Neighbors (18 page)

“Ahhhhhh!” his voice quivers. Then he slams into me. The sudden force causes my body to react. I convulse with pleasure as he slides back slowly and thrusts into me again.  He does it again two or three times. I’m close to the edge. The sheet is twisted in my fist.

“Let go.” It’s a command. And I obey. I detonate around him. He pounds me once more and screams out, “Yes!” and presses himself into me. His body stills.

He
rolls onto the bed next to me, both of us trying to calm our breathing.

“Oh my God, Melissa. That was incredible,” he says through his ow
n heavy breath. He turns to face me. A small chill caused my skin to pimple. He reaches over me and pulls the covers around us. And with the lovely sound of his heartbeat next to my ear, we fall asleep.

The next morning, I dismiss my crazy thoughts from the night before. I’m sure there’s a good explanation, if it even was Dylan with her.

Twenty-Nine

For New Year’s Eve we opt to spend a quiet night at home. Tracy and Kyle come over for take-in Chinese food, but they leave right after we watch the ball in Times Square drop on the television.

I fa
ll asleep waiting for Dylan to finish showering.

In the morning, he greets
me with breakfast in bed.

“What’s this for?” I ask
.

“I want
to start the year off right,” he says.

“Oh? Were you off to a bad start before?”

“No, but I figured this would earn me some points in case I did anything stupid.”

“Are you planning on doing something stupid?”

“No.”

“Good.” I ta
ke the tray and put in on the side table.

“Ar
en’t you going to eat?” he asks with curiosity.

“Yes, but first I’m going to give you what I owe you?”

“What you owe me?”

One corner of my mouth lifts
. “I believe I fell asleep before we could have New Year’s sex.”

A devilish grin pulls
at both sides of his mouth. I pat the bed next to me. He jumps up like a kid whose going to receive a gift for good behavior. Then I show him how to start the new year off right.

* * *

We manage to escape a harsh winter. It only snows twice. I make sure I drive more carefully and I eat all the right foods, Gladys and Eileen make sure of it. They do most of the legwork for me as I tire more easily now that I’m carrying more weight. But, they never complain. Tracy’s calls increase to three a day, but she isn’t really interested in my day; she wants to know how the baby is doing. My parents stop over at the house on Sundays to visit. They love Dylan and are thrilled that he will be my baby’s father. And Dylan… Dylan is absolutely wonderful.

“What color do you want to paint the
baby’s bedroom?” he asks.

I si
t at the kitchen table with my feet up on the chair opposite me. A mug of decaffeinated tea rests on my belly as I eat my jam-saturated toast. “Well, since we don’t want to know the sex of the baby, I thought we should go with a pale green. The animal pattern we picked will look nice with that. We can always add to it once the baby gets here.”

“Sounds great. I’ll pick up some swatches today and you can pick
the shade before we go to my Dad’s for dinner tonight.” He kisses my forehead. “Then I can paint while you’re out of the house. I don’t want you breathing in the fumes.”

* * *

“Melissa, Dylan, I’m so glad you could make it,” Stuart says bidding us entrance. He shows us into the living room. Dylan and I sit on the couch, his arm around me, and Stuart in the chair across from us. His graying temples make him look quite distinguished. “Melissa, how are you feeling?”

“I’m doing well, Stuart. Thanks for asking.”

“I have to admit, pregnancy suits you. It‘s true what they say, pregnant women do have a glow.”

I blush and look
down at my hands. “Where’s Maria?” I ask to deflect the attention.

“She’s out shopping with some girlfriends. Probably spending way too much money
, as usual.” He smiles but it’s unconvincing. He shifts the conversation. “Dylan, the reason I’ve asked you here is because I have a business proposition for you.”

Dylan
moves his arm from behind me and sits forward to give his father his full attention.

