Page 36 of Text Me A Kiss
“Hey,” she murmured into my chest.
“You okay?”
“Yeah, just missed you today. Been kinda tired.”
“The baby?”
“No, just mentally tired I think. Anyway, I made dinner. After we eat, I’m going to the studio for a couple of hours.”
Whatever dinner was smelled great, but I took Kady’s hand and led her into the living room. “Can we talk first?”
Kady’s face was unreadable. “Sure. Yeah.”
“Okay.” Mentally tired? Because something was eating at her, that was why. “I’m just going to jump straight to it. We need to tell your parents.”
Kady interlaced her fingers, but didn’t speak.
“We’ve waited long enough. Your dad mentioned today that you said you were busy so that he wouldn’t try to visit you in New York, and I’m getting a lot of questions at work. And it’s bothering you, Kady,” I said softly, placing my larger hands over hers. “I can tell.”
“Yeah, it is,” she agreed finally, but she wouldn’t meet my eyes. “But, I still want to wait a little longer. I want to show them I haven’t put my life on hold for you and that I can still use what I learned at Juilliard, even if I can’t join one of the top companies right now.”
“When will that be? I know you wanted to take a break after graduation, but it’s been a few weeks. What if you run into your parents in the street, or I accidentally say something at the office? Is that really how you want them to find out?”
“Of course not,” Kady protested. “I just need a little more time to email some companies about becoming an instructor or something. When I know I have a position, I’ll tell them.”
“Kitten, that could take weeks. If you wait too long, you won’t have a chance to tell your parents about your pregnancy.” I wasn’t sure when most women’s baby bumps became prominent enough for even loose clothing, but Kady was thin and in good shape, so I couldn’t imagine her hiding it for long. Especially not with summer months and less clothing approaching.
“I know, I know.” For the first time ever in one of our conversations, irritation sharpened Kady’s voice. “If it takes me too long to find a position, I’ll go ahead and tell them. Now let’s eat dinner, okay?”
But when is too long?I wanted to press, but as usual, I couldn’t. “Yeah, sure.”
One thing, at least, had come from this conversation. I now knew that Kady would probably never tell her parents on her own. She would keep making excuse after excuse, possibly until she held a little baby girl or boy in her arms. Every single special moment of her pregnancy would pass without being shared with her mother, one of the people most important to her, and then, suddenly, she would have a child to explain.
I couldn’t let that happen for either of us. The next morning, my heart heavier and lighter at the same time, I kissed Kady goodbye to go to work—
—and instead straight to a coffee shop nearby and sat down with my laptop in a corner booth and started to type.
An hour and a half later, I’d composed a single email. It was much lengthier than any I had sent before, but the content demanded that. It shouldn’t have taken me this long to type it— I didn’t usually find myself at a loss for words, spoken or written—but this one…. This had been the hardest email I had ever drafted. Moving my fingers near the end had taken extreme physical effort and strength of will, and something ached deep in my chest.
I needed Kady. I needed her to wrap her arms around me and tell me that everything would be okay.
First, I would have to tell her what I’d done, and that was the thought that kept me away from her until the time I would usually have gotten back from work.
But the next day….
“You’re so warm,” Kady sighed, burrowing deeper into the blankets, her shoulder nestled between my arm and side as I lay on my back, one arm folded behind my head. “Aren’t you late to work?”
“I….” My voice failed me.
Kady pushed herself up on her elbow so she could look down at me, her hair tickling my chest. “You…?”
My heaved sigh rocked both our bodies. “I don’t have work, Kady.” Carefully, I opened one eye to see her reaction.
Her face was just blank. “Did my father find out? Did he fire you?”
“I resigned. This secret, it’s killing me. It’s killing you. It’s killing us, Kady. You realize that last night was our first fight in… ever? I love you, Kitten. If my job is going to tear us apart—” My voice broke, finally betraying some of the pain this choice had sent howling through my heart. “Well, I couldn’t let that happen, could I?”
“No.”