Page 33 of Shining Pearls
If I told him when we were alone, he would be able to mask his true feelings and convince me that I was the only one for him… He was my charming husband, after all. If we told him with Josie sitting right there, my gut said that we would see his true reaction to the news.
It felt wrong to be putting him on the spot like this, but I kept reminding myself that we were in this situation because he had slept with someone else. I had the right to know if he still had feelings for her. Although I didn’t know how I would handle it if he did care for her, some sadistic part of me needed to find out.
Once the truth was out, if we discovered that he loved her, I’d be sorry for pushing the issue. It was too late to back down now, though. Besides, I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life wondering if my husband would prefer to be with someone else. If that was the case, it was better to find out now––even if it would feel like having my heart ripped from my chest.
Alex emerged from his writing cave, looking as handsome as ever. I wanted nothing more than to take advantage of having the house to ourselves, since Hannah was with Harper at an early-evening karate class. After her cousin’s picture and a lovely article about her having earned her blue belt in record-time had appeared in The Brunswick Bay Gazette, Hannah had taken a sudden interest in learning the martial art.
Proving that he was on the same wavelength as me as far as preferring to stay home alone, Alex asked, “Wouldn’t you rather stay here than go out?” Waggling his brows suggestively, he added, “I’ll make it worth your while.”
I couldn’t help but chuckle at his heavy-handed hint. Our love-life was back on track with renewed vigor, and I didn’t want to do anything that would mess that up. But if we didn’t tell Alex the truth, I would always wonder how he would feel if he knew. Besides, he deserved to know.
Sighing, I finally answered him. “There’s nothing I want more than to stay here and get naked with you.” When I saw his expression perk up, I held up my index finger and said pointedly, “But we need to do this.”
Alex’s shoulders sagged as he walked over to the sink to fill up a glass of water from the tap. After taking a big gulp, he stared out the window as he spoke, “I don’t think this is a good idea. It’s not like we’re going to become friends with Josie and Dean, so why do we want to waste an evening talking with them?”
He made a valid point. I hated being so evasive with him about the reasoning for our meeting, but I couldn’t say much without giving away the news. Instead, I relied on his unwavering desire to please me and said, “This is happening, so come on.”
Alex sighed, but set his glass down on the counter and turned, without any further argument, to follow me––as I’d known he would.
As soon as I opened the front door, I realized that it had cooled off quite a bit just since I’d gotten home from my stressful day of work at the bank. Alex quickly turned to the hall closet to retrieve our coats. When he grabbed my black puffy jacket from my pink hanger where it hung, I couldn’t help but smile. That simple hanger was a visual reminder of the millions of tiny things Alex did every day to make me feel cherished. He always had, and I fervently hoped that he always would––even after we dropped this bombshell news on him tonight.
“Remind me again why we’re doing this?” Alex grouched as we rounded the corner onto Blueberry Cove Street and saw Josie and Dean standing just up the hill by the docks.
Deciding that he’d find out soon enough, I didn’t bother with an answer. My throat felt too parched to speak anyway.
As we walked towards the other couple, the dread roiled in my stomach as I doubted my decision to go through with this. Almost of their own accord, my steps shortened, as if walking slower could delay the inevitable. Alex automatically slowed his pace to effortlessly remain by my side.
Despite my snail-pace walking, we quickly arrived in front of Josie and Dean on the sidewalk. We shared expectant looks, but silence prevailed. Realizing no one else was going to speak, I broke the ice with a suggestion for dinner. “How about if we head down to the beach shack for lobster rolls, then we can find a table by the water to eat and chat?”
“Josie doesn’t like lobster.” It was Alex that answered, almost automatically. His eyes looked horrified right after the words left his lips, but it was too late to take the revelation back.
Having him know details like this about his mistress felt like a punch to my throat. I had tried to convince myself that they had a purely physical relationship that meant nothing to either party, but his awareness of her food preferences made it obvious that they had shared meals and more with each other.
The glare Dean was angling in Alex’s direction made it obvious that he didn’t appreciate my husband’s intimate knowledge of Josie’s likes and dislikes any more than I did.
The awkward silence lingered between us, but I wasn’t sure how to end it. It didn’t feel right to just blurt out the news as we hovered together on the sidewalk.
Josie finally spoke. “I know it sounds crazy, since it’s so chilly out, but I’m really craving an ice cream cone.”
“Ice cream, yes!” I glommed on to her suggestion, since it would give us something to do besides stare nervously at the ground.
We turned in unison towards the red train caboose that was permanently parked at the marina and served as our town’s ice cream stand.
My husband teased us, “The preggos are craving ice cream, even though it’s practically snowing out.”
I gave him a half-smile, thinking that this was his last chance to lightheartedly joke about it before realizing that we were both ‘preggo’ by him.
31
Josie
I’d imagined this scenario numerous times since discovering I was pregnant, but none of those dreams were close to the actuality of Alex’s laughter when he found out that he was the father of my unborn child.
We all gawked at him as he laughed as if it was the funniest joke that he had heard all week. He either believed us to be teasing, or we had sent him over the edge and he’d officially gone loopy.
As his eyes traveled between us and he discovered only seriousness, tinged with concern, his chuckles faltered. When his wide-eyed gaze locked with his wife’s, he said, “Wait… You’re serious?”
At her nod, his eyes flashed in my direction before he accused, “You said it was Dean’s.”
