For two days, I've had trouble posting this part. I kept getting "Error" or "Site not responding". It wouldn't let me in.
Trying again.
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Not more that two minutes after talking to Rick, the telephone rang again. This time, it was Celise Grey.
She called to invite the couple over for a few hands of cards, but Dee Dee asked if she could take a rain check.
She had no intention of explaining what happened to her lip, so she told Celise that she and Alex had plans for the night. It wasn’t exactly a lie. She hoped to get answers from Alex tonight. That was the plan.
Dee Dee cooked dinner for the night. She didn’t want to go through any part of Alex’s rage from the night before. She tried to eat; but just as with breakfast, her stomach wouldn’t cooperate, and she couldn’t keep it down. She settled herself on the sofa, and hoped that the nauseas feeling would soon subside.
****
*Monica’s apartment*
Alex sat on the sofa beside Monica, as he told her what happened. Monica was surprised at what Alex told her, about the incident with Dee Dee.
“You hit her? Why did you do that?” It wasn’t that Monica had any concern for Dee Dee, it was the concern of Alex’s plan.
“Don’t you think she’ll pack up and leave you? If she does, it won’t be so easy for you.”
Alex replied with a smug look on his face.
“She intended to leave last night. She went on and on about me needing help that our marriage is in trouble…..whatever. I managed to talk her into staying. I told her how sorry I was for hitting her and that I’m under a lot of stress, and I couldn’t believe what I’d done to her.”
“And she believed you?”
“She must have. She didn’t leave.”
Alex shifted his weight in a more comfortable position, before continuing.
“I don’t want to keep up this charade, Monica. I’m ready to tell her the truth.”
“Are you sure about this?” Monica knew that the truth could be a huge wrench, in the mechanical scheme of Alex’s.
“Yeah. This little game is a harder to play than I thought it would be. I can tell her the truth, but I’ll make sure she doesn’t screw it up for me. I’ve worked too hard to get where I am, and I won’t let her ruin it. She’ll just have to get used to the fact that she’s a part of a plan. Besides, she has no money; except for the allowance she gets from me, so there’s no way she can afford to make it without me. She’ll stick around, whether she wants to or not.”
Monica started to giggle at a thought she had. “I’d love to see her face, when you tell explain the rules of the game.”
“Yeah. I guess I’ll just have to give you a complete recap of the event.”
Alex leaned over to kiss Monica, which led to a recap of their most recent love-making.
-----
A little more than four hours had passed, when Alex pulled into the driveway. Dee Dee was anxious to talk to him, but waited until he finished eating his dinner. As soon as he finished his meal, Alex went into the living room, and sat in his recliner. Dee Dee took a seat on the sofa. She didn’t hesitate. She went directly to the question.
“Alex….about last night. Why did you do it? Why hit me?”
Dee Dee halted her questioning, long enough for at least one to be answered. The silence was obvious evidence, that Alex either had no answers, or chose not to share them with her. She felt the burning sensation in her nose, as the tears began to puddle in her eyes.
“I’m your wife, and no man should ever hit his wife.”
Alex had a reply to her statement, and it would be quite shocking to Dee Dee.
“Yes. You’re my wife.”
Alex sat on the edge of the recliner, looking at Dee Dee intently.
“Let me ask you a question. If you weren’t my wife, would it be okay to hit you then?”
Dee Dee was stunned by the words that were spoken to her. She shook her head in disgust.
“Don’t be an ass, Alex!”
She stood up; ready to take the bag she packed the night before, and go to a motel. She didn’t have very much money, but she could get by for a while.
“I was really hoping for some serious answers from you. You need help, Alex. I don’t know what to do for you, which means I can’t help our marriage.”
She reached down for her bag, and wiped the tears from her eyes.
“I want a separation…maybe a divorce. It’s up to you to get some counseling, if you want this to work. I wanted to discuss something very serious with you, something that will have a major impact on our lives, one way or another. I see that I can’t talk to you about it now.”
Alex stood up in front of her. He seemed to display a tiny amount of interest.
“What’s so damn important, that will have such an impact on our lives? I’m sure it’s just something you’re blowing out of proportion, as usual.” He scoffed as he waited for her answer.
