Andrew, Chapter 1, 3rd Draft.

Andrew's first child had a very unceremonious burial: it was dumped in a biological waste bin outside a fertilization clinic upstate. Andrew and Vicky were no longer together when she found out she was pregnant of his son-or-daughter-to-be, and she took the decision to abort it and never mention it to him. I might have some of the details wrong, since I don't officially know about it, even after so many years; it might have been facilitated by her father the obstetrician or maybe she didn't tell him either. The fact is that she acted on her perceived prerogative and chose to keep Andrew off the loop.
Andy used to describe his views on abortion as pro-choice, but that was before being denied one; now he no longer seemed so certain. He's still learning to cope with the reality of having his fatherhood taken away and telling me this story was part of his dealing with it.
Maybe I should start by telling you the story of Andrew and Victoria and how they came to be apart. Their relationship started when he was a freshman in architecture school and she was a high school sophomore. He was one year away from graduating when she decided to pop the question, just like that (it was common for Vicky to take initiative in these subjects):
- So, Andrew, will you marry me ?
- Sure I will Vicky. As soon as we're both done with college and can afford a little apartment, I'm gonna sweep you away from your parents.
- No, I mean, right away. You're not gonna graduate for another year and I've just been admitted, it's gonna take ages and I want us to be married by the end of the year.
- Ha, ha. Funny Vick, very funny. You know we cannot afford to leave our parent's homes, not with both of us on student loans.
- Don't you love me, Andy ?
- More than I love myself, Vick. But that's beyond the point.
And so the discussion faded, but it would soon begin to sprout again in very similar variants for the few months their relationship survived this irreconcilable divergence. Andrew adored her, beyond anything he'd ever felt for anyone. But he was simply too rational to jump into a post-teenage marriage with no chance of survival.
A few months after the break up, Vicky was sharing an apartment with Bill. Guess she didn't love Andrew nearly as much as he loved her.