Charthur: Part II

Arthur nodded at Amber. She didn’t seem to buy his words but didn’t audibly question them. Arthur just wanted to get her home. He just wanted her to be happy. He just wanted them to be happy. He turned away from Amber and kept Chardonnay against his chest, his fingers stroking her back slightly. She was still shaking slightly in his hold, something he wished he could stop. He stared idly at a rock on the ground behind her, still conscious of Amber’s presence beside him.

”Thank you,” Arthur glanced back over at her then, following her gaze to Chardonnay. He could tell how forced the smile was and knew how awful this must look to her. Arthur hated everything about this, especially that there was literally nothing he could do to fix this. Hell, if he could, he’d go through with the fucking pregnancy if it meant she wouldn’t have to. But he didn’t have a uterus. Christ. He didn’t understand if she hated the idea of children so much, why she didn’t get her tubes tied or something?

He nodded when she said she held more classes, ”Thanks,” he said, though he doubted they’d go to one. Arthur wouldn’t mind but it would be odd for him to go alone, and he wouldn’t force Chardonnay to come to another.

When Amber left, Arthur didn’t move to get up. He had stayed over at her condo that night, so her place wasn’t too far away. He pulled slightly away from her. From this angle he could see the tattoo on her neck, the one that represented her restaurant. The sight brought back the memory of the first time they’d slept together. It was ironic, given the situation they were in now. He wished he could go back to when he was young and naïve; barely in his twenties, he had the whole future ahead of him and he and Chardonnay had something they both understood. They were a constant in one another’s lives, and they knew their relationship. Now… they were pretending to be a couple, to be expecting parents, all because of some mistake.

He waited minutes, until her shaking was lighter. It didn’t matter to him that eh felt his phone buzz a few times in his pocket, or that the sun was starting to set. The only thing that unnerved him was that it would get chilly soon, and he didn’t want her to get cold. ”Chardonnay, uhm – do you want me to take you home?” He pulled away more so he could look at her face, and tucked a few strands of her hair from where it pressed against her cheek. He didn’t want to pull his other arm away from her, so he didn’t, still half-hugging her. ”It’s getting kind of cold.”

Arthur sat up with Chardonnay, keeping his hands around her. When she winced he glanced down to her swollen stomach. She was due in March, he realized, and March was coming sooner than he thought. It was December now, and that meant March was a mere three months away. What were they going to do in three months?

Arthur kept his arm around her to help her walk. She must be exhausted, he thought. He wondered if he should call Dr. Marshall for some advice. He really didn’t know what the hell he was supposed to do in this situation.

It was times like this he really wished he had a father – or at least a figurehead of one. He could really use advice for how to be a good man in this situation.

He set Chardonnay down on the passenger seat of his Jeep and immediately she put on sunglasses. Arthur knew she hadn’t looked at him earlier, when he brushed her hair back. He walked around his Jeep and got into his seat, starting it up. It was getting older; though it still ran well. He turned the radio down in the car to a light murmur and pulled out of the lot, sparing one glance over at Chardonnay.

He drove down the roads until he reached Chardonnay’s complex. He pulled into the parking garage, already used to the action by now. It was nothing like when they merely fucked – now, he stayed over Chardonnay’s place more often, his car beside hers.

He sighed, and got out of his car. When there wasn’t much of a motion from the passenger side, he slipped over and opened her door. ”We’re here,” he said.

The day after the birthing class, Susan had stopped by Arthur’s apartment, unexpectedly. He had the day off work – Jasmin was managing in his steed. She was surprised when, at 2 PM, he answered the door, looking like he hadn’t slept a wink and just rolled out of bed. Susan hadn’t known Arthur to sleep in quite that late since his college days! She brought with her a big, vanilla cake with cute pink frosting. It was decorated to mimic a celebration of a birth – the name, however, said ‘baby Summers’ rather than a name. When Arthur answered the door, he looked confused for a moment, until his older sister poked her head around the cake.

”Let me in, Artie! We’ve got to celebrate! You have to tell me all about how that class went!” She said, allowing herself entry.

And then, Arthur remembered.

