Authors: E. L. Todd
17
Sean
My brother walked into my office, not knocking like usual, and then dropped into the chair facing my desk. He had a ridiculous grin on his face, looking like a total dumbass. “You got some last night?”
“Nope.” He kept smiling.
“I said you can’t get high before you come to work. I mean it.”
He rolled his eyes. “I’m not high.”
“Then what’s up?”
“Cassandra spent the night last night.” He put his hands behind his head and leaned back, like he was vacationing on a yacht. She wore my t-shirt to bed and we snuggled all night.”
“And…?”
“Dude, I’m in love.”
I smiled even though I didn’t want to. “Congratulations, man.”
“And you know what’s even better?”
“Hmm?”
“She loves me too.”
“She said that?” I asked incredulously. I couldn’t imagine anyone looking past my brother’s annoying habits and actually loving him.
“Well, no. But she didn’t need to say it.”
“Sounds like a Nicholas Sparks book.”
“Shut the hell up. You went on and on about how you fell in love with Scarlet all over again because you got ice cream in the park. You’re a way bigger pussy than I am.”
“She’s my wife. It’s appropriate.”
“Still girly as hell.”
“Not as girly as cuddling all night and not fucking. Scarlet and I fuck like animals.”
“Cute,” he
said sarcastically.
“So you love each other but you haven’t had sex yet?”
“That’s the best part,” he said with a smile. “I don’t need to have sex with her. I dated someone the right away and established a relationship based on trust and friendship. I didn’t have to see her naked or go down on her. It’s so great.”
I raised an eyebrow. “So, you don’t want to have sex with her?”
“Whoa, hold on. I didn’t say that. Of course, I want to have sex with her. I’m just saying it isn’t necessary. I love being in a relationship, even without the sex. She’s like my best friend. Now I have what you and Scarlet have.”
“At least it didn’t take you ten years to get it right.”
His voice became sad. “Well, it did, actually.”
“Don’t think about that. You have what you want now. Be happy.”
“I am happy.”
“Are you coming to game night?” I asked.
“Duh.”
“Bring Cassandra.”
“Can I?” he asked.
“She and Scarlet really hit it off. Of course she can come. Hopefully, she’s my sister-in-law someday.”
“She will be,” Mike said firmly. “But, with Cortland…I don’t know if I should.”
Everyone had toned down their happiness with their relations
hips since Cortland was dumped by Monnique. Nothing was worse than being reminded that you were the only single guy in a group of friends. But we couldn’t tone it down forever. “I think he’s bringing someone.”
“What?” Mike said. “A girl?”
I nodded. “He says they’re just friends.”
“Just friends, my ass. He must be fucking her as a rebound.”
I shook my head. “He insists they are just friends. Ryan set them up on a blind date. Apparently, her boyfriend cheated on her and left her with a broken heart. They’ve been spending time together because they have a lot in common.”
“That’s good,” Mike said. “As long as it helps him.”
“Hopefully, something more comes out of it.”
“Well, it has been three months…” Mike rubbed his chin. “He’s waited long enough.”
I shrugged. “We all know Monnique was the love of his life.”
“And she was damn fine…”
I glared at him. “Don’t you have a girlfriend?”
“I can’t check out other girls?”
I shook my head. “Just don’t get caught.”
“You know I’m kidding. I haven’t paid much attention to the other women around me, actually. I didn’t notice it until now.”
Wow. My brother was really in love.
“I’m glad he’s making an effort to move on. Monnique…I don’t know about her anymore.”
“What do you mean?”
Scarlet and I hadn’t told anyone about our trip to see Monnique. “You can’t tell anyone.”
He rubbed his palms together. “Ooh…a secret.”
“It better stay a secret.”
“Come on, bro. Tell me.”
“We went to Seattle to try to get her back together with Cortland. Nothing Scarlet said worked. She begged but it did no good.”
“No way,” Mike said. “Scarlet did that?”
“Is it really that surprising?”
“And Monnique still didn’t change her mind?”
I shook my head.
“Wow. Does Cortland know?”
“No. Don’t tell him either. That would just make him feel worse. Scarlet begged her to take him back and she still wouldn’t do it. That’s a stab to the heart.”
Mike nodded. “Yeah…I hope I never lose Cassandra.”
“Well, don’t sleep with Scarlet one year ago and you’re good,” I joked.
Mike chuckled. “Yeah, apparently. So stupid…”
“I couldn’t agree more.”
When I came home, the pizzas and beer were in the kitchen and the board games were in the living room. Scarlet always had everything set up. I knew she was excited to have everyone together. We hadn’t been altogether in the same room since Monnique left.
Scarlet wasn’t downstairs, so I assumed she was in her office or the bedroom. When I came into our room, she was lying on the bed. The blankets were pulled around her and it was dark in the room. That was odd. Scarlet never napped.
I sat on the bed then looked at her face. “Baby, are you okay?” I whispered.
Her eyes fluttered open. “Yeah…I just had a headache and my stomach hurt.”
Alarm shot through me. “Are you sure you’re okay? Should we see a doctor?”
“Sean, I’m fine,” she said firmly. “I’m almost done with the first trimester. Of course I’m going to experience new sensation
s.”
“But if you had to lay down because of it, that doesn’t sound good.”
“I’m fine,” she repeated.
“We’re going to the doctor anyway. Just to make sure.”
“Everyone is coming over.”
“They can get started without us,” I said firmly. “Now get up.”
