Page 68 of The Moment You Know

“Fine.” David took a drink of his beer and then looked at Evan with exaggerated anticipation. “I’m listening.”

Evan hesitated for a moment and then started speaking slowly, almost choosing his words with care. “I liked this woman a lot. There was something about her—she wasn’t fragile, exactly, but she’s had to work through some bad shit in her life—”

“Haven’t we all?”

“Not like this,” Evan countered. He briefly considered giving David more details, but decided it would get them farther away from the point he was trying to make. “Anyway, after working through her shit, she’s going after the fairy tale and a happily-ever-after. And I really hope she gets them, because she deserves that.”

“Fairy tale? Happily-ever-after? You sound like such a girl right now.”

Evan ignored that and powered on. “But that’s what made me start thinking about you. It made me realize how much I want you to have the fairy tale, and the happily-ever-after, too, because you also deserve them. And I know neither of those is with Ashley—hell, you know it, too. You two have been together, what? A little more than four years? Most people would be married by now, especially when they have a kid. And the fact that you’re not, is really fucking sad. And I don’t mean sad that you’re not married to her, but sad because you don’t want to be married to her. And since you don’t want to be married to her, then you shouldn’t stay with her. Especially since you don’t love her. Because right now? You’re just killing time with her and I want you to have more than that.”

David leaned forward. “I appreciate that, Dick. But what I have with Ashley is fine.”

“Fine is a word I use to describe my mom’s meatloaf. And even then, I’m lying.”

“Well, I’m not lying. It is fine.”

Evan was silent for several moments as he scrutinized his friend. He seemed to be mostly telling the truth, but there was something underneath the surface, and Evan decided to go after it. “But?”

“But what?”

“That’s what I’m asking you. I think there’s something you’re not telling me. Something that might go against your ‘fine’ claim.”

David took a long drink and then said with a sigh, “Ashley’s been talking about having another baby.”

“Oh, Jesus,” Evan groaned rather loudly, unable to stop it. “Don’t do it, man. I’m begging you.”

Just then, Evan’s older sister, Evelyn, came out from the back, surprising them both. She looked like the female version of Evan, with wavy, reddish-brown hair and eyes the color of dark chocolate, which she narrowed at Evan.

“For God’s sake, Dick, quit begging. David is straight,” she said, apparently having caught the tail end of their conversation.

“That’s not what I’m begging him about, Ev. And quit calling me Dick.”

“Then what are you begging him about?”

“To not have another baby with Ashley.”

Evelyn swiveled her head toward David, like something out of The Exorcist and impaled David with an uneasy stare. “You’re thinking about having another baby with Ashley?”

“The subject has recently come up,” he said neutrally.

“Who’s bringing it up?”

Evan answered for David. “Ashley.”

Evelyn’s uneasiness turned to consternation. “She wants another baby?”

David gave a short nod. “She says she does.”

Evelyn held up her hands. “She barely pays attention to the one she has.”

Unable to dispute that, David didn’t say anything.

“Look, when most women want another child, it’s because they love children. That’s why I’m having another one,” Evelyn said, patting her barely-rounded stomach. “That’s probably why I’ll have at least five—”

“God, please don’t,” Evan muttered under his breath.

“—and I will take a bullet for any one of them. Literally take a bullet, without hesitation. And I will kill someone with my bare hands, if necessary, to protect them. That’s the love of a mother. That’s not Ashley. She’s the least maternal person I know, so her wanting another baby makes no sense. No offense.”

---