Marriage Matters - By Cynthia Ellingsen Page 0,145
I’m pregnant.”
Kevin’s eyes practically bugged out of his head. He choked and as he sputtered, she patted him on the back. “Geez, honey. Are you okay?”
He turned to her, his face bright with excitement. “Are you being serious? Do you think we’ve got a little baby?”
Kristine looked down at her stomach.
“Yeah,” she said, looking up at him in wonder. “I think we do.”
The popcorn all but forgotten, Kevin climbed into bed and held her close. Kristine rested her head against his chest, staring out at the fire escape. In the light from their bedroom, the snow seemed to wink.
Over the years, Kristine watched Kevin become the type of father hers had been. For this, she found herself falling in love with him in new ways, as he taught Chloe how to catch bugs, how to throw a ball and, in particular, ride a bike. The fact that he had always been there for their family, just like her father always had, was something else that had made her love him, more than anything.
Tonight, when he had missed out on sharing their daughter’s engagement party with her, with their family . . . Kristine closed her eyes, fighting back yet another wave of pain. In twenty-five years of marriage, they had created one thing that mattered even more than their relationship—their daughter. That mattered more than anything. The fact that he was now giving that part of their relationship so little respect, as well . . .
Staring down at the wedding album, she gazed at a picture of the two of them. Their faces were filled with love and promise. It was hard to believe, looking at them back then, that they would ever be capable of drifting apart.
Kristine wanted their relationship to work. She wanted her family back. But after tonight, it had become pretty clear that her husband could not care less.
Closing the book, she set it on the bedside table. She turned off the lights and pulled the sheets to her chin, dreading the night ahead of her and the thoughts that would run through her mind. There was a lot to think about. Particularly, whether to keep fighting to save a marriage so clearly beyond repair.
Sixty-seven
When Chloe’s alarm clock went off, she opened her eyes with dread. It was going to be one of those days. She was booked solid, back to back to back. The thought of rolling over and snuggling up to Geoff’s warm body was so tempting, but it was impossible. There wasn’t even time to fantasize about playing hooky.
On her way out the door, Chloe poked her head into Mary Beth’s bedroom. It was so early that the little girl was still asleep, her stuffed animals carefully arranged around her body. Mary Beth always slept with her arm wrapped around a fuzzy penguin and sure enough, the penguin was in his proper position as her tummy breathed in and out.
Mary Beth looked so incredibly sweet and peaceful that Chloe felt bad about barely having any time to spend with her. According to Geoff, she had already gone to two Mommy and Me classes with Miriam and they seemed to be getting along very well. Chloe was happy for Mary Beth, but selfishly sad. Once exams were over, once the wedding was over, she really needed to make a concerted effort to build a bond with this little girl. It wasn’t right that she felt closer to some of the children in her internships than the girl who was to become her daughter.
Racing out of the apartment, Chloe started her marathon day. After meeting with her study group (good, she might actually know her stuff for the final exam), dashing across town for a final fitting (crazy, it was so weird to think she was so close to walking down the aisle), attending her final class on intervention methods (oops, falling asleep at some point for at least ten minutes) and then, taking her first final (yikes, ethical and legal issues), Chloe dashed across town again to complete her final internship hours for the semester (phew!).
After ten straight hours of running hard, Chloe pulled out her phone to check in with Geoff.
“Whoa.” To her surprise, there were six missed calls. Worried that something had happened to Mary Beth, Chloe played the messages.
Hi, it’s Geoff. Can you come home for a few hours? Mary Beth scared away another sitter and I’ve got a full day . . .