Charthur: Part II

Susan knew that Chardonnay would make a choice – hopefully the right one – when the time came. It worried her, though. She did feel badly for Chardonnay, but knew whatever decision she’d make would affect her brother, too. She wondered how serious Chardonnay felt about him. She almost asked, but even Susan new she may not like the answer. She sighed, softly, and leaned back.

”It’s difficult. It’s not easy putting a child first. I hated it at first.” Susan said, still quiet. She knew that Arthur knew this, and was mature enough to know, though she still spoke softly. ”I had plans to go off to college when I was 18. But, when I chose to raise Arthur, I stuck with it. And now, I’m the happiest I’ve ever been, with my baby brother, not sent off to an adoptive home.” She smiled.

She could sense the tension from Chardonnay, and decided to change the subject to a lighter one. ”Where were your parents going for the holiday, again?”

Susan did not linger terribly, and just focused on Chardonnay’s face as she processed what she’d told her. She really had a long few months ahead of her... it worried Susan, slightly. Mostly for her brother’s sake. She glanced at his back, watching as he prepared the corn now – hopefully oblivious to the serious conversation before them. She didn’t know what choices Chardonnay was faced with; she knew Arthur would never give up this baby. So maybe, she was considering not being a part of the baby’s life? Like Kasper had done to her.

God, Susan hoped not. She didn’t want to grow to hate Chardonnay – but if she turned her back on her niece, on her brother, she just might.

She smiled, deciding that pushing the subject was no good. ”Ohio! Wow! I would love to go out there, I’ve never been! I’m glad you chose to come with us, though! We love to have you over, and you’re always welcome here. I hope they have a nice thanksgiving, too!”

”Oh! You didn’t?” Susan asked, tilting her head. At that, Arthur paused, finishing up the last of the vegetable setup with a wash of his hands. He had heard, clearly, but said nothing. Susan remained oblivious to the truth and hummed. ”Well! I’m sure you’ll want to be going to see your family during Christmas! Oh, that’s always such a good holiday!”

She wondered how often Chardonnay went up to see her family! She wondered if her family knew of the pregnancy! ”Did you get cards from them at least? Do they know about the baby?” Susan asked, tilting her head slightly. Arthur approached, and took the seat back beside Chardonnay, joining the conversation. He glanced between Chardonnay and Susan, noticing how pale she was. He bit his lip, unsure exactly why she looked so... uncomfortable. Maybe it was the conversation. Maybe it was his sister – maybe it was the knowledge of his parents’ death. He did catch her lying about her reason for travel. He rose his brows at that, and reached over, gently brushing his hand against her shoulder. ”Well – I, uh – I got the stuff going for now. It’ll be a few hours before dinner’s ready.”

”Okay! Sounds good to me,” Susan said, brightly, ”if we go to the living room, I can put on my TV! I think the Macy’s parade is happening! Though it’s delayed a few hours because of time zones! Which was always the worst part of moving out here! The time zones!”

It took a few more hours for dinner to cook. Susan had the Macy’s day parade on, and Adelaide was on the floor with the puppies. She offered the comfiest chair to Chardonnay to sit on, and Arthur sat o the couch with his sister. He kept glancing towards Chardonnay, until little Pickles took notice of her and bounced over. He barked, demanding attention and pats, but Arthur could tell Chardonnay was not in the mood. He got down onto his knees and beckoned the puppy over, and his ears perked, noticing Arthur looking at him.

Excited, he trotted over and rubbed against the human, barking. Arthur smiled, and stroked the dog, who quickly rolled over to his back for stomach rubs.

He and Adelaide wound up playing with the dogs for a few hours, grinning at each other whenever the dogs did something silly. Susan took out her camera and hit record, capturing the sight for the future. ”I love thanksgiving so much!” she said, brightly, shooting Chardonnay a smile. She panned the camera towards her and laughed. ”Say hi!”

After a timer on Arthur’s phone went off, he got up from the floor. Pickles barked and wanted attention but he had to bequeath the puppy to Susan. He entered the kitchen and washed his hands, then began to start the vegetables and fixings. Forty minutes later everything was done, and Arthur set up the table as they usually did. There was an extra plate – it was somewhat weird. Then, he caller everyone to eat.

Susan insisted that Arthur sit beside Chardonnay, and that she sit across from her brother, and that Adelaide sat beside her. The turkey was cooked exactly based on their mother’s recipe, and came out well. The gravy was homemade, mixed with a hint of rosemary, to accent the flavor of the turkey. The only things that weren’t homemade were the corn – which came in a can – as well as the cranberry sauce. Adelaide filled her place entirely and Arthur cut the meat up, sliding a bit of it onto his own plate while Susan loaded it up.

Dinner took about an hour, and Susan kept small talk while Adelaide stuffed her face. She didn’t really look at Chardonnay, but Arthur did, somewhat curious to her reaction to the food. ”Mom’s recipe was delicious! That’s why it’s my favorite for thanksgiving!” Susan hummed.

After dinner was finished, Susan took initiative to clean. She did not let anyone help – though if anyone brought their dishes to the sink it was appreciated. Arthur, Adelaide, and Chardonnay were shooed into the living room.

With dinner done, the parade over, and their stomachs settling before they ate Chardonnay’s pie, Susan came back, her hands washed. ”So, I didn’t mention this before,” she said, slipping beside her brother on the couch. Arthur glanced at her. ”and I know it’s not my business, but I was wondering if you two had given thought into baby names? Because I have a few I think would work very well – “ Susan had a list. Arthur glanced to Chardonnay.