She sighed then sat up. Her stomach size had increased by the third month. I thought it was sexy as hell. She was almost waddling, and that was a turn on in itself. I helped her pull on a jacket and got her to the car.
“This is a waste of time.”
“Making sure is never a waste of time,” I said firmly.
I drove to the doctor’s office then walked inside. We didn’t have an appointment, but I didn’t care. When I reached the front desk, the receptionist looked at me. “Do you have an appointment?”
“No.” I pulled out a few hundred dollar bills and placed them on her desk. “My wife is a patient here and she’s pregnant. She’s feeling under the weather. I want to get her checked out.” She took the money and tucked it out of sight. “Can you get us in right away?”
She nodded. “Take a seat.”
I helped Scarlet into a chair and sat beside her. There were other people in the waiting room but I didn’t care. My wife and child were more important than anything else. I knew Scarlet was pissed at me but she didn’t say anything because our conversation would be overheard.
A minute later, we were led to the exam room. The doctor came in and checked on Scarlet. After he ran a few routine tests, he asked Scarlet what her symptoms were. He nodded and took notes.
“Is she going to be okay?”
He nodded. “Her sonogram looks good, the heartbeat is strong, and the mother is in good health. The bouts and pains just come with the pregnancy, Mr. Preston.”
“So, she and the baby are fine?”
“Sean, calm down,” Scarlet said.
The doctor smiled. “He’s just a concerned husband. There’s nothing wrong with that.”
“You don’t have to deal with it every day,” Scarlet said
as she rolled her eyes.
The doctor chuckled. “It was nice seeing both of you.”
I escorted Scarlet out and led her back to the car. After we headed back home, she exploded.
“Sean, you can’t just cut in front of people like that just because you have money!”
I stared at the road and ignored her.
“Just because they don’t have as much money as us doesn’t mean they should be last in line. That was morally and ethically wrong, Sean. We could have waited the extra fifteen damn minutes.”
“I was scared, okay?”
“Sean, I’m pregnant. And being pregnant isn’t known as a painless and relaxing time. I’m going to get tired, grumpy, and I’m going to be in pain. We don’t need to go to the doctor every time I have a small headache.”
“You never take naps.”
“But I’ve never been pregnant!”
She and I yelled at each other the entire way home. I understood why she was upset, but I stood by my decision. When it came down to my family and the rest of the world, my family would always win. Scarlet didn’t see it that way and she never would.
Everyone had a key to our house so they just let themselves inside. I wasn’t a fan of this arrangement, but Scarlet handed out the keys like
we were a damn hotel. When we walked inside, everyone was sitting around eating pizza and drinking beer.
“Is everything okay?” Ryan asked.
“Everything is perfectly okay,” Scarlet snapped.
Mike eyed Ryan. “What did Sean do now?”
Scarlet put her hands on her hips and glared at me. “He threw money at the receptionist so we could see the doctor right away. He acted like I was dying. And he cut in front of all these people waiting in line.”
I hated it when she told everyone our business. It was constant and all the time. Nothing in our relationship was a secret or our business.
Cortland sat next to Hazel on the couch. A few inches were between them, making it clear they were just friends. “Umm…I don’t get it. Why is that bad?”
Scarlet sighed through her teeth. “It’s wrong!”
Mike stood up. “My brother was just taking care of you. Calm down, Scarlet.”
I shook my head. “Her pregnancy hormones are kicking in.”
I got a venomous look from her.
“Baby, we’re all here to have a good time. Can we just fight then fuck later?”
Her cheeks reddened in embarrassment. “Do they need to know that?”
“Well, they know everything else. Or do you want me to fuck you now?”
Mike and Ryan both laughed.
She glared at me, her face becoming redder.
Yeah…I wasn’t getting any tonight.
She finally backed off and sat on the couch next to Cortland. I knew I was exiled to the other side of the living room, next to my brother.
We started the games and ate the pizza. Scarlet didn’t look at me once and acted like I didn’t exist. She and I fought over stupid things but they always blew over. And when she was mad at me, it was usually because I was trying to do something nice for her. Actually, it was every time.
Cortland seemed to be having a good time. He and Hazel laughed while they had their private conversation. Scarlet eyed them but didn’t comment. Ryan and Janice were snuggled together, and he was whispering in her ear. Mike had his arm around Cassandra, giving her the attention of a man deeply in love. My wife was distant from me, cold and resistant.
It didn’t feel the same without Monnique. No one spoke of it, but it was obvious how odd it was to feel her absence. Her deep laugh was gone, and Cortland’s pure joy was absent. He had improved over the past three months, but he wasn’t the same. And I had a feeling he never would. I wished it had worked out between them, but since she was so cold when she took off, perhaps it was the best thing for him. Hopefully he’d find someone who really loved him.
There was no doubt how much Scarlet loved me. After all the shit I put her through, she took me back and gave me an
other chance. Only her unconditional love could give her strength to do that. I never forgot about the brave decision and I never would. Which was why I put her first every single day. Sometimes that wasn’t clear to Scarlet, but her safety and happiness was always at the very top of my list. Always.
After everyone left for the night, I cleaned up the garbage and put away the games. When Scarlet tried to help, I told her to go to bed. She didn’t talk to me so I knew she was pissed. She glared at me before she m
arched up the stairs.
I took care of eve
rything then joined her. She was tucked in bed with the light off. She was turned on her side, facing the wall. I stripped then got into the covers beside her.
“Baby, I’m sorry. I just panicked.”
“You need to treat other people as equals, not inferior to you because you have money.”