Daddy by Danielle Steel

Daddy by Danielle Steel

Secretly, though Sarah has always longed for more than to be just a mother. She and Oliver married young and she became pregnant on their honeymoon. She began planning for an abortion until Oliver found out and was thrilled about the baby. At the time they were living in a small New York apartment and Benjamin had colic quite badly and was driving Sarah nuts. When Benjamin was only a year old though Sarah discovered she was pregnant again, and again planned for an abortion. Oliver fought her on it again, and their daughter Melissa was born. With their apartment growing smaller by the day, they bought their house in Purchase, not far from Oliver's parents, and Sarah concentrated on driving car pools, PTA, and taking the children to various activities. When Melissa was five and Benjamin nine, Sarah discovers she is pregnant again, as the result of the vacation she and Oliver took. Beyond upset, she plans for an abortion with her family doctor who asks how Oliver feels about what she's doing and she admits he doesn't know she's pregnant. He insists she talk to Oliver before the procedure is performed and again he is thrilled about the baby and horrified that she would consider an abortion. They fight about it for several days but in the end she keeps the baby, and reassures him daily that she will not care about it. Oliver promises to love it for both of them, and baby Sam is born on Election Day. Several years pass and the children are ten, fifteen, and seventeen, and Sarah receives a letter in the mail notifying her of her acceptance to Harvard graduate school. Although the school is in Boston and they live in New York, Sarah decides to leave her family and move to Boston, promising to visit on weekends. The family is understandably upset, and more so when weeks go by and Sarah does not return for a visit. Oliver is working late nights and not getting home until 9 o'clock at night, and the kids are left in the care of Agnes, the housekeeper.