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“Wouldn't you want to stay at your place so girls could come and go as you please?” She doesn't say it to offend me, which is a good change of pace. Audra absentmindedly rubs her belly.
“I'm sure if I wanted to sleep with someone, I'd go to her place now. I don't pay rent at my place and it's bigger, so...”
She laughs. “I doubt your friends would like not only a girl in the house, but a baby too. Can we talk about this later, Neil?”
“They could move out, Audra,” I tell her, refusing to stop talking about this. I'm here because I'm supposed to help her take care of our baby. How can I do that if she won't even talk about how we're going to do just that?
“You aren't kicking them out. We don't even have to live together! Stop trying to push me into something, Neil. Stop trying to control the situation. You aren't in control, I am. So just stop, okay? Fucking stop already.” She's talking too loud and is getting too aggravated.
“Okay, okay,” I soothe, wondering why she reacted so severely. I wasn't trying to be in control. All I wanted to do was start talking about this. Maybe she's in the middle of a mood swing or something. “I'm sorry,” I add in a soft tone for good measure, noting that she's still rubbing her stomach, looking highly uncomfortable. When she doesn't say anything, I repeat, “I'm sorry, Audra. I didn't mean to upset you.”
Her shoulders sag just a little. “It's fine.” Her words are slightly clipped, so I drop the topic altogether.
Thankfully, the doctor calls us back. I stay silent throughout her visit, not wanting to further upset her. When he does the ultrasound, I perk up a little. I definitely do not want to miss this. Once my baby girl is on the screen, Audra reaches for my hand and holds it. I don't think I'm breathing. How can I? It's breathtaking. I'm not even sure I pay attention after that. All I know is that as we leave, I have a picture of the sonogram in my hand. It feels like things are sealed now, more real, and as I gulp, I realize that I'm a little excited.
Terrified and worried, but most definitely eager to meet my baby girl. Even if Audra does seem distant as we part for the day.
I LOOK OVER my room, seeing what Maddie is seeing. My bed has been moved a little closer to the couch. Using my bedposts, the couch, and a lot of duct tape, I've formed a fort with blankets. It's too cold to actually camp outside, so this will have to work. I even have my iPod playing the sounds of crickets chirping and frogs croaking. The lights are off, but there are nightlights lit around the room to put off dim lighting. Plus, I found a bunch of Christmas lights and taped them to my ceiling.
“What's all this?” Maddie asks with confusion.
“We're celebrating my wins and your B. You said you wanted to campout and this is the best I could do without going outside.”
She doesn't turn around or say anything. Instead, she moves forward to crawl into the makeshift fort.
“Be careful,” I order.
There is a plate of hot and fresh s'mores in there on top of two sleeping bags. I follow in after her on my hands and knees, wishing my bedposts were taller. Maddie has already stuffed her mouth with a s'more. She grins when she sees me, chocolate all over her mouth.
“You are seriously the best, Winston.”
I smile and take a s'more too. “I may have a hidden motive.”
“Oh?” She raises an eyebrow as she wipes the corner of her mouth with her thumb before sucking off what it just wiped away.
Clearing my throat, I nod, deciding to go ahead and ask. “Would you like to go on a date with me?”
“A date? You're serious?” she questions skeptically.
“Thanks for your enthusiasm. Yes, I'm serious, Maddie!” Maybe this was a bad idea.
“What happened to your 'can't we be friends' and 'you're Dave's sister' crap?” She's surprised more than anything.
“Being friends with you is harder than I ever thought possible.”
A slow smile takes over her lips. “You still want to kiss me, don't you?”
She doesn't even know the half of it. Before I can answer, my phone vibrates in my pocket. I pull it out to see a video call from Dave. He hasn't talked to me lately because we've both been busy. He just had to choose the night that I'm with Maddie to call?
“Don't make a sound,” I tell her, flashing my eyes up at her. Swiping my finger across the screen, Dave appears. “Hey, what's up?”
“Where the hell are you?”
“I'm ki
nd of in the middle of something.”
“Something important?” he asks.
