Total pages in book: 25
Estimated words: 22788 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 114(@200wpm)___ 91(@250wpm)___ 76(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 22788 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 114(@200wpm)___ 91(@250wpm)___ 76(@300wpm)
Mae got Emily’s attention and her friend gave her a thumbs-up. She took one of the tables outside, and snuggled down into her jacket. She didn’t have to wait long before Emily was out, complete with coffee and muffins.
“How come you’ve got Snots?” Emily asked, giving him a pat on the head, and she had a dog biscuit for him.
“Caleb got called into work.”
“Are you two going to take care of our kids for us?” Emily asked.
“Yeah, we are.” Mae couldn’t get the last ten minutes out of her head.
“Oh, no, what’s going on?” Emily asked, in between taking a large bite of her muffin.
“What do you mean?”
“That face, it says you’re thinking about something that happened and seeing as the only person you’ve been around is Caleb, what has he done to piss you off?” Emily asked.
“It’s nothing.”
“Do we need to go through this every single time? I’m your life friend, remember?”
Mae scrunched up her nose. “Fine, fine, it’s nothing. He asked me if I wanted to have kids.”
“Caleb did?” Emily asked.
“Yeah, Caleb did.”
To which Emily whistled. “That boy means business.”
“What?”
“Well, you do, don’t you? You want the whole big family. The sweaters at Christmas, the cards and the turkey dinner, and the family events. You want that.”
Mae pursed her lips and Emily looked at her.
“Did you tell him that?”
“I asked him if he wanted kids.”
Emily lifted her coffee to her lips and took a sip. “And?”
“He didn’t answer.”
“Did you?”
“No,” Mae said.
“Why not?”
“Because it’s Caleb.”
Emily let out an exasperated growl. “Seriously? Caleb asks you and all you can think to do is ... what? Ask him?”
“What was I supposed to do, just tell him?”
“Duh.”
This time, Mae groaned. “If I do that, what if it scares him? This is Caleb, King Sleep Around and not have a settled relationship, and kids are long-term.”
“But he asked you, and that was your time to ... you know, be honest with him and tell him the truth, you know, like a normal person.”
“This is not a normal situation!”
“How do you think Pete and I have lasted so long?” Emily asked.
“You guys love each other.”
“Yes, but love is just one part of it. I tell Pete everything and he tells me everything. We are open with one another. We don’t keep secrets. He knows I want another kid. He knows I want us to have a weekend together so we can make another kid. He knows you’re my best friend and I care about you, and if his friend hurts you, then I’m going to kick his friend’s ass.”
Mae laughed.
“I’m being serious here, Mae. Talking with each other is what is important. It is important for both of you. Otherwise, what’s the point?”
****
“And you didn’t say a word?” Pete asked.
“What could I say? I wasn’t expecting her to come at me with the same question!” Caleb ran fingers through his hair.
“Do you want kids?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Wow,” Pete said.
He frowned at his friend. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
Pete held his hands up. “I’m just saying, you’re the guy that was never going to settle down. You’ve screwed your way through town, and let’s not even get started on the tourists.”
“That has nothing to do with this.”
“Caleb, you were never going to settle down. You hate kids. You even thought me marrying Emily was a big mistake.”
He went to argue but Pete held his finger up to him to silence. “You offered me the getaway car, and you even tried to convince me to fuck a stripper. I wanted neither. I knew Emily was special to me. I love my life, and this coming weekend, she and I are going to make another baby.”
Caleb sighed.
“Wow,” Pete said.
“What?” He was getting tired of his friend’s wows.
“I remember a time when I told you Emily and I were making babies and you would groan as if it were the worst thing you had ever heard.”
“No, I didn’t.”
Pete rolled his eyes. “We’ll agree to disagree on this, but you did, and now look at you, you’re all happy about it.”
“I’m not happy about it,” Caleb said. “I’m fucking envious. You’re a fucking dick.”
Again, his friend burst out laughing.
“If this is how you feel, why not turn around and tell Mae you want kids?”
“Because what if she only wants me to have a good time? What if ... my stupid fucking reputation is the problem? She doesn’t want to be with a guy who has been with so many women.” Caleb sighed. “You know, I can’t believe this but my dad was right, and he even said there was going to come a point in my life where I would sit back and listen, and then think, ‘my dad was right.’ Fuck!” He growled the last word and Pete was not exactly being a lot of help, because he just seemed to find it exceedingly funny. “Why do you keep laughing?”