‘She’s my fiancé.’
‘When are you getting married?’
‘We don’t know yet.’
Mia and I haven’t even talked about it. When we decided to make the fake engagement real, it was so that we’d stop feeling like we’re pretending to be a couple and feel like we’re in an actual relationship. It wasn’t a promise to get married. I don’tthink we’re ready to get married. There’s too many things we still have to work out.
‘Aren’t you supposed to get married first and then have a kid?’ Tyler says, jokingly.
‘Yeah, well, it doesn’t always happen that way. So what was your question?’
We go over his homework, but my mind keeps wandering to Mia. Time’s running out. I can’t keep stalling. This is happening whether I like it or not.
When Tyler leaves, I get out my phone and search for jobs.
Chapter 22
Jason
It’s the end of July and not much has changed. Mia still doesn’t have a job for the fall. We’re still engaged. Still living together. And there’s still unresolved tension between us. But we don’t let that tension come to the surface. We ignore it for the sake of getting along.
I know our relationship would be better if we could talk about the future, but until Mia gets a job, we’re not in a hurry to discuss it. I’ve applied for five teaching jobs in and around Boston, but haven’t heard back from any of them. I haven’t told Mia about the jobs because I don’t want her getting her hopes up. I’d rather wait until I have an offer.
‘Hey, neighbor,’ Nick jokes when I come into the kitchen at my parents’ house. My summer classes are done, leaving my mornings free, so sometimes I come over here so I’m not bothering Mia when she’s trying to work.
‘Shouldn’t you be out in the fields?’ I grab a mug and fill it with coffee.
‘I’mtaking a break. It’s hot out there. I’ve been going out at six every morning to avoid the heat later in the day.’
‘Yeah, the heat’s bad this week. The humidity bothers Mia. She’s been staying inside.’
‘How are you guys doing?’
‘Good.’ I sit across from him at the kitchen table. ‘How about you and Lyndsay?’
‘Lyndsay’s upset that she’s not pregnant by now. I keep reminding her we’ve only been trying a few months, but it doesn’t seem to help. And it doesn’t help that you got Mia pregnant on the first time, which Lyndsay keeps bringing up when I tell her we need to be patient.’
‘It’s not like I tried to get Mia pregnant. Maybe that’s what you two should do. Try not to get pregnant and then you will.’
‘Yeah, maybe. It’ll happen eventually. We just need to keep trying.’ He sips his coffee. ‘How’s the baseball camp going?’
‘Great! I’ve already got a sign-up list for next summer.’
‘Why do you have sign-ups for next summer? You won’t be here.’
I get up and go to the counter where Mom left out a plate of her apple pastries.
‘Jason, you’re not staying here,’ Nick says.
I take a pastry and go back to the table.
‘Jason,’ Nick says in his advice-giving, big-brother tone. ‘You love her. And you’re having a kid together. You have to go with her.’
‘Nothing’s been decided. She doesn’t have a job there, and maybe she won’t by next year.’
‘She will. You know she will. Even if she doesn’t have a job, she wants to be with her parents.’
‘And I want to be with mine. Dad almost died last year. What if something like that happens again and I’m not here?’