Dee Dee never imagined she’d tell Alex what she had to tell him, in such an unstable time of their marriage. She quickly gathered her thoughts, took a deep breath, and exhaled; in an attempt to free some of the anxiety she felt. She told Alex to sit down, as she did so. He told her he was fine with standing. With one deeper inhalation, she forced herself to speak.
“It’s about us….having a baby.”
She waited for a response before continuing. She didn’t receive one.
“I bought a home pregnancy test and I wanted us to wait for the results together. The way things have been going, I could never find the right time to bring the subject up. I got tired of waiting for things to get better, so I took the test.”
Alex continued to hold his tongue. He watched as his wife nervously added to her testimony.
“It’s positive, Alex. I’m pregnant.”
There. It was said. Not in the manner or atmosphere she’d dreamed of, but nevertheless, the news had been broken.
Dee Dee searched Alex’s eyes, for any possible sign of joy or disapproval. Something, that let her know how he felt about becoming a father.
She didn’t see anything that told her he wanted their baby more than anything in the world. That’s what she had hoped to hear from her husband, the minute she would announce their impending parenthood. Telling Alex about their baby was supposed to be an important and joyous occasion. A few seconds had passed, and she hadn’t heard a word from him. She wanted him to say something….anything.
Alex was silent, too silent. Dee Dee felt a chill run down her spine as she sensed the calm before the storm.
***
Alex’s face slowly unveiled a crooked smile of wickedness, which escorted a low, menacing chuckle.
“You’re pregnant? Are you sure?”
Alex’s face continued to hold the crooked smile of wickedness. His questions weren’t those of joyous surprise on becoming a father, but more in the sense of probing for an alternative answer. He let his head fall back against the chairs headrest, and let out a louder and deeper laugh.
Dee Dee was puzzled by his behavior and didn’t know how to respond to him. As she nervously sat on the edge of the sofa, picking at the ends of her fingernails, she felt like she was waiting for the principle to decide her fate, for skipping history class.
She couldn’t stand the suspense any longer; she had to know what he was feeling….what was so funny about what she’d told him.
“Why are you laughing? Tell me how you feel about the baby.”
Alex continued to keep quiet, all except for the laughing. Dee Dee had become quite irritated with him.
“Say something! Are you happy or not?!”
She wanted to calm herself, before she continued, and lowered her voice to its previous pitch.
“I don’t know what your feelings are at the moment, because it’s hard to tell by your pointless laughter. It looks as if our marriage is falling apart, but as far as the baby is concerned, I’m happy about it.”
Dee Dee placed her hand on her stomach, as she thought about the new life growing inside her.
“I really want to have this baby.”
Alex finally collected himself from the stupor of laughter.
“Oh. This is priceless. You tell me you’re pregnant, but you have no idea of how wrong you are.”
Dee Dee filled with confusion, asked her husband to explain his statement.
“I’ll let you in on the secret. You know how those home pregnancy tests say they’re ninety-nine percent accurate?”
Dee Dee nodded her head, and replied with a quiet “yes”.
She crinkled her brow; unsure of where he was headed with this.
He began in a mocking tone.
“Well, my dear sweet wife. You are in the extreme lower percentage. There’s no way you can possibly be pregnant.”
“Alex. You’re not making any sense. What are you talking about? I took the test, and it showed a positive reading.”
Dee Dee nervously pushed stray hair strands behind her ears.
“I haven’t been to the doctor yet, but I’m late, I’m nauseated a lot, and like I said; the test is positive. What else could it be?”
“I don’t really know. But a baby….it ain’t.”
Alex stood and walked over to Dee Dee. He then took a seat beside her, as he let out another snicker of a laugh.
“I have to sit closer. I’ve got to get the best view possible of your face, when I tell you my special little secret.”
Dee Dee felt unsure of his actions, let alone his words. She shifted father away from him, finding herself caught in the corner of the sofa’s armrest and back.
Alex leaned in closer, as he prepared to give his wife a most startling confession.
“I never really thought seriously, about having kids. As a matter of fact, I wanted to avoid it at all costs. So, three years ago…..brace yourself now.”
Alex extended his hands, palms toward Dee Dee as if to steady her if she were to topple over.