After helping her to her condo, Arthur had been exhausted. All those people staring at them, even though they weren’t that shocking a sight anymore. Arthur was aware they knew Chardonnay was pregnant, and they knew he was her boyfriend. And yet it still felt like he didn’t belong. Ironically, the only person who didn’t make Arthur feel at all uncomfortable were the guards who manned the elevators.

They finally entered her condo, and Arthur saw as she removed her glasses, revealing how tired she was. He felt a tug at his chest at the sight, though she turned away, quickly. He looked down when she told him he could go home. She wasn’t snappy with him, and she wasn’t telling him to get out harshly. But she sounded so fatigued and defeated. Arthur knew how proud she was, and that she probably wanted to be alone. He felt he could sense it in her tone, the way she was so aloof. She didn’t want to keep him here? Yeah, right. She didn’t want him here at all. ”…I -- I,” he fumbled for words. He clenched his fists at his sides. ”Fine. I’ll go home,” he finally said, tone bitter. He tightened his coat around himself and grabbed his phone, spotting a missed call from Susan and a few missed texts about an anime he was watching from Erin. He pocketed the phone and turned around, to leave.

He had a foot through the door, his hand on the frame, when he paused. ”…text me in the morning, okay Chardonnay?” He said. He didn’t know if she was listening, but if she didn’t text him, he’d text her.

Arthur lit a cigarette when he got outside, leaning on the wall of the building. He observed well dressed people walking by, glancing at the men in their designer suits and shirts. He felt a twinge of resentment when he looked at them. If he was more like them, if the guy who knocked Chardonnay up had been more like them, would she be this pissed about it? This uncomfortable? He knew what she said when they were in High School didn’t matter anymore, but the words ate away at him, every night, now that she seemed to hate him so much. He was beneath her, just a nobody, who’d amount to nothing in the future. Not even worth the dust under her shoes. It was a selfish thought, to blame himself at the core of this, but he couldn’t help it. If he was a classier, richer man, she would perhaps at least be comforted by the fact that the child inside her would likely grow up just as she had.

Arthur stayed there, watching the moon through his cigarette smoke. He wondered if Chad would have been any better a man in this situation. He scoffed. The idiot would be Chardonnay’s type, all right. Rich, attractive, the type to spoil a child.

He had to blame himself for her hatred of this pregnancy. Because, if he didn’t, then he didn’t know what else to blame.

He hadn’t been able to sleep that night and, by the time his sister had knocked on his door, he had been just barely asleep. He was still in pajamas – plaid and more plaid. Lazily, he threw his false glasses over his nose.

When Susan asked how the class went, Arthur said that things were fine. He described the class, mostly, deliberately avoiding Chardonnay and what had happened. Susan had bought it for the most part, because Arthur’s enthusiasm was genuine.

He was excited about a daughter, and it was only when he was around his sister and her alone that he could really give into the excitement. He always felt nervous or scared about it when with Chardonnay, but Susan was so eager for her niece to enter the world that it rubbed off on Arthur. He wound up spending that afternoon thinking about potential names with Susan. While she said it was normally a thing couples did together, Arthur said it would be fine if they spitball ideas he could run by Chardonnay.

Though, he didn’t know how to even approach the subject of a name with her.

Afterwards, Susan left Arthur’s apartment and hopped down to the theater to pick up Adelaide. She had gone to the movies as a date with Annabelle, using her family discount, of course. The two girls were so excited in the backseat about the film and Susan smiled warmly at the sight. She remembered when she was pregnant with Adelaide. She had been scared, nervous, but at the same time… her daughter was the best thing that had ever happened to her.

It had bene going on for a while, Susan communicating with Olivia. Ever since they met they exchanged numbers, and Susan was ecstatic about how they’d clicked! The two of them discussed many things – but the most prevalent one? A baby shower.

Susan had loved the one that had been thrown for her by Natalie! The planning was a success; they’d gotten RSVPs from most of the family and had kept the whole thing a good secret from Chardonnay and Arthur, too! When discussing the invitees, Susan suggested that they do it without inviting Arthur. It was a good coincidence, then, that the Monday in question was a day Arthur had to cover for a coworker so there was no way he’d be talking to Chardonnay on shift! She was about to text this exciting news to Olivia when she got a call.