Stuart
dons his no-nonsense, business expression. “Dylan, you’re a family man now and you need to have a secure job to provide for that grandbaby of mine. I want you to join me in running the family business. I will retire in four years but we can use this time to groom you. Then you can take over and run the company. That way you won’t run the risk of getting hurt. You put yourself in harms way climbing up on houses and buildings. My grandbaby needs a daddy.”

I have
to admit, I was a bit nervous before we arrived, but after hearing Stuart’s proposal, I’m more at ease. This is a good plan.

“I’ll think about it, Dad, okay?”

Stuart seems content with that promise. I think he knows if he says any more Dylan might reject the offer. “All right then. You two talk about it later.” He winks at me. So that’s why I was invited in on the discussion, so that I can convince him this is a good plan.

“Gretta
’s made some of your favorites, Dylan. Let’s not keep her waiting,” Stuart says.

And he’s right.
Gretta has made another incredible dinner, from soup to nuts. She even lets me help clean up. I think she finally realizes that I’m not like Maria. I don’t like others waiting on me when I can help. Plus Gretta worked hard preparing everything. Why should she have to clean up all alone too?

“
Thank you, Melissa,” she says. She takes the plates from me before placing them into the sink. “You no have to. I do.”

“I know, but I want to help. It’s my way of saying thank you for such a wonderful meal.”

She smiles and looks away. I guess Maria never compliments her. She nods.

Dylan
doesn’t talk during the car ride home. I expect he’s thinking of his father’s proposal.

“That was very generous of your father to offer you this position in his company.”

“I don’t want to be controlled, Melissa.” His tone is harsh.

“Who’s controlling you? He said he’d teach you and then you’d be in charge.”

“Sitting behind a desk, in a suit, listening to other men in suits try to bullshit me, that’s not who I am.”

I didn’t expect him to be angry about the offer.
“I just thought—“

“Well, I don’t want it!” The sud
den volume in his voice startles me. Being pregnant and hormonally emotional doesn’t help. Tears well up in my eyes. I decide not to say anything else. I stare out the window, wiping my tears as soon as they spill.

Dylan
parks in the driveway. The minute he cuts the engine, I wiggle out of the car, race into the house and run upstairs to the bedroom. The crying doesn’t stop for several minutes.

As I sit on the bed, I wonder
why Dylan is so against this plan. It’s a secure position, something that is stable, and…boring. Then I think about it some more. I wouldn’t want anyone to tell me I couldn’t be a nurse. I guess that’s what Dylan means about being controlled. Deciding I’m not going to press him again, I walk downstairs to apologize for intruding. Dylan is on the phone. I don’t want him to see me so I lean back and hide at the bottom of the steps, listening to his conversation.

“I don’t kno
w what I’m going to do,” he says. “What? Leave now? I can’t, Melissa’s upstairs…Okay. I’ll be right there.”

My body betrays me and I sneeze
.

“I’ve gotta go. See
you soon.” He hangs up as I waddle into the kitchen.

“Who was that?”

“Ah, no one.” He picks up his car keys and cell phone from the kitchen counter where he threw them. “I’ve got to run to the store, I’ll be right back.” Without another word, he’s out the door and his truck starts. The tears return, faster this time. I go back upstairs. Between sniffles and tissues, I put on my pajamas. They’re snug around my waist. Despite my growing size, the bed is empty without Dylan. I stare at the ceiling in the darkness, thinking of whom he could have been talking to.

The alarm wa
kes me the next morning. Dylan is sleeping on his side of the bed. I didn’t hear him come in last night, I think. Then I get dressed. All of my clothes are getting too tight. I’d have to go shopping for maternity clothes very soon. When I arrive at the hospital, Gladys notices the same thing.

“Oooh, girl,
you are gettin’ big.” She peeks at me over her bifocals.

“I know. I’m going shopping this week.”

She pats my belly, as she does every day. “That’s okay. That means my little baby is growing just right.” She talks to my stomach. “You keep it up, baby.”

Eileen skips
over. “Jeez, what’d you eat a watermelon over the weekend?”

