Page 129 of Isolation

“Fine! I will focus on my new business so that I can become a huge success. You can become my trophy husband, andyoucan re-decorate the condo with as much egg-white or off-white as you please.”

“Hmm,” I contemplate. “I don’t know about that, but I will take a salary cut and hire someone for my travel-related responsibilities. Then I don’t have to be gone all the time.”

“Not bad,” Raven quips. Then she says in a more dreamy voice, “After that, Dad’s license to practice medicine will be reinstated. Mom will start a new line, which will become a success.”

“And Tessa will go back to her old job,” I offer.

Raven smiles. “With my new successful business, I can help you take care of any other expenses for our families. Then you don’t have to work so damn much.”

I nod behind her. “We can finally start our lives together.”

“Tessa will start a new trial for a wonder drug that will cure her immediately.”

“Reid will find someone else to fall in love with, and he’ll forgive us both.”

“I’ll stop having nightmares.” Raven twists her body to face me. “After that?”

“After that,” I lean back to give her a broad smile, “I’m going to knock you up.”

Raven’s mouth drops open at my suggestion. “Oh, yeah?”

“Hell yeah!”

“How many kids are we going to have?” Raven asks, lost in our own world, one that’s not so marred by our scars, our obligations, and the truth of our reality.

“Two,” I declare without hesitation. “A boy and a girl. Then we will have one of each.”

Even from the side angle, I can see her scowl. “I barely want one. I can’t handle two.”

“You should always have a spare kid in case something happens to one of them.”

“You are so fucking morbid,” Raven mockingly gasps. “Did you just kill off one of our imaginary children?”

“I thought you only wanted one,” I tilt my face in confusion.

“Well, I didn’t want to kill the other one. I was just gonna give it away or leave it at the dumpster.”

Laughter rips through my chest. “Both of our kids are going to look like me. They’ll be too good looking to be dumpster babies.”

Raven turns towards me and raises an eyebrow. “Excuse me. Both?”

“I don’t want no damn kids that look like vampire Snow White,” I look at her, my voice thick with amusement.

“Vampire Snow White?” I can see her biting her cheek, so she doesn’t laugh.

I shoot her a playful smile. “Do you want our kids to be so pale that they look like the children who were taken away and locked up in a basement?”

“Oh my God,” Raven gives out the laugh she has been holding back and punches my arm that’s around her waist. “You are so rude!”

“If they get your dark vampirini hair and pasty skin, our kids will be bullied mercilessly in school. We can’t have that. No! They should definitely look like me.”

“If they look like you, then you can keep them,” she pouts. “I don’t want them.”

“You have to admit that I am the looker in the family. Wouldn’t you want this,” I gesture towards my face and body with a hand wave, “for our children?”

“Shut up,” Raven laughs at our parallel future and turns her head to inspect my face, probably to find something she dislikes so she can insult my physical attributes.

“It won’t happen, baby,” I tell her reassuringly.