“This isn’t about a birthday. She’s not coming for Matteo, she was supposed to come for me. Her grandmother took our plane to Italy; the excuse she used for not coming wasn’t valid as of three hours ago.”
“It’s always about you.” Dante shakes his head. “Never mind what she needs. Like what the fuck on announcing she’s pregnant without talking to her first?”
How did he know I didn’t talk to Chloe first? I shrug. “I was excited. I couldn’t hold it in. How could she think I could not tell anyone?”
Bethany winces. “Please tell me you didn’t agree not to say anything then did anyway.”
“We didn’t agree to anything, we didn’t talk about it because she didn’t even tell me.” Thinking of it now, I shove down the anger at Chloe not telling me. How old was the test?
Dante sits up. “She didn’t tell you? How the hell did you know?”
“Karen told me by accident this morning when she came to oversee everything. She assumed I knew because one of the cleaners found the pregnancy test in the bathroom.”
“Wow, you...” Bethany shakes her head. “I can’t even believe you.” She gets up and walks away.
“What?” Dante is staring at me like he’s going to deck me. “What is the big deal?”
“I don’t understand how you can be intelligent enough to make several billion dollars, but so utterly stupid when it comes to women and relationships.”
He gets up and follows Bethany out of the room. What did I do?
***
Enzo
Che comes in a little after four in the morning, looking like hell but with a huge smile on his face. Bethany and Dante only came back an hour ago and haven’t talked to me since.
“He’s going to be okay. It’s not meningitis. They still want to keep him in while they rule out other things less serious but the test came back negative on meningitis.”
Bethany starts crying. “Ugh, I promised I wouldn’t cry. I’m just so damn relieved.”
Che hugs her. “Me too, kiddo—I understand completely. You need to go home and get some sleep.”
Dante nods. “I’ll get her home. Call me though when you know what it is for sure.”
I’m caught off guard when Bethany lays a hand on my chest and pushes. “I wasn’t going to say anything because I didn’t think you deserve it, but Chloe does. A woman’s wedding day should be all about her feeling like a princess, where she wears the prettiest dress she will ever wear and she gets to marry the man of her dreams. It wasn’t a huge deal to me because Dante makes sure I feel like a princess every day, but I know for a fact you haven’t been doing that for Chloe. Then you went and made it about her pregnancy, which sucks so hard because the moment a woman becomes pregnant, it’s as if the world loses their minds and her body and choices are up for public consumption and advice. It’s not just about them anymore, and on her wedding day it should have been all about her. And maybe, just fucking maybe, you should have talked to her and asked her why she hadn’t told you yet. Maybe there was a valid reason and even if that reason was just that she wasn’t ready, it was a fucking valid reason.”
Dante nods. “What she said.”
***
Chloe
For the first time I’m awake before Enzo. Studying him, I can’t help but sigh. He is stunning; we really are going to have gorgeous babies. Longing wells up inside me. I run a finger over his jaw, then he moves. I snatch my hand back and roll over off the bed, as I do the necklace comes off. Catching it, I study it, wondering why he bought it. In the closet, I stash the necklace in the island. I dress quickly in leggings and a T-shirt. Back in the bedroom, Enzo is still asleep, so I grab my phone then close the door behind me.
Going downstairs I blink twice: the whole house has been cleaned. There’s no sign of anything to indicate a wedding happened here yesterday. I check the time, it’s only nine thirty.
“Oh, hello, Chloe. I’m sorry if I woke you,” Karen exclaims. A tall thin woman well into her sixties, Karen is sweet, thoughtful, and a great cook.
“No worries, I’m pretty sure you didn’t. Thank you for seeing to everything.”
“It’s my job. How about some breakfast?”
“Sounds good, oatmeal has been better for me lately.”
“Ah yes, for the baby and morning sickness. I couldn’t eat anything the first few hours of my day except some saltine crackers for the first six months of my first pregnancy. I do want to apologize, I had no idea you hadn’t told Enzo about the pregnancy. Looking back, I should have known i
f the test was buried in the bottom of the drawer.”