moment and then said shyly, “Noelle, if you want to keep this baby and are afraid to because it will have no father…well, I would be willing to marry you and give the baby a name.”
    She looked up in surprise. “I have already