Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 94155 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 471(@200wpm)___ 377(@250wpm)___ 314(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94155 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 471(@200wpm)___ 377(@250wpm)___ 314(@300wpm)
“Neither of you have even considered our family,” Mari continues her rant. Unfortunately, these words I’m able to make out clearly. “You’re both flakey. You’re going to leave me here alone to raise it. Will I even have a place to live when you’re in Nepal, John? Or do you expect me to live with my parents and raise this baby?”
“Mari, no, that’s not…”
“Nepal! Of all places. The country where you ‘sowed your wild oats’.”
She uses air quotes for that last part. I regret ever telling her about my time in Nepal. I should’ve known that was a mistake. No girlfriend wants to hear about your sexual past unless it’s pertinent.
“I would never cheat on you, Mari…”
But my words fall on deaf ears. We can’t keep on like this. Mari is going to walk a hole in my floor if she doesn’t stop pacing.
“Mari, stop, let’s talk about this…”
Ignored again. Mark tries, but she doesn’t listen to him either. This is getting ridiculous.
Then I remember a little something I brought home from a trip to Asia a while back. In my coat closet is a small gong and mallet. I pull it out and hit the gong as hard as I can.
It’s loud enough to stop Mari in her tracks. She stares at Mark and me, perfectly silent.
“That’s much better. Okay. Mark and Mari, please go sit in the living room. Mark, can you start a nice fire? I’m going to make tea. We could all use it right now.”
Mari opens her mouth to protest, but Mark gently takes her arm and leads her to the living room. I turn and head for the kitchen.
Leaning against the counter, I blow out a breath to calm down. I feel like I might throw up from the stress this is causing me. I’m not worried about losing my job. I make plenty of money as a writer, despite it being inconsistent like Mari said. I’ve won awards for my poetry, and I’m in high demand. This scandal shouldn’t affect that at all.
I’m more concerned about Mari. I knew she’d take all of this hard, but she’s more freaked out than I expected her to be. She has to know I would never leave her to raise a baby by herself. I’m not that kind of guy.
I hope the pregnancy hormones are causing this reaction. That, paired with the stress of this scandal, would make sense. Otherwise, I’ll have to believe that Mari really thinks I’m the type to ditch my girlfriend, boyfriend, and child while I travel the world.
I start the teapot and pull out three tea bags. Luckily, I have chamomile on hand. It’s a calming tea, which is exactly what all three of us need right now.
When the teapot whistles, I pour the hot water over the three teabags. On a tray, I carefully balance the three mugs, a small container of sugar, and a small carafe of milk. I know Mark likes both in his tea. I’m not sure how Mari takes hers.
The fire is going strong when I enter the living room. I divvy out the tea, and we each put our fixings in. Mari opts for some cream but nothing else. I like just sugar. Mark is a combination of the two.
“Are you feeling calmer now? All of this stress can’t be good for the baby. I’m worried about both of you.”
Mari nods. “I’m sorry. This is all…a lot. I’m freaking out. I don’t see how you guys aren’t.”
“Because we know it’ll be okay. We’ll figure it out together. That’s why we have each other.”
She sniffles. “I’m lucky to have you. It just…it feels like our group is breaking up. And knowing that, plus having the baby, has me on edge. I didn’t mean to lose it back there.”
I kiss the top of her head. “You’re allowed to lose it whenever you want. Mark and I will be here to reassure you. I promise, everything is going to be okay. You don’t need to worry so much.”
“Worrying is kind of my thing. After all of this, how can we stay together now? Won’t the school make us break up?”
“They can’t do that. They can fire us, but what we do in our personal lives isn’t their business. If you were underage, the story would be different. But you’re a consenting adult. They can’t stop us from being together.”
“Oh. That is reassuring.”
Mark and I hug Mari from either side. She lets us hold her tight for a few minutes without any of us saying a word. It feels nice. I’d love to stay like this forever. If only we could. In fact, if we had stayed in Alaska, none of this would’ve happened. I’m wishing we had extended our stay indefinitely more with every passing minute back in New York.