simply sex I want occasionally, then
I’ll probably just ask you—since you offered so nicely and everything.”
She had no
delusions about Seth’s good-natured generosity lasting longer than her
pregnancy. He had his own life, and he had his own tastes in sexual affairs—and
his tastes had never matched her, any more than her tastes had matched him. They’d
been thrown together unexpectedly because of this pregnancy, but only a fool
would think that things would miraculously transform into something serious.
Something romantic.
Real life just
didn’t turn out that way.
She didn’t even
want it to. This was much better. A blunt, honest sharing of realistic
expectations. All of her strongholds still in place.
The Erin she’d
been as a girl in the library would have started creating fanciful daydreams based
on a couple of rounds of good sex and some companionable conversation.
The Erin she was
now laughed at the very idea.
She added
without any bitterness at all, “At least for the next six months.”
Five
It was nine-thirty on Saturday
morning, and Erin was lounging in an easy chair in her living room with a cup
of coffee.
Decaf, of
course.
She was
presently enjoying a long, lazy morning—pleased that she had nothing to do
until shopping and lunch with Liz.
She’d been
feeling pretty good this week and decided that being just over five months
pregnant was a pretty good place to be in the scheme of things. Her morning
sickness was gone completely, and she was still more fascinated than
exasperated with the enlargement of her belly.
She was also getting
used to people looking at her now and knowing immediately that she was
pregnant. It was a strange feeling, and she wasn’t sure what to think about it.
After scanning
through news stories on her tablet, she clicked over to Mary Carlyle’s blog,
which she tried to resist on principle but never could. The first thing she saw
was a photo of Seth.
He was with the
popular actress he’d been dating for the last month, whom he’d evidently met while
she was shooting a film in Atlanta. They were leaving a movie premiere in the photo—both
elegantly dressed and gorgeous.
Snorting in
amusement, Erin said out loud, “There’s your daddy. Looking very handsome in
that suit. He just can’t seem to keep a low profile.”
Curious, she
skimmed the adjacent article and was mildly surprised to learn that the couple
had a rather public break-up. Apparently, Seth had decided he no longer wanted
to pursue the relationship, and the actress had reacted dramatically.
“I can’t
believe it didn’t last any longer. She’s just his style.” Shaking her head, she
added, again addressing her belly, “But she doesn’t come across as very clever.
I suppose he’s too smart to put up with a lack of mental acuity for very long,
no matter what else she has to offer.”
Briefly, she
wondered what kind of mother she was turning out to be—discussing the father’s
love-life with her baby and, in the process, using the word “acuity.”
She’d started
talking to her baby last month. She’d never made a conscious decision to do so.
She’d simply started talking out loud and hadn’t stopped since.
It was nice, in
a strange sort of way. Like she finally had someone to talk to in her solitary
apartment. Like she’d finally made a connection as a mother.
Scanning over
the snide commentary in the blog again, Erin laughed softly. “Poor woman. But
she really should have known better than to think he would turn into a
different person just for her. You know, your daddy is a bit of an ass.” She
paused, suddenly struck with a thought she hadn’t considered before.
Maybe she
shouldn’t address her own child as if that child was Liz.
“I mean,"
she amended awkwardly, "Your daddy is a bit of a...jerk.”
Sighing, Erin
put down her coffee and rubbed her belly over her T-shirt. What a great mother.
Only now thinking about the kind of language she should use around
I’ll probably just ask you—since you offered so nicely and everything.”
She had no
delusions about Seth’s good-natured generosity lasting longer than her
pregnancy. He had his own life, and he had his own tastes in sexual affairs—and
his tastes had never matched her, any more than her tastes had matched him. They’d
been thrown together unexpectedly because of this pregnancy, but only a fool
would think that things would miraculously transform into something serious.
Something romantic.
Real life just
didn’t turn out that way.
She didn’t even
want it to. This was much better. A blunt, honest sharing of realistic
expectations. All of her strongholds still in place.
The Erin she’d
been as a girl in the library would have started creating fanciful daydreams based
on a couple of rounds of good sex and some companionable conversation.
The Erin she was
now laughed at the very idea.
She added
without any bitterness at all, “At least for the next six months.”
Five
It was nine-thirty on Saturday
morning, and Erin was lounging in an easy chair in her living room with a cup
of coffee.
Decaf, of
course.
She was
presently enjoying a long, lazy morning—pleased that she had nothing to do
until shopping and lunch with Liz.
She’d been
feeling pretty good this week and decided that being just over five months
pregnant was a pretty good place to be in the scheme of things. Her morning
sickness was gone completely, and she was still more fascinated than
exasperated with the enlargement of her belly.
She was also getting
used to people looking at her now and knowing immediately that she was
pregnant. It was a strange feeling, and she wasn’t sure what to think about it.
After scanning
through news stories on her tablet, she clicked over to Mary Carlyle’s blog,
which she tried to resist on principle but never could. The first thing she saw
was a photo of Seth.
He was with the
popular actress he’d been dating for the last month, whom he’d evidently met while
she was shooting a film in Atlanta. They were leaving a movie premiere in the photo—both
elegantly dressed and gorgeous.
Snorting in
amusement, Erin said out loud, “There’s your daddy. Looking very handsome in
that suit. He just can’t seem to keep a low profile.”
Curious, she
skimmed the adjacent article and was mildly surprised to learn that the couple
had a rather public break-up. Apparently, Seth had decided he no longer wanted
to pursue the relationship, and the actress had reacted dramatically.
“I can’t
believe it didn’t last any longer. She’s just his style.” Shaking her head, she
added, again addressing her belly, “But she doesn’t come across as very clever.
I suppose he’s too smart to put up with a lack of mental acuity for very long,
no matter what else she has to offer.”
Briefly, she
wondered what kind of mother she was turning out to be—discussing the father’s
love-life with her baby and, in the process, using the word “acuity.”
She’d started
talking to her baby last month. She’d never made a conscious decision to do so.
She’d simply started talking out loud and hadn’t stopped since.
It was nice, in
a strange sort of way. Like she finally had someone to talk to in her solitary
apartment. Like she’d finally made a connection as a mother.
Scanning over
the snide commentary in the blog again, Erin laughed softly. “Poor woman. But
she really should have known better than to think he would turn into a
different person just for her. You know, your daddy is a bit of an ass.” She
paused, suddenly struck with a thought she hadn’t considered before.
Maybe she
shouldn’t address her own child as if that child was Liz.
“I mean,"
she amended awkwardly, "Your daddy is a bit of a...jerk.”
Sighing, Erin
put down her coffee and rubbed her belly over her T-shirt. What a great mother.
Only now thinking about the kind of language she should use around
Similar Books
