Page 32 of Things We Do for Love and Science
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“What are we celebrating?” Gabriel motioned at the champagne bottle and two mugs Delia had unpacked from her basket and placed on the side table. He hadn’t expected her to make an occasion of her portrait’s unveiling. “So happy you no longer have to be my model?”
She laughed. “No. Not at all. I enjoyed posing as a hypothetical countess, and you know it. But I do have news that calls for celebration, and since you played a significant role in me reaching my goal, you deserve some champagne. It’s the real stuff; I splashed out.”
“Let me get two glasses. We can’t drink your lovely champagne from coffee mugs.” He left for the kitchen and returned with two cut crystal champagne flutes.
She grabbed the bottle, removed the metal cage, and popped out the cork.
“All right, spill the beans, what’s your great news?” He placed the flutes on the Louis XV table.
She held up the champagne, her face glowing with joy. “You’re in the presence of a tenured faculty member of Renwood University. Tenure is rarer than gold dust, I’ll have you know. I still can’t believe my luck.” With a flourish, she filled both their glasses.
“Oh, Delia, that’s fantastic. Congrats, I’m happy for you.” He wrapped his arms around her, and she leaned into him. Was he hugging her too tightly? He loosened his hold. “I’d say it’s more to do with your hard work and less with pure luck.”
She freed herself and presented him with a champagne flute. “Just happy for me, not proud of me at all?”
“Oh, yes, terribly proud of you too.” He took the offered glass and clinked it to hers. “To Dr. Cordelia Wright, tenured faculty member of Renwood University.”
“Senior lecturer,” she specified.
“Goodness me, sounds rather grand.”
“Says the seventh Earl of Renwood.” She giggled.
“So, what’s next for the senior lecturer of biochemistry?” He took a sip from his glass.
“A baby.”
He coughed when the champagne entered his trachea. “Oh, my, that’s a surprise. Congratulations.” He swallowed hard, hoping to relieve the sudden tightness in his throat. “Who’s the lucky man?”
After hours spent in her company, he still only knew the most superficial facts about her. Had he only imagined their deepening friendship? It seemed like it.
She waved a dismissive hand. “I’m not pregnant but planning to be soon, via sperm donor. I haven’t taken any steps yet, you know. I had to wait until I got a secure income and hours that are a bit more regular. So, there’ll be no father in the classical sense.”
He knitted his brow, trying to make sense of the hollow feeling in his stomach. “But why are you planning to become a single mother right off the bat?”
“Is that so difficult to figure out?” She arched her eyebrows.
He compressed his lips and tried to ignore the heaviness in his chest. How foolish of him to assume she was single and heterosexual. “Erm, your girlfriend and you—”
She waved her hand. “No. You’ve got it all wrong. I could choose the conventional path, only I don’t believe in it.”
Her merriness confused him. “You don’t believe in relationships?”
“No. Not in long-lasting romantic love of any kind.” Her voice became grave. “Everything goes to shit eventually.”
He took another sip of champagne and considered her remark. “Why so harsh?” She was such a lovely, clever, and thoughtful woman, that it was painful to witness her renouncing any meaningful romantic connection.
“Let’s say I didn’t have the most convincing of role models...” Her gaze dropped, and an air of sadness surrounded her.
“Your parents?”
She nodded. “Infidelity’s a sore subject for me. I’ve seen first-hand what anguish it causes. It may start off well, with love, infatuation, and promises of lifelong commitment.” Her voice grew louder, and two red spots appeared on her cheeks. “Then boredom seeps in, complacency. Somebody new tickles the ego, then, in a blink, a heart’s broken and a family’s torn apart.”
“Not all men are cheating assholes,” he said, stunned by her sudden ferocity.
“I know, Gabriel,” her mouth briefly curled upward, “and I’m not saying women are better people than men. As a scientist I know that’s nonsense. But society stacks the cards against us, and men get a lot less judgment if they behave badly. People cut them far more slack, while women are expected to be paragons of virtue or else.”
