Page 59 of Brides and Brothers
Camille could hardly believe what she was hearing. “Oh, all right.” Camille scheduled her next appointment for after Thanksgiving and hung up the phone.
Her body melted into a crouched position in front of her washing machine. Pregnant? There was a baby inside of her. At. This. Very. Moment. Camille put her hand on her lower abdomen. Tears trickled down her face. She was so happy—as happy as she had been on her wedding day. She couldn’t wait to tell Aiden. Would he be happy?
This wasn’t exactly the kind of news a person delivered over the phone. She would surprise him when he got home. She would buy the cutest little baby shoes and wrap them up. She couldn’t wait to see his face! She ran and grabbed her car keys. The rest of her life could wait. She suddenly felt full of energy and was going to go shopping before her adrenaline faded.
That night when Aiden called her, she was more awake than normal. She pushed up on her bed pillows and sighed. Well, at least, thenewnormal. She could hardly restrain herself from telling him.
“I booked tickets home today.”
Camille shrieked. “You did? What date?”
“Right before Thanksgiving.”
Camille’s smile left as fast as it came. That was over three weeks away.
“Sweetie?” he asked.
“Aiden, that feels like forever. It’s more than a month altogether. I don’t understand.”
“Yeah, I know. I’m annoyed with myself. The fine print in the contract I signed said I would be here from four to six weeks for training, and the CEO is going to hold me to it. I don’t want to fight it since I was the overtired idiot who signed the stupid agreement.”
“Stupid agreement? Are you regretting the sale?” She was glad she was in her bed and could be direct on the phone without alerting the others to her concerns.
“No, but all this red tape makes a guy question. You have every right to be frustrated. I’m sorry. We’ll both have to be patient a little longer. I can’t tell you how much I’m craving your cooking, and I miss your warm feet next to mine when I fall asleep. But I know it’ll be worth it in the end.” Aiden sighed, and Camille could imagine him rubbing the back of his neck like he did when he was tired or stressed.
“I’ve been working overtime trying to cut back my time here, and then they pulled this on me. It’s as if they’ve been planning all along to assimilate me with the software. Like they think we’re a package deal.”
Camille felt a little panicky. “But you’re not, right?”
“Yes and no,” Aiden answered. “I still get a percentage of the sales, but that should be the end of it. I’m starting to wish I would’ve had a lawyer go through the contract with me instead of a banker.”
Camille picked at the lint on her bedspread. “You’re stressing me out.”
Aiden heaved another sigh. “That wasn’t my intention. I’m sorry. By the way, how are you feeling?”
“I saw the doctor, and he said it’s one of those things that just has to run its course. I’ll be feeling better in no time. In fact, today I had quite a bit of energy.” She didn’t want to outright lie to him, but he had enough on his plate and didn’t need to worry about her too.
“Great. I wanted to visit this weekend to check on you, but if you’re feeling better, I’ll keep working overtime to hopefully shorten my time here.”
Camille was unable to hide her own sigh. “I would probably be a distraction if I came there, then.” A weight settled over her shoulders. Marriage hadn’t simplified her life. In many ways, it was more complicated than ever.
“I hate this too,” Aiden said, reading her mind. “Let’s talk about Thanksgiving. How about a party to celebrate us finally being together when I get home?”
Camille despondently curled a strand of hair around her finger. “I’ll make a turkey.”
Aiden laughed lightly through the phone. “You don’t even have to lift a finger if you don’t want to. We could get the meal catered.”
“No, I like the idea of making Thanksgiving dinner—it feels like the start of many traditions to come.”
“You’re pretty amazing.” His voice was low and smooth. “Do you want to spend Thanksgiving weekend at the cabin?”
“I would love to get away.” Camille looked across the room at the small package she’d wrapped earlier. She would surprise him there, at the same place they’d had their honeymoon. It would be romantic and private.
“Great. I’ll text my brothers and have them make the arrangements.”
“Oh, you mean all of us?” Camille asked, trying to mask the disappointment in her voice.
“I would love it to be just us, but it feels selfish to not invite the others. Unless you’re tired of them, they might appreciate having some turkey as well.”
“You’re right. They deserve a fun weekend break.” She wanted to be happy about a family party, but she was still upset about Aiden being gone for so long. Alone time was a high priority for her.
“I have a surprise for you,” Aiden said.
Camille brightened. “Oh, I have something too.”
She could hear the smile in Aiden’s voice. “We’ll see whose surprise is better.”
They said goodbye, and Camille let her phone fall to her lap. She didn’t notice the tears until she tasted them. She buried her face in her pillow and took a deep breath. This was by far the best and worst month of her life. Not having her health was killing her. At her next appointment she was going to request antinausea medication. Then, when Aiden got back, she was going to punish him for leaving her by putting him on dish duty for their child’s whole first year.
Camille got up, shut her light off, and plugged in her phone to charge. She stared at the black screen for a moment. She was beginning to resent Aiden for leaving her. She needed to feel like she was still married. Before long they were going to be apart in their marriage longer than they’d been together. She already had a mother who’d checked out, and she certainly didn’t need another significant person in her life to do the same.
