Benny:
A thousand percent.
Me:
You grumpy motherfucker!
Benny:
I’m a happily married man trying to enjoy my honeymoon. I think it’s perfectly acceptable to be grumpy that I’m getting prank called by my brother on my fucking honeymoon.
Carsey:
Um, what the fuck? What prank call trend is this? And where was my call?
Me:
After I realized how much it hurt her stomach to do the calls, I stopped.
Carsey:
And I was third on your list?! Jaxy, buddy, come on. It’s you and me against the world!
Instead of replying, I click call on his contact. The phone rings once before he answers. “I’ve been awaiting your call, Jaxy Bear.”
I shake my head. “Sorry I made you wait all of five seconds.”
“The wait was unbearable.”
“You’re such a dick.”
“Am not. That title is reserved for Bennett.”
That earns him a chuckle from me. “You’re right.”
“How is she?” he asks, likely knowing exactly why I called. Carson has this weird ability of being in tune with what I’m thinking or what I need, often times before I do.
“She’s, uh, she’s doing okay,” my voice breaks on the last word and it doesn’t get past him.
“What’s the hardest part right now? Break it down for me.”
“Her physical pain seems to be manageable at this point. But I think she’s struggling most with her infertility as a result of her surgery.”
“Shit. I get that. The invisible scars are the hardest to help someone overcome, but I know you can help her through this, Jax.”
Pinching the bridge of my nose, I breathe a sigh of frustration. “It’s killing me, Carse. She breaks down crying every time we see a baby. Whether there’s a video on social media, or like today, when she saw the baby aisle in the store, she sobs. It breaks my fucking heart. And I feel like it’s only going to get worse when we begin the egg retrieval process.”
“You just said we . . .”
“Yeah. I’ll be helping her through the process, and, uh, you know, giving her my . . . sperm.”
He clears his throat on the other end of the line. “Are you—have you two talked about kids? I mean, having kids together?”
“Of course. Well, I mean, we used to talk about it all the time when we were dating. We both wanted to buy a big plot of land somewhere where we could have a bunch of kids and animals and let them roam around. She wanted three and I wanted five, which she said made me crazy.”
“I’m sure I don’t need to tell you this, but there’s no way you could only be her sperm donor with all of your history. Have you talked about what that means for y’all?”
I blow out an apprehensive breath. “No. I guess I don’t want her to second guess having me be the one to help her. And in light of everything else she’s dealing with right now, it seems futile to ask her about something we don’t even know will have success right now.”
