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“What’s wrong?”
“I can’t afford to go into a place like this and buy everything you like,” he said stiffly.
“I wasn’t asking you to,” I said, taken aback by his sudden change in mood. “I’m paying for it.”
He nodded slightly. “So that’s how it’s gonna be?”
“How what’s gonna be?”
A saleslady approached with a mesh bag. “Can I help you find anything?” she asked, holding out the bag for me to put the clothes in.
“No,” I said dismissively. “We’re just looking.”
“Well, let me know if you need anything,” she said, leaving us.
“I don’t understand what’s going on, Bennett,” I said softly.
“I don’t understand why I’m even here. You’ve already made my role in this whole thing pretty obvious, and clearly I can’t afford you. That’s probably what it all comes down to anyway.”
My face heated with frustrated anger. “What the hell are you talking about?”
He turned for the door. “I’ll just wait for you in the car.”
I folded and restacked the clothes I’d chosen onto the display, my happiness now just a pile of smoldering ashes. By the time I got back out to the car, I was ready to do battle.
“So you think I’m put off that you don’t make much money?” I asked bitterly. “What have I ever done or said to make you think that?”
“You may not even realize you’re put off by it. And believe me, I don’t like it any more than you do.”
“It doesn’t matter. I have enough to take care of the baby. I have savings.”
“And you think that’s what I want?” He gripped the steering wheel and exhaled deeply. “The clock’s been ticking for almost three months now and the pressure’s fucking intense.”
“What pressure?” I touched his arm gently.
“To move up. Make more money. Be able to support you and the baby.”
I sighed softly. “Bennett, I don’t need that.”
“And you never fucking fail to mention it.” He started the car and backed out, not looking at me. “You tell me at every available opportunity how little you need me.”
“That’s not true.”
“Like hell.”
“Bennett, I do need you.”
“For what, moral support?”
I furrowed my brow, considering. “I wouldn’t characterize it that way, but—”
“You just have to keep control of everything.”
“What’s so bad about being in control of everything?” I challenged. “It’s gotten me this far in life, hasn’t it?”
He laughed bitterly. “You’ve got it all figured out, as usual.”
“I don’t know where this is coming from.”