“Come on, I’m not that big.”

Her eyebrows rise. “Try looking at you from this angle.” She smiles, but I’m not in a smiling mood, so I don’t return it.

The morning
starts out hectic. I’m on my feet for most of the day. My back hurts from carrying the weight in front. I sit on the extra chair behind the nurse’s station counter.

Just after two o’clock, we have
an unannounced visit by Greg.

“You aren’t s
upposed to be down here,” I say as he walks off the elevator. “At least not on the days that I work.”

He smirks
. “Well one of my patients came into the ER complaining of chest pains. I thought I should have a look at him before he dies down here.”

“Who is it?” I ask
.

“Now, now. You don’t have to have an attitude, Mel
,” he says in his typical condescending tone. He tells me the name of the patient. I pull the chart and walk around the nurse’s station, to escort him to the correct curtain. “Whoa! What happened to you? Have you been getting too comfortable with that new boyfriend of yours?”

I turn
to look at him. “What are you talking about?”

“
Well, there’s no kind way to say this, Mel. You’re…fat.” Then he looks more closely. “Wait. You aren’t fat. Are you…pregnant?”

I grin
. “As a matter of fact, I am. Seven and a half months pregnant, to be exact.”

“A
one night stand gone wrong, Mel?” He snickers.

I p
ut my hand on my hip and smirk. “I don’t have one night stands, Greg. That’s you. And I don’t think my husband would be too happy with your accusation, since Dylan and I have amazing sex every night.” Eileen and Gladys pretend to be busy, but I know they’re listening. By their small smirks I can tell they’re happy that I’m finally standing up to Greg.

“Husband? Wow, didn’t think you’d do that again.”

I use my middle finger to express how I feel about his comment. Gladys’s eyebrows are high on her face, and Eileen has a huge smile to show her approval of my new attitude.

“Okay, okay. I didn’t mean to insult you.” He
turns his head from side to side to make sure he has an audience. “It’s just you and I never really had…”

“That’s because you were screwing everyone else, Greg. You didn’t have time for me when I was your wife.
You made it pretty clear that you didn’t want to touch me after we got married because you didn’t want me to get pregnant and ruin my body. Now do you want to see Mr. Kowalski, or not?”

“Yes, yes. Show me where he is.”

From that point on, my whole day is ruined. I have to lock myself in a bathroom stall several times after that, so I can cry.

At the end of my shift,
I collect my things and walk to my car. I almost make it without incident when I hear my name being called. I turn. Greg is practically jogging to catch up to me.

“Thanks for stopping.”

“What do you want, Greg?” I am not in the mood for his antics.

“I want to apologize, Mel. I didn’t mean to insult you. You look great. I know you’ll be a fantastic mother.”

I squint. “Thanks. Is that it?” I move forward to return to my walk to my car.

He jumps in front of me.

“What?”

“I’m trying to be nice, Mel.”

“Greg, y
ou’ve never been nice, especially to me.”

“Ser
iously.” He stares at me with sincerity, which I’ve never seen on Greg. “Ever since I tried to… you know, force myself on you, I’ve been seeing a therapist to manage my control issues and the way I treat people. I’m trying to better myself, if you can believe that, Mel. My doctor is really helping me. He says I’m making a lot of progress. I actually feel good about myself now.”

I do
n’t expect that. I don’t trust him either. “That’s great, Greg. But you’ve always made sure you felt good.”

“It
s different now, Mel. I want to feel good about the connections I make; how I treat people. The doctor says I’m doing well.”

“
Congratulations.”

He reaches
for my hand, but I pull away. I don’t want him to touch me.

His eyes register my pain.
“Mel, I know I hurt you, worse than anyone. I know I can never make it up to you, but can you just think about giving me a chance to be… a friend?”

I stare
at him, waiting for the other head to pop out of his neck. Then I realize he means it. “Oh my god, you’re serious,” I say.