These Questions
Chapter 8 - Strawberry and Chocolate
"What's the other half?"
"Oh, I don't know," she said. "Morning sickness, and then labor, I guess."
"If you want," he spoke slowly, "I can help you through that, too."
She turned toward him, slightly startled by his words. Her eyes met his. He felt immediate to break the stare. He couldn't. He wouldn't.
"What do you mean?"
-
"I mean," he said, tracing one of her fingers with his, "I-I don't know, Abby."
She looked at him.
"Move in with me, I don't know," he said. "Let me help you through this. I want to help you through it all."
"Why?"
"Because no one else is," he answered.
"Carter - "
"Why not?"
"I don't need that." She got up and moved to the kitchen.
Carter put his head in his hands. He spoke without thinking, and it hadn't gotten him where it always had. Somewhere bad.
"Abby," he said. "Soon you're going to need some extra help."
"I think I'll manage," she said, reaching into the freezer. She pulled out a carton of ice cream, then a spoon. "Want some?"
He thought about it. "Yeah," he said.
This lightened the mood some, and she smiled. She grabbed a spoon from the drawer. It slid shut and she walked back over to the couch. Sitting down next to him and handing him the silverware, she said, "Can we not talk about this baby for a while?"
He nodded. "Sure," he said. He dipped the spoon into the soft contents and savored the cold.
"But," she said, "it's good to know I have a real friend I can rely on."
He watched her bottom lip quiver with shyness as she fumbled with her spoon in front of her. She looked up at him, leaned over and kissed his cheek. "Thanks."
He nodded and bent to kiss her cheek as well. "You're welcome."
She shook her head. "Sometimes I wonder," she said, "why there aren't more guys like you in the world." She smiled down to the ice cream.
He was still watching her bottom lips as she talked. "Would you date the other guys like me?"
"Easily," she giggled.
He looked around uneasily. "Then why aren't we together?"
A hundred thoughts, a million were running through his head. He randomly chose one. Basically, however, they were the entire same genre. Her head lifted and sighed, her eyes closing. Carter wasn't this patient all the time. In fact, he would only stand for a minute before collapsing into a bunch of questions and the stubborn Carter phase. But this time, he almost regretted asking her. He felt like he was intruding. He was kind of uncomfortable now. He felt selfish and rude. He wanted to help her.
"I don't know," she said. Her eyes, trying to bound out of the mood, were cast on anything but Carter's face.
He felt awful yet again, and went to bring the mood up again. "Do we have anymore ice cream?" He dumbly searched the bottom of the container. "Look, we ate it all."
She smiled at his attempt. She recognized it in an instant. "We gotta go get some more."
"Now?"
"Unless you want something like peanut butter sandwiches for dinner," she said with a giggle.
His heart melted. He tried to keep it not so palpable. "Only the best," he suggested. "I take it you aren't up for going out?"
"Not really." She shook her head. "Sorry."
"Sorry for what?" he laughed. "Come on, we're going to go for a walk," he said, picking her up. He put her coat around her helpfully.
"I appreciate this, John," she said laughingly, "but you know that I'm just a few weeks pregnant. I'm not fat yet."
"Don't call it fat."
"What do you want me to call it?"
He shrugged. "Round?"
"That's the polite term for 'fat and bubbly,'" she said allowing him to take her hand.
"Call it fat then," he said. "See if I care."
She slapped his chest playfully. "Let's go get some ice cream."
"What kind were we eating before?"
"That chocolate strawberry stuff?"
"Yeah," he answered with a twisted smile.
"Why?"
"Because we're not getting that."
"I thought it was good," she said with a laugh.
"Just wait until you get the cravings," he said, "you know for the weird stuff."
She giggled again. "Yeah, for like pickles and frosting or something?"
He nodded. "That was always a big part of like 'my dream' type thing."
" 'Your dream?' "
He reasoned with his head, tilting it back and forth as they eased into out of the building into a slightly colder air. "You know; you imagine your family in a few years."
She nodded. "What was yours?"
He smiled. "I had four kids. Two boys, two girls."
"So generic," Abby laughed.
"Hey, it gets better," he said with another grin. "During the first pregnancy, my wife would be sending me all over the place to get all this crazy stuff for her. You know, the cravings."
She sighed. "I never had 'the dream,'" she said. They paused again. "Will you tell me the rest of it?"
He nodded reluctantly. "It's a little embarrassing. I've never told anyone about this before."
She stuck out her lower lip and nodded. "If you don't want to, you don't have to," she said with an explaining smile.
