Read Online The Culmination by Lauren Rowe - Free Book Online Page A

strikes a gangsta pose. “Yo.”
    “I sense another viral video in your future.”
    Sarah laughs and throws her arms around my neck. “God, I love you, Uncle Jo Jo.”
    I pull her to me. “No. Never call me that. Anyone but you.”
    She hugs me and kisses my neck. “I love you, my sweet Jonas .”
    “Did you call the doctor?”
    “Yup. She’s fitting us in first thing tomorrow—eight o’clock sharp. She said to call her tonight if I have any further pains or discomfort, but what I described didn’t sound worrisome. I feel okay. Kinda achy, but okay.”
    I take a deep breath. “Tell me if you have any more pain whatsoever.”
    “I will.”
    “Unkie Jo Jo, bubba?” Gracie asks, touching my knee.
    Sarah laughs. “Come on, Uncle Jo Jo. The girl’s been more than patient.” She breaks away from me to lead Gracie to the lawn. “Okay, Gracie. Let’s blow bubbles.” There’s a long beat as I watch Sarah open the bottle and get the bubble wand ready. “So you had a nice talk with your brother?”
    “Yeah.”
    Sarah blows a string of bubbles for Gracie, making Gracie squeal and chase them.
    “To tell you the truth, I was struggling a bit, baby,” I finally say. “Josh helped me.”
    Emotion washes over Sarah’s face. “Oh, yeah?”
    “Yeah.”
    Her entire body visibly relaxes. “Good.” She puckers her beautiful lips and blows another train of bubbles for Gracie, sending Gracie squealing and running through the grass, yet again. “What were you struggling with, my love?”
    “The usual Jonas bullshit.”
    She bites her lip. “You’re worried about the babies?”
    “Yeah,” I say.
    “I figured. What’d he say that helped you?”
    “He called me a dumbshit, basically.”
    She laughs. “He’s so damned wise, that man.”
    “This might come as a shock to you, but I sometimes drown in my thoughts to an unhealthy degree.”
    She grins at me sympathetically. But her silence tells me she already knows this little factoid about me.
    “I always think I’m experiencing some kind of unique torment known only to me—that there’s something particularly wrong with me in any given situation simply because, you know, I’m me .”
    She nods. She knows.
    “I guess when you’ve lived a life like mine, what’s normal to feel and what’s totally fucked up is sometimes hard to gauge.”
    “I can only imagine. It is for me, too, sometimes.”
    “I always just assume I’m feeling something totally abnormal—something only I can feel because I’ve got some sort of post-traumatic fuckeduppedness. And then I start feeling so alone and fucked up in my abnormality—and then things start messing with my head. And then I just spiral. ”
    She’s listening intently. She blows another string of bubbles for Gracie, but her eyes are on me.
    “Josh made me realize I need to get over myself and stop being a gigantic pussy-ass.”
    “You’re not a pussy-ass.”
    “More bubba!” Gracie demands.
    “Oh, sorry, honey.” Sarah blows another string of bubbles and Gracie chases them, shrieking. Sarah turns back to me, her face aflame. “You’re not a pussy-ass, Jonas,” she whispers. “You’re a beast. I’m actually offended you’d even say that about yourself. Men aren’t allowed to have feelings? Or express fear or pain or doubt? Is that it?” She scoffs. “You’re real . You’re human . You have emotions because you’re not some one-dimensional hero in an action movie or a romance novel. You’re not some bullshit fantasy—you’re flesh and blood and bones.” She juts her chin at me. “And balls . Gigantic donkey balls.” Clearly, she’s on a roll. “You’re a freaking badass and a sex god and a stud. You’re big-hearted and generous and honest and raw. Oh my God, baby, you’re everything a man should be, and more, rolled into one ridiculously gorgeous package. You’re not a caricature of a man—you’re a real, flesh and blood man .” She’s panting. “A living, breathing, beautiful