27. ReadyNot
Chapter twenty-seven
Ready Or Not
Edward
A few days later…
Here I’ve been operating under the belief that everything was fine between us.
That everything had passed under the bridge and we were on smooth waters again, navigating the stressful situation of finding a school to get Alexander into.
Instead, I have to learn from Drake of all people that Maria’s been seeing someone for almost a month now.
Not long after “the incident.”
I don’t actually care that she’s with someone. It’s the timing of it that bothers me. Like she’s only with this guy to remind herself what it’s like to be in a normal relationship.
That she thinks we’re freaks.
“Ow!”
“Sorry. You’re only three centimeters dilated. I know the contractions are strong right now, but it’s probably going to be another hour or two before you’re ready to deliver.”
“Another hour!?” The woman’s head falls back against the pillows. “I can’t deal with this anymore.”
“I can give you something to ease some of the pain, but honestly, that’s the most I can do.”
“What about the strong stuff, doc?” Her partner stands next to the bed, his face pinched with pain. I catch sight of his fingers turning blue-purple from the woman’s grip.
“An epidural? We usually save that for the big moment, but let me see what I can do, okay?” I give them my best smile and leave before I let my mood get the better of me again. I don’t need to take my annoyance out on my patients.
“Can you see if the patient in room 212 would be interested in some nitrous? I don’t want to give an epidural just yet, given her history of low blood pressure,” I say to one of my nurses in passing.
I glance at my watch. An hour. That gives me enough time to go home and be back before my patient’s ready to bring a new life into the world.
Over and over again, my mind tosses the words around in my head to see what sounds best. It would be easy to let my anger do the talking, to tell her what I really think of her dating a guy so soon after agreeing to have a foursome with us.
But my outward display of jealousy didn’t end too well last time.
Just when I thought Maria and I were on speaking terms again, I had to go throw a wrench into the works.
I could just tell her what I know and how it makes me feel, then give her the floor to explain. But she’s kept the truth from me before; who’s to say that she’ll be forthcoming with it this time?
When I finally pull up to my apartment building, I sit in my car with my head against the steering wheel for a few seconds, afraid of how this whole thing is going to go.
When I step inside, the television is on and blaring some kids’ show very loudly.
“Hello...?”
Fear pinches my skin when I hear no response. Is anyone home?
I round the corner into the living room and find it empty. No one’s sitting in front of the TV; the only sign someone is here is the half-eaten sandwich sitting on the plate.
As soon as I turn the TV off, though, I hear something quiet and muffled in the other room. Talking? I step gingerly in that direction, trying to make sense of what’s going on.
I grab a screwdriver out of the nearest drawer, just in case.
Alexander’s door is slightly ajar; I can see him taking a nap in his bed. Okay, that’s one concern down.
I continue drawing nearer to the sounds of whispering and realize that it’s coming from Maria’s room. I press my ear to the door to see if I can make out anything.
“He’s asleep right now, I can’t just leave. No, you can’t come over. Yes, I know I live here, but I’m here to do a job. It wouldn’t be appropriate for you to be here without asking my boss first.”
I lower the screwdriver and guilt washes over me. I was ready to walk in here and give her a piece of my mind. Now, I’m not so sure it’s necessary.
“No, we can talk about this later, okay? Bye.” Maria’s voice continues to draw closer until I realize too late that she’s just on the other side of the door. Leaving me with no time to escape.
I shove my hands behind my back just as the door swings open. Maria screams and throws her phone right at my chest.
“Ow!”
I don’t think that’s going to deter any would-be burglars.
“What the hell are you doing here, Edward!? You’re supposed to be at work!”
“I’m waiting for a patient to fully dilate and... You know what? You don’t need to know that. I wanted to talk to you about something.”
“What is with everyone wanting to talk to me about something this week? First Drake and now you. I’m your nanny, not your consultant or your therapist or your idea guy.”
She’s in a bad mood... And here, I was about to commend her for respecting the boundaries of my home.
“I know, Maria. About Oliver. Drake told me. I just wanted to know...”
