Page 52 of A Major Love

“I don’t have a problem. I’m tired, and I have an early flight. Good night.”

I hadn’t figured out how to bring up what I overheard, without her knowing I was eavesdropping. Once she knew that, we’d be arguing about me eavesdropping instead of why she didn’t want me to know what happened to our baby.

“You know what? It’s cool. You don’t have to tell me what’s wrong, but I won’t be on the receiving end of crappy treatment when I ain’t done shit. I know things between us won’t always be perfect, but if we’ve learned nothing else, I thought we learnedhow important it is to communicate. I’ve signed the contracts already, so I’m committed to this project, but we can keep things professional from here on out.”

She went upstairs, leaving me to consider her words. I chuckled, even though there wasn’t a damn thing funny. In the big scheme of things, I hadn’t done anything to Dynastie for her to assume something was wrong with me. It was probably more about what I didn’t do that raised some red flags.

I hung around downstairs for a while, giving her enough time to do what she needed to do in the bedroom. When I finally went upstairs, I was surprised to find her hovering on the edge of what was now her side of the bed. I thought she’d surely get her shit and go to one of the guest rooms.

I moved around the room quietly, laying out my clothes for the morning, then showering before easing into bed. Even if I’d decided to tell Dynastie I’d overheard the conversation between her and her therapist, I couldn’t do it tonight. The topic was too sensitive to discuss when I was leaving in a few hours.

Based on what I overheard, I could only assume she’d gotten an abortion or had a miscarriage. If she’d gotten an abortion, I’d be more hurt than angry, and not for the reason most would think.

I was pro-choice, and if Dynastie were pregnant with my child six years ago, when our communication came to a screeching halt with no reason or warning given, and she decided to have an abortion, I didn’t have the right to be mad. If that was the choice she made, she did it because she thought it was best for her.

A miscarriage was different and beyond her control. The thought of her going through something like that saddened me, but it would give me some understanding of her feelings about having children. It would give a new meaning to her desire to be mentally and physically ready.

The shift in my mood wasn’t about why our child wasn’t here, but it was more about why she didn’t want to tell me we shared a child. When I returned from my business trip, I’d have to bite the bullet and have the conversation, regardless of how she would react to my eavesdropping. It was the only way we’d be able to move forward.

“I expected you to be in a better mood,” Bo said as we drove to the airport.

He’d picked me up ten minutes ago, and aside from greeting him, I’d been quiet.

“Why?”

“After years of being gone, your one true love has returned, and you’ve spent the past couple of weeks refamiliarizing yourselves with each other. You should be bouncing off the walls.”

“I am . . . I was up until yesterday.”

“Would you care to share what happened?”

“You’ll just tell me I’m wrong, which I already know.”

“Then apologize to her and move on.”

“It’s not that simple.”

“Do it anyway,” he ordered.

“I will when I get back tomorrow. It doesn’t solve anything right now, though.”

“Many people believe that couples shouldn’t go to bed angry, but I’m not one of those people. Sometimes, things need to marinate before they are discussed. It gives you time to think about where things may have gone wrong and allows you to choose your words wisely. Forcing a truce doesn’t fix the problem. It may actually make it worse.”

“If I had brought it up last night, I could see the situation getting worse. She could sense the change in my mood and was annoyed after she asked if something was wrong a few times, and I told her I was fine.”

“Hopefully, by the time you return, she’ll be open to listening.”

I hadn’t used Bo’s services since Dynastie arrived because I hadn’t gone out much, so we spent the rest of the ride catching up. He had grandkids who meant the world to him, so when I asked about them, he talked about them until we reached our destination.

“Thanks, Bo. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

He nodded, and I headed into the airport. It only took about twenty minutes to get through security. On my way to my gate, I took my phone out of my pocket to text Dynastie but decided to call instead. The phone rang a few times before she answered, sounding groggy.

“Hello.”

“Hey. I made it to my gate and will be boarding shortly. I wanted to hear your voice before we took off.”

“Okay.”