“But what about Rocky?”
“For the love of God, Charlotte. Answer the fucking phone.”
Charlotte lets out a deep breath, pressing answer and putting Nikki on speaker.
“Hey,” she greets cautiously.
“Charlie, we need to talk,” Nikki rushes in a panicked voice.
Charlotte sits on the edge of the bed. “Is everything okay with the girls?”
“The girls are fine. Will is taking care of them downstairs. I’m in your bathroom.”
We both glance at each other, unsure why she’s panicked inside our bathroom.
“My bathroom?” Charlotte questions as her face pales. “Is everything okay?”
“I’m pregnant,” Nikki blurts out.
My eyes widen in shock, unable to process the news. At the same time, Charlotte stares at me with a distressed expression before she throws her head forward and vomits all over the floor.
Just fucking great.
SIXTEEN
The time when we decided no more children
All three girls finally fell asleep after all the excitement of us arriving back home.
We walk into our bedroom, barely able to move a limb from the long flight to then coming home and spending time with the girls. We’d brought home some gifts, including Australian chocolate, which was devoured too quickly. It explains why they’ve been bouncing off the walls all day.
Our day has been nonstop since we landed at six this morning, and even though I’m a seasoned traveler, I’m utterly exhausted right now.
A yawn escapes Charlotte as we climb into bed which then onsets one on my behalf.
“How do our kids have so much energy? Do you even remember being a kid and running around all day long?”
No,” I respond with a smile. “But I do remember having a little sister who gave the Energizer bunny a run for his money.”
Charlotte laughs softly. “Adriana had a lot of energy. She still does, actually. Speaking of which…”
I fix my pillow to get more comfortable. “Hmm…”
“This whole Nikki being pregnant thing—”
“Is not for you to get involved,” I interrupt, reminding her again.
“No, I meant, I don’t think I want any more kids.”
This isn’t the first time we’ve had this discussion, but as the girls got older and more demanding, the conversation became more frequent. It came up when Kate fell pregnant and again when one of Charlotte's colleagues found out she was pregnant only a few weeks ago.
“You don’t think, or you know?” I question her sternly. “Big difference, Charlotte.”
She bows her head, then releases a weighted sigh.
“I don’t know,” Charlotte mumbles while toying with her wedding ring. “I mean, do you want more kids?”
We have a great life, and even with three girls, we’re managing to just balance it all. There have been so many sacrifices on both our parts, but if I’m honest, I miss my wife and spending time with her. With three kids, it’s getting harder to find time for us.