Charthur: Part II

Arthur glanced out the window as she pulled out, vision tinted from his glasses. ”Can I roll down the window?” He asked, turning to face her. He saw her, now, also wearing sunglasses. They matched. How cute. He smirked to himself, thoughts sarcastic. He scoffed at her comment. ”Right. Like I believe you’re going to kill me after wat you’ve constantly been saying about me not being able to leave you alone. I’m not scared of you.”

Arthur was surprised when Chardonnay asked him a question, but shifted in his seat to think. ”...yeah, I did. Well, she didn’t really ask me for any advice or anything, but I was there to drive her. She doesn’t like to drive, so I usually take her places.” he said. ”She mostly tried to get me to buy some shit for myself, but I never did. I bought her a few things, too, a dress once. But she did most of it herself. I kind of tagged along because I knew Kasper fucked off. I didn’t want her to be alone.”

Arthur was going to roll down the window when she made it roll down herself. He wanted it fully down, and watched as it descended. It didn’t go all the way down though, and he tried to make it go farther – only for the window to be locked. He figured. She was always controlling, even in her own damn car. He shifted a bit, glancing forward at the highway before them. It was nice to have the wind circulating throughout his head, even if it was a cooler month. California winters were nothing compared to the New York winters of his childhood. He could literally walk out in shorts and a tank top in this ‘fall’ weather.

When she said he should be afraid he glanced at her with raised brows, eyes still hidden by the glasses. ”Well, I’m not, Princess.” He said. He felt as though she was making fun of him when she said how supportive he was and how he was probably used to this shit. He opened his mouth to bitch but closed it. No, he didn’t want to bitch. He wanted to get somewhere with this. With her. ”Well, yeah. She didn’t want to go through the pregnancy alone.” Arthur said, a bit of sadness sneaking into his tone. It was a depressing thought, dealing with a pregnancy or baby all alone. And they had no family to lean on. Sure, she’d had Natalie, but she wasn’t a mother to Susan, or a father. Arthur exhaled and glanced out the window.

”No, I’m actually not. Even though I was around her, it’s been 14 years since she was born. Almost 15, actually. I was still in High School. I helped my sister out, but Adelaide’s not my daughter. Not my kid, so I don’t think I’m any more used to this than you are.” He shifted slightly. ”Plus, I haven’t lived with Susan since we lived together in New York. I stayed at her place sometimes to help out, but I’ve been pretty independent since I moved into the dorms. So I never really lived with the baby, either. I just came over a lot.”

Arthur snorted. ”Calm? I’m not that calm,” he watched as the trees flickered by on a particularly wood-covered section of the highway. The palm trees parted and exposed the coastline, twinkling in the sun. ”I mean, I’m going through the steps, yeah. I want to get this right. But it’s different helping out my sister than actually preparing to be a father.”

He glanced at her when she said she hadn’t been around pregnant people. He snorted when she said she had bad experiences with pregnant women though he knew he probably shouldn’t laugh. It was still a funny comment, though. ”You haven’t? What did a pregnant lady throw up on your shoes?” He asked, remembering that guy who she had taken to that dance a while ago. Harry? Henry? He forgot the name. ”Well, you are around people who have been pregnant. At least that’s something,” he shrugged.

”Well, I was reading those books we got. The pregnancy ones. They say that there’s no real way to get it right and that there’s no right answer. Every pregnancy and parent is different. It’s... it’s basically just doing the best you can for the kid. Technicalities don’t really matter as much.” He said. He grinned when she smacked his arm and looked at her. ”Hey, it was funny. I couldn’t stop laughing all night.” Then again, back then he’d hated her. If him from back then could see himself from now and his relationship with Chardonnay, he’d probably be way less amused. Arthur didn’t care, though. Not now.

When she said she wasn’t going through the same thing that the other women went through, he wondered what she meant. Food wise? Appetite wise? Reluctance wise? it was likely that – Arthur had known the signs for that for a while. ”Are you scared?” He asked, quietly. He was focused on her, even as the car turned and the GPS spoke up. He waited a minute before he felt like his question was a bit much. ”I think every uh, pregnant person, probably gets scared at some point.”

Arthur shook his head when she put down the books. ”Well, no, but it’s better to actually have a source than to just theorize.” He said. He knew Dr. Marshall told them similar. He folded his hands across his chest. He was just trying to help, yet of course she put him down. Again.

He glanced at her when she said she didn’t want to be like other people and that she was scared. ”Well... I know. It sucks, but it's not... abnormal. I guess.” He said. He didn’t know what else he could really say to reassure her when she was so grumpy. He wondered if changing the subject would be good – he sensed a tenseness in the vehicle. He watched the palm trees as they drove by. ”Do you come down here very often to shop?” He asked, looking at the high end stores they bypassed.

They pulled into a spot, and Arthur immediately felt sick looking at all the fancy cars around them. Chardonnay’s fit right in, he noted. He hesitated before getting out, waiting for Chardonnay to leave the car first. He felt a bit safer with the glasses donned over his eyes. Like he was untouchable. He glanced into the windows of the stores, noting the expensive price tags on everything. His jaw dropped as he saw a shirt labeled for something in the thousands. He hesitated again outside a Louis Vitton, his brow twitching. Inside a man in a suit was talking to a customer. He seemed to notice eyes and glanced at Arthur. He felt the guy eye him up, head to toe, and saw him quickly look away. Right. Because he didn’t look like their typical customer. Arthur scoffed.

Thankfully, this stupid fancy ass plaza was mainly empty. SO she came here often? Arthur could see it. Chardonnay, on one of her therapy shopping trips, wandering about this place. He glanced at an Armani store and saw a dark maroon suit positioned on a mannequin. He was about to check the price when he felt eyes on him and turned to see Chardonnay, herself stopped outside of a store called Luxe Maternity. It sounded... fancy. He cringed slightly. Nevertheless, he followed her inside.

Immediately air conditioning covered him. He looked around. He was out of place, the only man in the store. Even the employees were female. Arthur cleared his throat, suddenly feeling like all eyes were on him. He was completely underdressed for this place, in a tee and his pants. Why the fuck were all these people dressed up? Some of the women were clearly well-along in pregnancy, others were barely showing. Most turned up their noses at him. Reluctantly, Arthur took his glasses off and set them on his head. ”...uhm...” He blinked. ”...what do I do now?” He never thought he’d say this but he was actually thankful Chardonnay was going to be bossing him around. Now he could have something productive to do.