Here With Her
"Is she sleeping?" Abby asked under the dim light of the nightstand's lamp. She turned under the thick comforter in attempt to get a better view of him.
Carter nodded with a smile. "On the pullout."
"She didn't mind?"
"She insisted."
"Huh."
"She's tired, she's come a long way."
"I know."
He walked over to the dresser next to the mirror. He wearily removed his shirt and pants and fetched a more leisurely pair of pants, and an equally casual Northwestern sweatshirt.
Abby sighed and threw the covers off of her legs. She stood up and walked over to him, watching him pull the shirt down over his head. She stared at his face, until he turned to smile at her. After that, she watched him in the mirror.
"I hope she's serious this time," Abby said, glaring at her feet.
He didn't know how to answer her. He couldn't assure her, could he? She would only argue that he had never been in the situation that she had gone through so much. She had every right to, she would completely true.
"She sounds like she cares about you," he said. "She loves you, and I think she knows this is what you want."
Abby watched Carter intently.
"I think she's trying," he said.
He took each of her hands and pulled them up between them. He shook them with a smile. "Let's just take it one step at a time for now, okay? One day at a time."
"Yeah," she said weakly. Then she swallowed and kissed his cheek. With a slightly more confident smile, she said, "Yeah."
Carter grinned and waved toward the bed, starting toward it. She curled her hand behind her ears and settled into its comfort once again. She reached up to relieve the room of the lamp's light. As soon as it grew dark, Abby sighed once more and cuddled up to Carter's outstretched arm. They lie together, embracing the other for an instant and waiting for the other to talk; secretly, neither one of them really wanted to go to bed.
"She seems excited about the baby," Abby whispered at once. She reached up tenderly, taking her fingers through the soft wisps of hair right above his neck.
He smiled at her touch. "She did."
Abby, still playing with his hair, rested her face into his chest and the pillow. Upon this, Carter's chin fell to a comfortable position atop her head. He smiled and closed his eyes.
"She was wearing all of that heavy winter stuff," Abby said.
"Yeah," Carter said with a light chuckle.
"Why would she do that? Its eighty degrees in Chicago now," she reminded him.
"She said it was cold in Minneapolis."
Abby nodded against his body. She dug in further, and probably assuming he didn't know, inhaled his scent. Whatever it was. He loved being so close to her like this. In all her turmoil and all of her angst. Or in all of her happiness and that part of her that she only revealed to him: her real self. She was different with him than she'd ever been with someone else, and the same went for him. They were both softer and stronger together. It was remarkable, and most evident.
In the next ten minutes, two "I love you's," were shared and Abby drifted off to her sweet slumber. He had begun to flutter away as well, when a knock broke the silence.
"Come in," he whispered, slowly lifting himself, but being careful not to tear the two of them apart.
She stalked over to the bed, lurking among shadows and stripes of illumination from streetlights. Carter wiped his eyes with a dry hand and stifled a young yawn.
"Could I talk to you?" she asked.
"Now?" he laughed quietly, looking down at Abby to make sure she was still asleep. He ran his hand over her hair adoringly and bent down to kiss her.
"She's so lucky to have you," Maggie whispered. "I wish she would trust me."
Remnants of the night's earlier conversation flowed back toward his half-conscious mind.
"I wish she wouldn't hate me," she said, staring at her daughter. "Just look at how pretty she is." She bit her lip, still watching her daughter.
Carter watched as Maggie spoke. He knew he felt sorry for the both of them... "She doesn't hate you." He continued to brush one hand over her mass of hair. "She just gets scared."
"Does she tell you that?"
"No," Carter said. "But I know her. I know her inside and out." He smiled tiredly.
"You do?" she asked, immediately followed by, "Do you love her. I mean, really love her? I know I asked you before, but I don't want her to be sad again. Not like before - "
"Maggie," he said gently. She stopped in her anxious speech and listened. "I love her. I really do." He started to speak, finding himself with so much to say. "I don't want to make her sad. My life is dedicated to making her happy - "
"That's what I thought," Maggie said, sighing. "Thank you, God, thank you so much." She swept over and hugged him quickly before nervously treading toward the door. "Good night."
He nodded again and slid back down to lying on the bed, Abby in his arms.