”Hello~~~~ The number you’ve reached is no longer active~~~~~” She joked in a sing-song voice, grinning at the end of it. ”Just kidding! Hello, Olivia! You’d never guess the news I got yesterday – guess who has to work tomorrow? My baby brother! So he won’t be able to bring his boy cooties to the baby shower at all!” she laughed, leaning back in her chair. Adelaide was asleep, and Susan was in the living room, watching a program. ”Are you in town yet?”

Susan laughed. ”Yup! It saved us for sure! Oh, I’m so excited! When I had my baby shower it was a total surprise to me and I couldn’t have been happier! I got so many diapers – I am buying them so many diapers!” She said, snuggling up in her bathrobe as she watched the pictures flick on the screen. When Olivia called, she muted the video.

”Oh, it’s all right! I have sick time to use and besides, I could use a break to grade the last test I gave them!” Susan said, remembering that she hadn’t even started to do the grading. She missed when Arthur was in college; back then he’d had time to be her assistant at home and correct the multiple-choice answers for her. But now, he was too busy! Perhaps when Adelaide was older, she’d become the next assistant. ”I will be! I’ll have them! That time’s good, too, I’ll have to go pick up the games at Natalie’s – I convinced her to let me keep them there!” She said, giggling at Olivia’s joke. ”She certainly has! But I don’t mind Mondays; it’s good to have something fun planned on the most boring day of the week!”

Susan nodded, though Olivia couldn’t see the action across the phone. ”Of course! I’ve stored all my gifts at Natalie’s,” she said, excited to go and grab them. Unfortunately, Adelaide had to go to school in the morning, but Susan had a feeling things would go smoother without her. She and Chardonnay clashed quite a bit!

At Olivia’s question, Susan tilted her head to the side. ”I know your worries, your daughter is quite… organized!” it was difficult to select a proper word that described Chardonnay without being rude. ”I think she will appreciate the varying women who’ve experienced pregnancy. She may be difficult to understand, but I know she likes control! So perhaps learning from experienced women is a good way to help ease her stressful mind! I’m sure she’s just nervous about the birth and baby. I would have been so nervous myself, had I not been around Arthur when he was a baby in my youth!”

The restaurant Olivia picked would be one Chardonnay was familiar with and liked, Susan was sure. ”Oh, wonderful! And she loves fine dining too, so it should be a hit! You are going to bring Chardonnay down yourself after we’ve set everything up, right?”

Susan hummed. ”Of course I am! Now stop worrying!” she insisted, twirling a strand of her robe in her hand. She watched the hot man begin to cry on screen and pouted her lips. Why would a man that hot need to cry?!

When Olivia mentioned plans changed, she hummed. ”Oh, dear! Well, so long as she’s still there! That’s all that matters to me!” She laughed, throwing her head back. ”I look forward to seeing the surprise on her face! It’s so exciting to meet your extended family, too! Unfortunately, we don’t have very much in the way of extended family to invite… but that’s fine!” Susan glanced at the clock.

”You’d better rest up before our big plan!”

Susan’s Outfit

-x-

Susan woke up the next morning refreshed, jubilated, and excited! She made sure Adelaide got ready for school and caught the bus, and once that was done, she showered and got dressed herself. Though she was getting on in years, Susan always thought she looked good for her aged and thanked the lord above for her heritage and how she had not lived to see a grey hair yet! It was saddening, to think that she had outlived her parents, but she tried not to focus on that so much.

After she was dressed she stopped by Natalie and Johnathan’s, picking up the décor she had and the gifts she’d bought. She drove to the restaurant in question, her arms loaded with things. Oh, it was times like this she wished she had Adelaide or Arthur there to help her!

The handsome man who welcomed her in offered to carry the bags and said Olivia was already there. Susan smiled and thanked the man, smiling at Olivia when she entered the room. He helped put the boxes down, and when he turned to leave the back room, Susan let her eyes linger on his rear as he left. Once the door was shut, she squealed.

”Oh, he was so cute! With the cutest butt, too!” She laughed, turning to Olivia. She looked at all the area around them, and at the cake. ”Oh, is that the cake?! It’s so cute! I can’t wait to try a slice!”