Page 28 of Enough
“Hey, buddy! Who’s a good boy?”
He’s happy. That must be a good sign. “Did you get it?” I ask.
Mike smiles brightly. “You’re looking at the new marketing manager for Blue Bay!”
“Yay!” I cheer as I rush to him. Mike grabs me around the waist and pulls me in for a hug. Could this day get any better?
“Congratulations, Mike! I’m so proud of you. I know how hard you worked.”
He nods and blows the air out of his lips in relief. He removes his tie and eyes me skeptically. “So, what’s this news you want to tell me?”
I take his hand, and his brows furrow as I lead him to the couch. “Okay, so I know I’ve been a little out of sorts lately. But today, I figured out why.” I can’t help my smile. Mike squints his eyes and stares at me with interest.
“Okay. Tell me,” he says, squaring his shoulders to face mine directly.
“Before I tell you, I just want you to know that I’m committed to making this marriage and our life together work. I feel like today is the start of something huge. I can feel it in my bones. Our lives are about to change forever!”
“You’re making me nervous. Just tell me.”
I smile brightly and take a large breath. “I’m pregnant!”
I watch the light leave his eyes. The smile slides off his face and is replaced with sheer terror.
I backpedal in response. “I know it’s a shock. It was to me too. And at first, I was a little upset. But after a few minutes I realized what an incredible gift this is. We adore Kale and Marlow, and I know we’ll adore this baby too.”
Mike stands and rests his hands on top of his head. He begins to pace. His eyes are focused on the ground. He stops and stares directly into my eyes. “Whose baby is it?” he asks. “Because I know it’s not mine.”
“What?” I ask as I bolt from my seated position. “Of course it’s yours. I’d never…”
“We’ve had sex once in the last few months, and I used a condom.”
I shrug my shoulders. “We both know they aren’t always effective. We have Marlow to show for that.”
“Yeah, but that time it broke. It was fine this time. I checked. You’re not as tight as you used to be.”
I immediately find myself doing subconscious Kegels. I mumble, “Well, it doesn’t take you as long to come as it used to,” mostly out of retribution.
“It can’t be mine. You’re lying to me!” He cocks his head and turns pale.
“It is yours, Mike! How can you even question that?”
He holds up his hand to ward off the truth. “Like I said, I’ve barely touched you!”
“Yeah, I’m fully aware of that, but you and I both know it only takes one time.”
He pauses for what seems like an eternity before he takes a step toward me. “How far along are you?”
“I’m guessing a couple of months.”
“And you’re just telling menow?
I lean away from his angry stance. “I just figured it out. My periods aren’t exactly predictable.”
“It has to be a mistake!”
“I took two tests.” I pause to gauge his frame of mind. “You’re going to be a daddy again. It’s going to be okay.” I smile tentatively as I reach for him.
He pushes me away. “You act like I should be happy about this! You can’t even take care of the two kids you have! God dammit! You had this planned, didn’t you? You tried to seduce me that night. What did you do? Put holes in all the condom wrappers?”