“Steady now. It’s a real shocker.”
Dee Dee found his approach to be less than amusing.
“Will you stop with the games, and get to the point?!”
“Okay, I’ll tell you, because I’m ready to see your expression.”
Alex took a deep breath, and with a continual menacing look about him, he proudly admitted his secret.
“Three years ago… I had a vasectomy. Ta- dahh!”
Complete with sarcastic vocal fanfare, Alex had released his secret.
Seconds passed without a word between them. Dee Dee wasn’t sure of what she’d heard. She wondered silently if Alex had actually told her what she thought he did. She felt that this was surely a television show, and she was the featured victim of a practical joke. She knew the balloons and streamers would fall at any second, someone would walk through the door holding a giant cardboard “check” and she would be rewarded a large sum of money, for being such a good participant. There had to be hidden cameras. It was all a joke. A cruel joke, but nonetheless a joke.
After less than a minute passed; which seemed like an hour, the various emotions began to build inside of Dee Dee. She couldn’t believe what she’d been told, or how she’d been told. This wasn’t something as simple as Alex forgetting to take out the garbage. The man has just told her, he had a vasectomy. She felt confused and betrayed. At the moment; more confused, since she was sure she was pregnant with his baby. She momentarily shifted her eyes away from Alex, as she tried to allow his announcement to sink in, but it was no easy task. She needed more explanation, if any were possible.
As Dee Dee’s eyes slowly wandered back towards Alex, a look of puzzlement was still evident upon her face. Alex sat cool and confident, never revealing any sign that he was playing a terrible joke on her.
Dee Dee felt uncomfortable in such close quarters; as the sofa with Alex, as he now seemed like a stranger to her, so she stood and walked towards the middle of the room. The extra space was much needed at the moment, but crossing her arms seemed to give her some extra security, as she suddenly felt alone.
“What do mean…vasectomy?” You couldn’t have….”
Her sentence was cut off by Alex’s words.
“I couldn’t have? Yes I could have, and I did. So unless you’ve been giving it up to some other guy, it’s pretty definite that you’re not pregnant.”
Dee Dee was so surprised by his answer, she didn’t comment on his vulgar accusation.
Alex sat closer to the edge of the sofa before continuing. He still had the look coolness on his face.
“I’ll tell you a little story about myself. I’ve always enjoyed the company of women, more so in a sexual relationship than in the sense of an ongoing serious and romantic relationship. If a woman I was interested in wanted to sleep with me, I wouldn’t turn her down. After all, we’d both get what we wanted and could move on with our lives, without any permanent bond.
Dee Dee cringed at the thought of Alex having sex with several different women, as if it were as casual as changing channels on the television. She realized she didn’t know as much about his past as she thought. She began to feel light-headed, and took a seat in the chair, as Alex continued to speak.
“I never felt I’d find the perfect woman; if there is such a thing, and settle down, get married and have kids. I was happy enough living the single life, without any responsibilities. I figured a vasectomy would be perfect for me, since I didn’t want to risk being the father of some unwanted child, or accused of being the father, and taking a paternity test, if the woman couldn’t remember the last guy she had sex with.”
Alex hesitated for a second, as a thought crossed his mind.
“By the way… there’s a rumor going around, that I’m the father of a little boy…less than a year old. Don’t believe it.”
Dee Dee sat quietly, as the words poured from her husband’s mouth. She felt as if she was with a suspect in the interrogation room, but this man didn’t need any coaxing from any tough officers tell what he knew. Before Alex continued, he stood and walked over to his wife; who now had tears welling in her eyes, with the disbelief of Alex’s confession. She held on as much as possible, looked up into Alex’s eyes and began to present her thoughts on the matter.
“All this time, I thought you didn’t care about birth control, because you wanted a baby. Why didn’t you tell me, Alex? How is it that you can keep something as serious as this, a secret from me?”
She took a deep breath; and released it, in an attempted to ease the tension, but she was unsuccessful.
The thought of the pregnancy test flashed through her mind. If what Alex said was true, the test really did give the wrong result. Dee Dee’s heart sank, and she couldn’t hold her emotions in tact. She began to cry. She cried for the baby she thought she was carrying, and she cried for the betrayal of her husband.
***