”Uh -- no, we hadn’t thought about it yet,” he said, shrugging. That really was true... he was surprised he hadn’t brought it up yet. ”I mean... I wouldn’t be opposed to hearing ideas.”

Susan smiled at Chardonnay’s comment. ”Yes! I did! I mean, baby names are so important to me! Well, it’s obviously up to you and Artie what you name her, but there’s a few ideas,” she said, ”Adelaide’s got mom’s name, but you could still always pay homage to mom by naming the girl after a flower! Rosie, that’s a cute name! Or Marigold, or any of these, really.”

Susan pulled a list out of a notebook, showing it to Arthur first. He glanced at the list, surprised at how long Susan had made it. Susan giggled. ”Well, I did always want to have another kid after Adelaide, so I have a few names I had on the backburner for just in case.”

Arthur scanned the list over. It was surreal to think that he was going to be a father. He was going to pick a name for the child, and that was a name they’d live with. It was a huge responsibility.

”Oh! And I have a question,” Susan asked. ”Since you two aren’t married, do you think you’re going to hyphenate your daughter’s surname? Or will she take one of yours?”

Arthur paused at that. ”Uhm,” he stuttered, glancing briefly at Chardonnay. He had no idea. ”I, uh, we haven’t talked about that, really.”

”Oh! It’s not like you need to decide right away, it just helps to determine how the name will flow. Just Summers or Nicholas has a different flow to it than Summers-Nicholas! Or Nicholas-Summers!”

Arthur noticed that she didn’t answer the question, and before Susan could open her mouth again, he spoke up.

”I think it’d be better if we just gave her my last name.” He knew what this meant. She wanted literally no claim to the baby. He could tell by her distant eyes and expression that she hated every minute of this. It hurt, it hurt like a fucking bitch. ”I think that’s probably easier since both our names are sort of long.”

And, if she did leave him, he wouldn’t have to change her name again.

The thought made Arthur uneasy, but he didn’t mention it. Susan smiled. ”Oh! Well, that sounds easy enough! And if you do get married it’ll be so much easier to already have her carrying your name,” She said, and Arthur didn’t even comment on that. He didn’t imagine ever marrying Chardonnay, and that thought really sting. She’d never want to marry him.

And who else would want to marry a single father, if she did ever leave him? He pointedly did not look at Chardonnay and tightened his fist on his knee, anxiety rising.

Susan glanced at Chardonnay. ”Haha, that is true! I wouldn’t mind if a child wanted to change their name, but then what would you call the baby until it chooses a name? They wouldn’t have a grasp of it until they’re older.”

”Or the kid would just name itself, like, poop,” Adelaide said, with an eye roll, ”Cause that’s what babies call everything.”

”But you could always choose a name with plenty of nicknames! You know, just in case they want to spice it up!” Susan smiled.

Susan and Adelaide moved on from the conversation rather quickly, oblivious to the tension between the two others in the room. Either that, or they were choosing to ignore it. Arthur bit his lower lip. He wanted today to be a happy day – whenever he imagined having a girlfriend, a baby, he imagined himself finally being happy. But he wasn’t. He was still depressed, he still hated himself, and he was pretty sure the girlfriend hated him, too. And the child, the daughter... he kept having those dreams about her growing to resent him, too. If he was left alone, would she still resent him? When she was older and mature, would Chardonnay finally express interest in her and would she run off to be with her? That would leave him completely alone. She might like the child when it was older and mature. She liked family; by then, maybe the daughter would become family. So would he be stuck taking care of the baby, and would she steal the adult away?

He didn’t know. He wanted to have a family with someone, but didn’t know if this family would ever be a family. In the end, he just saw himself being left alone.

He glanced over the list before him, none of the names sticking out. He didn’t know if he was happy or depressed about that fact. He had to pick something, because he knew Chardonnay would have no interest in it.

A minute ticked by and suddenly, Chardonnay got up and ran down the hall, barely making it past the baby gate. All three of the others glanced over at the door, the sound of her wrenching audible. Adelaide made a face. ”The turkey wasn’t that bad!” she said, assuming Chardonnay was trying to take a jab at the food. Susan frowned at her.

”Addy, sometimes pregnant women get sick. It’s not a testament to the food,” She said. While she spoke, Arthur got himself up and stepped over the baby gate, leaving the notebook on the couch. He approached the bathroom door, which was cracked. He slowly opened the door.

Thankfully, she’d reached the toilet. Slowly he approached her, closing the door behind him so Susan and Adelaide couldn’t enter and try to be helpful. He knelt down beside her and pulled her hair away from her face, ignoring the dampness of the ends. It was like the first night, when she’d had morning sickness, but that stage was supposed to be long gone. He knew this was probably spurred on by what had just happened. She was disgusted at the prospect of being a family, of marrying him, of having his child. He knew that. Yet, still, he felt the need to help her and care about her. What the fuck was his problem?

”Want me to get you water to wash the taste away?” He asked, her hair still wrapped back into a ponytail in one of his hands. He heard footsteps, and knew Susan was probably trying to see what was going on. There was a rustle at the door. ”We’re fine, Susan. She just needs a minute.” The rustling stopped, there was a faint ”okay”, and Susan’s steps shuffled away. Arthur exhaled.