“There’s nothing to tell you, Edward, because it’s none of your business.”
I return the screwdriver to the drawer before I end up doing something I’m not supposed to.
“I don’t care about this guy. What I want to know is why you jumped into bed with him so quickly after our foursome?”
So much for being diplomatic and understanding. Just cutting right to the quick, aren’t we?
“Firstly, who I ‘jump into bed with’ and when is none of your concern. And two, I didn’t just jump into bed with him. We had a few dates, we had dinner, a few times, we went out dancing.”
“So that you can feel normal? Is that why?”
“You don’t own me, Edward. You were jealous when you caught Stanley hugging me and you’re being jealous again now that you know I’m dating Oliver.”
“Goddammit, Maria, it has nothing to do with jealousy! I want to know why you did it.”
“You weirded me out, okay? Me in a bedroom with three strapping men didn’t exactly make me feel safe.”
Safe? Was she afraid we’d...
“You agreed to it! I asked you and you said yes! All three of us even asked you if you were sure before we went into that room.”
“And I have a right to say no at any time!”
“I’m not saying you shouldn’t—!” I’m losing the narrative here.
“You left, yes? We were fine with you leaving. But then you started avoiding me like the plague, like I was about to horndog you every time I walked into the room. And when I asked you what was wrong, you’d feed me some half-assed lie that didn’t make sense.
Then you kept it from me that you were dating again right after.
I’m concerned that this is going to be a running trend with you, that you’re going to avoid confrontation when things get a little too heated or awkward. ”
“What’s going on?” A soft voice mumbles from behind and to my left.
Shit.
“Why are you yelling?”
I turn and see Alexander rubbing his eyes. In the heat of the moment, I’d forgotten he was sleeping.
“Sorry, bud. We didn’t mean to wake you. Are you hungry? I see you didn’t finish the rest of your sandwich.” I pick him up and carry him into the living room to give Maria and me some breathing room.
I ask Alexander about his day and get him something to drink while he finishes the rest of his sandwich, sharing my own details of how work’s been going.
It’s an idle and silly conversation, rife with questions that don’t make sense but I answer anyway.
Because I know once this is over, Maria and I are going to go right back at it.
I turn the TV back on and switch the channel to something more educational, some program about birds. I gesture to Maria to follow me into my bedroom so that we can talk in private without my son overhearing again.
“Have you said all you needed to say?” Maria whispers once the door is mostly closed. I still need to keep an ear out in case Alexander needs me. “Are you done fiddling with my life?”
“Maria, I don’t know why you’re getting so antagonistic. I’m just asking questions. I want to know how you’re doing after everything because it’s obvious you’re not fine. This guy... are you using him as a rebound from us? I don’t care what the answer is, I just want to know the truth.”
“Why do you think I owe you anything? Drake thinks I owed him an answer and look how that turned out.”
“Drake? What does he...”
“He told me he had feelings for me and wanted to know if we could ‘give it another go’,” she replies with an eye roll.
“And because I told him about Oliver, he told you and now we’re here.
So yeah, I’m keeping my mouth shut from now on.
Heck, maybe it’s time you look for someone else to take care of Alexander for you. ”
“That’s a little drastic, don’t you think?” I didn’t expect this conversation was going to lead to Maria quitting. “You’re acting like it’s the end of the world.”
“You started it.”
“Maybe we should... take a break. Talk about this later, maybe?” I glance at my watch and discover I’m out of time. “I have a patient who’s about to give birth and I need to be there.”
“Yup.”
“Maria...” I get the feeling she’s being obstinate on purpose.
“For what it’s worth, thank you for being respectful of my home in regards to your boyfriend coming over.
I know we never established any rules, but I’m glad that I can trust you to keep Alexander safe. Have a good rest of the afternoon.”
I grab my coat and kiss my son’s head before leaving. I knew things weren’t going to go perfectly but I didn’t expect it was going to be this bad.
How did I screw this up so stupendously? Maybe she’s right. Maybe all of this was a mistake.