Part 32 (1/2)
”You heard me. There is no baby. Now would you please go? Please?” She couldn't stop the tears. Rosalie pulled her knees to her chest and buried her face in her arms, sobbing-waiting for him to leave again.
”Don't tell me you lost the baby. Lee?” He sat beside her on the floor and pulled her into his lap. ”I'm so sorry, sweetheart. But it's going to be okay. You'll see. I read that twenty-five percent of the babies conceived are lost early. A lot of times, the woman doesn't even know it. We can try again real soon.”
What, was he dense? ”Nick, I didn't lose a baby. There never was a baby. I was never pregnant.”
”Then what's wrong? Why are you sick?”
”What do you care? You don't love me. You only came back because you thought I was pregnant.”
”Bulls.h.i.+t. If that were true, why would I still be here? I love you. Now d.a.m.n it, Lee, tell me what the h.e.l.l is wrong with you.”
”Nothing.” She pushed herself up and threw the washcloth on the counter. He stood beside her, looking at her in the mirror. Fine. She needed to brush her teeth. Let him watch. After everything Nick had seen, seeing her spit shouldn't bother him. She put a little toothpaste on the brush, hoping the taste wouldn't start her heaving again.
”I'll go make you some tea and toast. You need to eat, and we need to talk without you getting sick.”
”I'm not hungry,” she said around the toothbrush in her mouth.
”Do you realize that the only time you've ever not not been hungry has been when you were sick?” been hungry has been when you were sick?”
After rinsing out her mouth, she wiped herself with a towel. ”Do you realize the only time I've been sick has been when you were here?”
”Well then, I guess we better move to my place.” He picked her up, carried her into the bedroom, and set her down on the bed.
”Nick, I told you, I'm not sick, and I'm not pregnant-”
”That remains to be seen.”
”What is that supposed to mean?”
”It means that suffering from a broken heart does not make one lose over twenty pounds in a month.”
”How would you know?”
”I haven't lost twenty pounds, and I not only lost you, but I lost Dave. And I love that dog.”
”Well, if it's any consolation, he's been miserable without you, too.”
”You lie down while I make some breakfast. I'll be right back.”
Nick dialed his cell phone on his way to the kitchen, made an appointment while he poured himself some coffee, and disconnected the call as he filled the kettle for Rosalie's tea. After rummaging around the near-empty cupboard, he found tea bags and opened the fridge to get the bread. There was nothing but batteries and condiments in the refrigerator. It was worse then it had been when they'd first started dating. Then at least she'd had milk, eggs, and beer. There was nothing in the freezer, either. She was going to have to eat a dry bagel. That was close enough to toast.
A few minutes later, he was back in the bedroom, and Rosalie looked as if she was sleeping. He sat beside her. Her eyes opened, and she greeted him with a suspicious look. ”Hey.”
He put the tray between them. ”Here, eat slowly. This will help while we talk.”
She looked wary. He'd thought they'd gotten beyond that. h.e.l.l, he'd told her he loved her-a sentiment she hadn't returned.
He pointed to the bagel and handed her the tea. ”Take a bite; it'll make you feel better.”
She took a sip of tea instead. She never did what he told her to do. He loved that about her... almost as much as he hated it.
”I was thinking of what it was like when we were together. You know-you, Dave, and me. It was good, wasn't it?”
”Nick, I'm sorry. I'm not interested in going back to whatever it was we had. I don't want that anymore. I've changed.”
He leaned forward with his elbows on his knees, raked his fingers through his hair, and then stayed that way, holding his head, staring at the floor. ”What do you mean, you don't want that? Are you talking about the deal, or are you talking about me?”
”The deal. I'm talking about the deal. You... we, well, it was good except for the lying. You really suck at lying.”
”It was just good?”
”Hold on. You're the one who said it was good. What do you want me to say? That it was magnificent?”
He sat up straighter and smirked. ”Yeah, magnificent works. I'd go with magnificent.”
”So would I, but you said it was good.”
”You're right. I'm really s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g this up, aren't I? This isn't the way I envisioned it at all.”
”Envisioned what?”
”Seeing you again.” He moved his food to the side and took her hand in his. ”I thought it'd be like one of those sappy movies. You know, you'd see me, and you'd be happy. I definitely didn't expect to have to tackle you to the ground and hold you down, not to mention having to pick you up off the bathroom floor after you-”
”I get it. You don't have to draw a picture.”
”I thought I'd tell you I loved you; you'd say you loved me, too; we'd have make-up s.e.x; and then we'd get married. End of story.”
”Hold on. I got you through the make-up s.e.x. But marriage?”
”Yeah. I thought you, me, and Dave, we'd be a family. Like the people you see in the park. You know, the mom and dad, a dog, and two point five kids. Like one of those Rockwell paintings.”
”Kids? Nick, I told you, I'm not pregnant.”
”So we'll get married and work on that part of it.”
She put her hand to his forehead. ”Are you sick? What's come over you?”
”You. You make me happy. You drive me crazy. You fill my life. I want you to be a part of it, and I want to be part of yours. I want to take you home, introduce you to my mother and grandmother. I want to meet your family and friends. I was miserable without you. I felt as if I were in prison serving a life sentence. I never want to live like that again. I need you, Lee. Marry me.”
It was a good thing Rosalie was in bed; if she hadn't been, she'd have fallen over. Marry Nick? ”You mean marriage, as in wearing white, a church, a reception- that kind of marriage?”
Nick crowded her against the pillows.
”I'm talking about spending the rest of our lives together. Being a real family. Going to sleep with you every night. Waking up with you every morning. Making love to you. You know, love, honor, and cherish? Yada, yada, yada?”
Pus.h.i.+ng him back, she slid out of bed and started pacing. By the time she'd walked around the bed once, he'd moved a pile of stuff that had been on the dresser and put the tray there.
”Why is it that men always remember the first three- love, honor, and cherish-because that's what they expect from their women, and the rest is 'yada, yada, yada?' That's the part about not s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g around. That's the part men forget.”
Nick looked p.i.s.sed, and when he got p.i.s.sed, he tended to loom over her. ”Lee, I'm not your father. I don't cheat.”