They weren’t far. Tate had rolled her bassinet into the living room and he was sitting on the couch, reading on his tablet. He looked up when he heard me and grinned.
“Hey you. Feeling better?”
I nodded and came to sit with him. Instantly I put my legs up and he wrapped his arms around me, engulfing me in his warmth and scent. I closed my eyes, relaxing against his body.
“He’s pretty rough. It was hard to see him like that,” I commented.
“I bet. Do they think he’ll be okay? Any lasting effects?”
I hesitated, unsure of whether or not to tell him about Ronny’s memory loss. I swallowed and decided that the lies needed to stop. Even the small ones.
“He doesn’t remember us breaking up.”
Silence.
“Okay,” he started slowly. I could feel his body tense up from behind me. “What does that mean exactly?”
“The doctor asked me not to tell him yet. He doesn’t want to risk his recovery,” I said, not answering him directly.
“Jimmy, are you telling me that you two are back together?”
“No, not back. More like, still,” I cringed, hearing the words come out of my mouth. “Only to him though. Not for real.”
Tate dropped his arms and scooted away. I instantly felt the coolness waft over my body from his absence. He shook his head. He couldn’t even look at me.
“No, I’m not doing this. You need to tell him.”
“Tate, I can’t! You didn’t see him. He’s in horrible shape. He almost died!”
“Can’t? Or won’t?”
Suddenly the baby whimpered and a small cry rang out from the bassinet. Our attention was momentarily diverted. I reached out but Tate moved faster. He stood and went to her, lifting the tiny bundle from the bed and began to rock her. He looked down at her, cooing until she relaxed and fell back asleep. His eyes then turned cold, and he shot daggers at me.
“I’m not doing this anymore. You need to decide right now what you want. Him or us.”
I stood quickly.
“I’ve already made my choice. Is me being here and not at the hospital with him not enough of an answer?”
“No, it’s not because I don’t know what you’re telling him when you go back there. Are you going to keep playing along with his delusions? That’s not fair to me. Or her,” he added, glancing down at the baby in his arms. I flinched. He knew exactly what to say to hit home. Tears welled in my eyes, but I clenched my jaw. I was not going to let him see that kind of reaction from me.
“I’m not going to fight you about this. He’s not well right now and I’m not going to do anything to jeopardize his recovery.” I crossed my arms, determined.
“Cool. Well, when you’re ready to break up with your boyfriend again, you can find your husband and your daughter at my place. I’m not going to stay here if you’re going to play pretend with him.”
Just then, as if the universe was conspiring against me, my phone rang. I glanced over at where it lay. Tate had taken it and put it on the charger for me while I slept. The room was so utterly silent as I walked over and glanced at who was calling. Ronny’s face grinned up at me from the screen. My reaction must have been clear on my face, for when I looked back up at Tate, he was shaking his head and setting the baby down.
I let the phone continue to ring as I watched him go around the couch and pick up Cara’s car seat.
“Take the call. We’re leaving.”
The phone stopped, but I couldn’t move from my spot as I watched him load her up and grab for the diaper bag. My phone started back up again as he walked past me towards the door. He paused to glance down at the phone in disgust before shaking his head.
“Call when you grow the fuck up.”
