Page 38 of Two Friends in Marriage
“I think Watson would like to try the cake,” I say.
Max merely raises an eyebrow, but at least he’s not looking at Jane.Though he might think I’m joking, I really mean it.After all, Watson was unable to partake in our earlier burgers and is feeling left out.
The cake sits on a piece of cardboard inside the box.Carefully, I pick it up, set it on a large plate, and walk over to where Watson is standing beneath the mass cane plant.He has difficulty holding a fork, so I set the fork on the plate and take a picture as Kim laughs.
When I return the cake to the table, Jane is ready to cut it with a knife.
“Would you like a piece, Max?”she asks.
“A cake should look like a cake, not whatever this is.But I suppose I have to try it.”
Ha.Unlike Leo, Max would never turn down cake, but he sounds incredibly put out by this state of affairs.
Jane serves us each a slice, and I try a forkful with both bun and meat.
“It’s delicious,” I tell Kim, and that’s not a lie—it’s a pretty decent cake, even if it’s not as good as our wedding cake.“Thank you for bringing it.”
She nods before turning to Jane.“So, how’s living in the suburbs and having a mother- and father-in-law?”
“I rarely leave the house anyway,” Jane says, “and to be honest…” She pauses.I’m not sure what she wants to share, and I’m ready to jump in at any moment, but she soon continues, her voice steady.“I wanted to have more family.My mom is dead, and my dad lives out west and didn’t bother to come to the wedding, as you probably noticed.So, I thought I…”
I squeeze her hand under the table.
“Shit, I’m sorry,” Kim says.“I admit that being part of another person’s family was the part I dreaded most about a long-term relationship”—she glances at Max—“but of course, not everyone is like me.”
“Your parents are nice,” Jane says to Max.“They don’t intrude on our lives too much.”
“Other than the honeymoon thing,” Kim says.
“Yeah.Other than that.”My wife manages a wry chuckle.“Maybe they’re trying to give us lots of time alone to make grandchildren.”
Max and I simultaneously choke on our cake.I didn’t expect to hear Jane saythatin company, and it doesn’t help that she looks so lovely in her black shirt, her lips twitching as she calmly brings another bite of cake to her mouth.When I continue to hack away, she puts a hand on my back—and this time, I don’t startle.
“Sorry,” she murmurs.“You okay?”
“Yeah, just…peachy,” I say, but the thought of the baby-making process with Jane has gotten too appealing.Plus, the thought of any sexual activity that might not lead to a baby.Like…
I will myself to picture something else.Anything else.Deciding I should go big, I think of whales, but that makes me think ofspermwhales.Though I have no idea what they look like, that word isn’t helping.
I shove another bite of cake in my mouth and manage not to choke—barely.Perhaps my brother is right.This cake is cursed.
He gives me an odd look, and I try to smile.
I wonder what he thinks of my marriage now.
“The burgers turned out well,” Jane says as we clean up afterward.
“They did.”I lower the remnants of the burger cake into a container.When I get some yellow buttercream on my finger, my first instinct is to ask her to lick it off, but I shove down that temptation and lick my own finger.
“Was I…okay?”she asks, uncertainty in her voice.
I glance up.“What do you mean?”
“We’ve never spent time with just Max and Kim before.I don’t want to ask if they liked me—it sounds childish—but maybe I shouldn’t have made that crack about grandchildren?”
“No, no, that was fine.”
“Once or twice, I’ve gotten the feeling that Max is still suspicious of me.Does he think I’m not good enough for you?”
