AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Don’t ask,” I mutter, browsing through the jewelry on display. A silver necklace with a horse pendant catches my eye, and after paying, I slip it into my tote. Darby is going to love it. She’s at the age where her whole world revolves around horses, and it’s driving Amelia insane.
The park is bustling, people out in full force taking advantage of the beautiful summer weather. We walk past a vendor with baskets of blueberries for sale, and my heart clenches, wondering if that would have been us if his dad hadn’t sold the farm. What would our life have been like? We’d obviously be living on the farm, but would we have had children by now? What would have happened with the bookstore? Between all the work a farm requires and the long commute into town every day, would I have kept it? I can’t imagine a world where I would have sold it because it's such a huge part of my life growing up and my life now.
“You’re not happy,” Hannah says, stopping when we get to the center of the bridge spanning the lake that winds through the park.
I turn and lean against the side, the stone textured and uneven under my arms. It’s a beautiful, cloudless day, sunny but not too warm. The pond that we used to skate on during the winter as kids is smooth and still, not a ripple marring its surface.
I want to deny Hannah’s words, but unfortunately, I can’t. I’m also not sure I want to talk about it.
“What’s going on?” she says, leaning next to me, and I catch her concerned gaze out the corner of my eye.
“Both of us got married very young. Have you ever wondered if you should have maybe waited?”
“Waited for what?”
“I don’t know. Maybe grow up a bit first. Experience life before settling down.”
She stares off into space, her eyes unfocused, giving it serious thought. Eventually, she shakes her head.
“No. Even when Aidan was dating what’s her face, I knew he was the one for me.”
Hannah and Aidan faced a couple of challenges in their early days. Hannah came from a wealthy family, whereas Aidan’s parents had to work hard just to get by. Hannah’s parents are, quite frankly, snobs, and they treated Aidan as if he wasn’t good enough for their daughter. Their attitude towards him messed with Aidan’s head and caused him to dump her and date some other girl. They eventually worked it out, and she once told me she did not regret a single one of their issues. In the end, it made them stronger.
“Talk to me,” she says after the silence stretches too long.
“Quinn’s been pulling away from me, and I don’t know what to do about it.”
“Pulling away? How?”
“I don’t know. He’s always working or using work as an excuse not to spend time with me. It’s not just work, though. I get this feeling that he doesn’t want to be with me anymore.”
The words burn as they leave my mouth, and I want to grab them and shove them back deep down where they’ll never see the light of day again. I thought confessing something would make you lighter, but the weight of them feels unbearably heavy on my shoulders.
“Have you tried talking to him?”
“You have to see someone to talk to them.” I chuckle but it’s a bitter one. “Talking to him is like bashing your head against a brick wall. He completely shuts down, or he turns everything around on me, making me out to be the bad guy.”
“That doesn’t sound like Quinn at all.”
I can only nod because the Quinn from a year ago was one of the most easy-going, happy-go-lucky guys I’ve ever met. The type of guy who would go out of his way to help you if you were in trouble.
I swallow heavily, my eyes burning. “I don’t know what to do, Hannah. It’s like we’re just existing together, and if it carries on much longer, I feel like I’m going to explode. I just want my husband back.”
“Come here, babe.” Her arms are warm when she wraps them around me, and I take a few deep breaths to ease the ache in my heart.
“So, enough about me. What’s going on with you? You’ve been quiet.”
“I’m pregnant,” she blurts, and for a second, jealousy stabs through me. I ruthlessly shove it down. The way things are now, a child would be the absolute worst thing to happen to me.
“Congratulations. I didn’t realize you guys were trying.”
She bites her lip. “We weren’t. It just happened.”
“But you’re happy, right? I’m sure Aidan’s hoping for a boy this time.” I chuckle, thinking about all the times Aidan moaned about being outnumbered.
“He doesn’t know yet.”
I look at her in disbelief. “You’ve told me, but you haven’t told him? He’s going to be so pissed.”
