Read Online Something Blue by Emily Giffin - Free Book Online Page B

romantic endeavor. Or maybe I liked the feeling of reeling him in just a little bit more. Not that I questioned his commitment to me. I could tell he was crazy about me in his own peculiar way. But he was one of those guys you could never quite control, and being pregnant with his child tightened my grip. Not that I consciously got myself pregnant. Not really. I thought back to our make-up sex. Clearly, it was just meant to be.
    And even clearer to me at that moment was this: a positive pregnancy test meant that my wedding was off. The fact that my relief was so palpable meant that I had my true answer: I didn’t want to marry Dex. In one instant, I felt over Dex and our fairy-tale wedding, only thrilled to be a part of an even greater drama.
    “I’ll tell Dex today,” I said with an aplomb that surprised even me.
    “That you’re pregnant?” Marcus asked, aghast.
    “No. Just that the wedding is off.”
    “Are you sure you wanna do that? Are you sure you wanna have a baby?” he asked, looking panicked.
    “Positive.” I looked over at the sticks. “ Positive . Get it?”
    Marcus just sat there, looking shell-shocked and a little bit pissed.
    “Aren’t you at all happy?” I asked him.
    “Yeah,” he said glumly. “But—but I think we need to slow down and discuss our… options.”
    I let him stumble on. “I could have sworn you said you were pro-choice?”
    “Okay. So I am pro-choice,” I said with an exaggerated nod. “And I choose to have this baby. Our baby.”
    “Well, take your time thinking it all over…”
    “You’re hurting my feelings,” I said.
    “Why?”
    “Because I want to have this baby,” I said, getting upset. “And I wish you felt the same… I can’t believe you haven’t even hugged me yet.”
    Marcus sighed and put his arms loosely around me.
    “Tell me you’re happy. A little bit happy,” I whispered in his ear.
    Marcus looked at me again and said unconvincingly, “I’m happy. I’m just saying that maybe we want to slow down and think things through. Maybe you should talk to someone.”
    I gave him a scornful gaze. “You mean a shrink?”
    “Something like that.”
    “That’s ridiculous. People go to therapists when they are filled with despair. But I’m thrilled ,” I said.
    “Still, you might have some issues around this thing,” Marcus said. He always talked in generalities about our relationship— some issues, this thing, our deal, the situation —and sometimes with just a quick flourish of his hand. It always irritated me that he thought a hand motion could capture our essence. We were so much more than that. Especially now. We were going to be parents.
    “I have no issues. I’m in love with you. I want to keep our baby. And that is that.” Even as I said it, I knew that that was never just that in my world. That was maybe that or some of that or that along with a dose of this . But I kept going, resolute. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a wedding to cancel.”
    And that’s exactly what I did. I marched right back over to the Upper West Side to break the news to my fiance. I found Dex putting away his dry cleaning, stripping off the plastic coverings and separating his blue shirts from the white. For one moment, I couldn’t do it, couldn’t imagine telling Dex that after years of being together, we were finished. But then I thought about Marcus and drew confidence from him.
    “We need to talk,” I said, all business.
    “All right,” Dex said slowly. And I could tell he knew exactly what was coming. He had appeared clueless for weeks, but his expression at that moment told me that even men have intuition.
    Mere sentences later our wedding was officially canceled. A seven-year relationship over. It was bizarre how fast and easy it was. Technically. Dex was the one to pull the cord, saying that it would be a mistake to get married. Hearing him use the word mistake in relation to me made me backtrack for a second, but then I convinced myself