“You’ve been one foot in and one foot out since the very beginning. Don’t try to deny it.”
“You think I’m notinthis just because I’m not Mr. Happy-Go-Lucky? Because I don’t know that everything’s going to work out fine? I’m sorry I’m worried about all the ways our differences could end up biting us in the ass!”
“Fine, please list all the horrible scenarios that are just waiting to befall us. I’ll wait.” He crosses his arms over his chest.
“All right, I will. What will our Friday nights look like? You dragging me to the gun range? Me dragging you to a women’s rally? How fun does that sound, Mr. Rose-Colored Glasses?”
“Sounds fine to me,” he fires back. “I’m happy to do the things you like, though I’d never force you to do anything you didn’t want to. And I’m sure you wouldn’t force me, either. We could also just go to dinner and a movie like normal people.”
Of course he has some stupid levelheaded comeback.
“What about work? It’s already coming between us. We could get fired. We’ll make everyone around us uncomfortable. Not to mention how much drama it’ll cause, today being a prime example.”
“You think we’re going to have these jobs our whole lives? In a few years we’ll both be doing other things.”
“Don’t be absurd, we’re not quitting our jobs,” I scoff.
“I could get another job in five minutes. I don’t care about the job, Kate. The job is not my life.”
“What happens when we have kids?”
He blinks once. Twice. I’ve shocked him. “Kids?”
“I teach them one thing, then you turn around and teach them the opposite. How will that work? We’d be setting them up for an identity crisis, not to mention a lifetime of pitting us against each other.”
His mouth opens, then closes. “Well, I can’t say I’ve given this one a ton of thought, but off the top of my head, we could present all sides to an issue and let them form their own views?”
His reasonable response is the last straw.
“That’s ridiculous!” I explode. “Everyone knows the whole point of having children is to indoctrinate them!”
He shakes his head, amusement warring with frustration on his face. “See, this? This is why.”
“This is why,what? Stop speaking in code!”
“You want to know why I don’t want to debate you? Because you’re looking for an excuse to run, and I’m not gonna give it to you.”
“I’m not looking torun.”
“You are. You’re scared. You’repetrified.”
“I’m notscared. Stop psychoanalyzing me.”
I shove past him and haul ass down the sidewalk. Well, now I am running.Damn.Didn’t time that very well.
“This is real and you know it.” His voice chases my back. “It’s long haul and that terrifies you.”
“It’s so long haul that we can’t go one day without having someexplosive, relationship-ending fight.” I speed up as my building rises in the distance, glowing bright and resplendent as an Olympic finish line.
“You just talked about our kids!”
“I was proving a point!”
“You’re planning our future and you can’t even admit it. You’re so scared you can barely see straight. You think I don’t see it in your eyes? I’ve been looking at you for months, Kate. I’ve memorized your every expression. I know you better than you know yourself.”
I spin around abruptly and he plows into me, knocking us both off-balance.
“This is the relationship you want, then? Fighting all the time? Here’s your opposites attract, in the flesh.” I throw out my arms.
