Chapter 9 #3
“Shhhh… I’m not going to take him from you,” he said against my hair, his hand stroking my back.
“Promise, Heithor? Promise you won’t take him from me?”
“As long as you want him, I will not take him away from you.”
“Grazie.”
I pulled back, wiping my face with the backs of my hands.
“You know you don’t have to worry about anything except yourself and the baby, right? Neither of you will lack for anything. I’ll take care of everything.”
“I know you won’t let him lack anything.”
“I’m not referring only to the baby, Antonella.”
“Pardon?”
His hand slid into his hair, and he leaned forward, bracing his arms on his thighs, his head turned toward me. “I mean you too. I know this may be one of the things worrying you, and I don’t want you to worry about anything except your well-being and the baby’s. I’ll take care of the rest.”
“I appreciate that, but I can’t accept it.”
It worried me, but until the baby was born, I could get by on the money I had saved. Afterward, I’d figure out what to do.
Thor sat upright.
“There is nothing to accept. I’m informing you of a decision that’s already been made.”
I jumped to my feet, pacing through the room.
“No! No way!”
Heithor stood too.
“There’s no reason to feel outraged.”
“And you don’t have to pity me!”
“I do not pity you, Antonella,” he growled.
“Listen, I don’t want to argue about this.
I’m trying to be practical and help however I can.
And if the only way I can help is with money, okay.
Neither of you will lack for anything. I don’t mean only now, but after the birth too.
I don’t want you to worry, and I also don’t want you to deprive yourself of the things you want and like to do, not now and not after the baby is born. ”
“You don’t have to grab a role that doesn’t belong to you.”
“God, woman, I’m not grabbing any role!”
“And what is supporting me, then?”
“You’re the mother of my son…”
“Exactly! His mother, not his sister or his wife, for you to support me. I may be poorer than the Devil right now, but I will not accept you paying my expenses. Besides, I’m not in total misery yet, if you want to know.”
“Antonella, I’m only trying to help however I can. Money will not be a problem, and I truly don’t want you to deprive yourself of anything when…”
“I appreciate your good intention, but I decline… No, please, let me speak. You providing for the baby, va bene, he is your son. It’s great that he won’t have to go through deprivation until I’m financially stable because you’ll be able to provide whatever he needs.
But your responsibility begins and ends with him…
I’ll manage. After all, no one dies from being poor, right? ”
We stared at each other in silence for a long time.
Thor sighed, shook his head, and ran a hand through his hair. Then he set his hands on his hips.
I felt more at ease with his apparent surrender.
“Fine, fine. Then just promise me you’ll come to me when you need something, regardless of what it is, you’ll come to me… Come on, Antonella. Be good… Let’s do this. Think of it as help from a friend. Friends help each other, don’t they? We’ll both be calm, and you won’t disobey Marcela.”
“I promise if…”
“If?”
“If I ever have to turn to you, it will be as a loan. So I want you to promise that if I do, you’ll accept the money back.”
He hardened.
“I don’t need your money.”
“And I don’t need yours!”
“You’re very difficult, did you know that?”
“You’re making it difficult.”
“All right.”
“All right what?”
“I promise to accept the money back,” Thor bit out.
“In that case, I promise to come to you if I need to.”
“I always knew you were very stubborn, but your predisposition to negotiation is a fucking novelty and a real pain in the ass.”
I twisted my lips not to laugh.
“Music is good for the baby even during pregnancy… That’s what they say,” he defended. “I may look like an ogre, but I did my homework.”
“Right.”
“What are you listening to?”
“The rain…” I began, but when I followed his gaze, I realized he was talking about the AS and not checking whether my hearing was good. “Oh, no! That’s not what you’re thinking. It’s an Angel Sounds.”
“Angel what?”
“Angel Sounds. It’s a home fetal Doppler.”
“Does it actually work?”
“Yes. I can hear his heartbeat and when he moves.”
In the last few days, the device had kept me company day and night. Hearing my baby’s heart added to his movements relaxed me very much.
Heithor’s expression was stunned.
“Do you need a specific time?”
“No. It just depends on the baby’s position and patience.”
He stayed quiet, his brows drawn together, as if considering something.
“Can I?”
“O-Of course. I just need to change first,” I commented, only then remembering I was still in a robe in front of him.
“If you don’t feel comfortable now or don’t want to, it’s okay. I don’t want to bother you. I was just curious.”
“No, it’s all right. I don’t mind. If you can wait and give me a few minutes to change…”
“I’ll wait. Take your time.”
I left Thor sitting on the récamier, his gaze intent as he tried to unravel the mysteries of the device in his hands.
In the closet, I changed quickly and tried not to think too much about what would come next when I returned to the bedroom. More nervous than a minute before.
It’s no big deal. Nothing at all.
Trying to seem as natural as possible, I crossed the room to the nightstand beside the bed and picked up the gel.
I turned around and found Thor’s gaze fixed on me.
I avoided looking directly at him. That would make me even more nervous, and I didn’t want him to realize his presence made me this way. I explained how to use the device.
“Can we?”
“It’s better if I lie down.”
It didn’t take Thor long to find our boy and become enchanted. We stayed silent for a long time. The silence was broken only by the soft sound of the rain.
“He’s agitated. Is that normal?”
“He’s just showing off for you.”
“Why do you say that?”
“He doesn’t usually move like this. I mean, he’s quite the party boy, but right now he’s much more agitated.”
“Am I doing it wrong? Are you okay?”
“Everything’s fine, Heithor. He’s just happy.” And so am I.
And then everything changed.
Confused, I watched him turn off the device and remove the headphones, handing them to me.
Thor stood rigidly. “Thank you. It was good to hear him,” he said in a strange voice, avoiding my eyes. “I’ll let you rest.”
Thor stopped with the door open, looking at me in profile.
“It would be good to see you outside this room. Maybe go to your friend’s school tomorrow? I’m still waiting for the invitation… Good night, Ella.”
“Good night, Thor.”
He left, and I was left looking like a fool, not knowing what I had done wrong.