I have my standards.
“Once a cheater, always a cheater,” is what I
always thought.
But it was Mark.
I hesitated.
Two little versions of me were arguing in my
head.
The kid Mark and the man Mark.
<
Finally, I caved.
“Cut it off with her, Mark.”
“This is your only chance.”
Mark nodded so hard, his head almost came
off.
He deleted Brittany’s contact info right in front
of me.
But the picture on my phone felt like a slap in
the face.
Mark had lied again.
Those hickeys.
I could only imagine how wild things had gotten.
I took a deep breath and dialed a number I
hadn’t called in 2000
hadn’t called in ages.
“Professor Thompson?”
“You mentioned something about an exchange program abroad six months ago.”
“Can I still apply?”
“The program in that area has already ended.”
“However, if you are still interested, you could
go to France.”
“There is a three–year course available for
designers, Amy.”
“Didn’t you want to have a baby?”
“I thought you were going to put designing on
hold for a while.”
The second year of our marriage, our parents
<
started pressuring us about kids.
I didn’t want them.
Mark had shielded me for years.
pu
Six months ago, Professor Thompson had told
me about the exchange program.
I could go to France and study with a top
designer.
I couldn’t wait to tell Mark, but I saw the look
on his face when his parents were hassling him
about grandkids.
So I gave it up.
I figured I’d have a baby first.
We’d been trying for six months and nothing
had happened.
<
8:10
45
Mark kept saying it was his fault so I wouldn’t
be disappointed.
And now, Brittany was pregnant.
I licked my dry lips.
“Never mind about the baby,” I said.
“We’ll just let things happen.”
Professor Thompson sent me the application right away.
I had just finished filling it out when Mark came home.
He had a huge bouquet of roses and an
expensive necklace.
I recognized the brand.
<
It was a new collection.
I just glanced at it and tossed it in a drawer.
Mark looked awkward.
“Amy, are you still mad?”
“Tell me what I can do to make you feel better.”
“Whatever it is, I’ll do it.”
I looked away and picked up our cat, a silver
chinchilla.
We had gotten her a couple of months ago.
I love cats, but Mark wasn’t a fan.
So we’d never had one.
The day he brought her home, I was feeling
down about not getting pregnant.
<
Seeing that cat just made all the bad feelings
go away.
Mark treated the cat like it was good luck.
He took care of feeding her and cleaning the
litter box.
“Amy, how about we take a trip? You’ve been
wanting to see the ocean, right?”
“We can go on a cruise.”
“We can sit on the deck at night and look at the
stars.”
“I know it’s hard to forget what happened
yesterday.”
“But I’ll try.”
“Amy, I’ll always be the Mark you love.”
Г
8:11
“I swear.”
I looked at the man kneeling on the floor, swearing to God.
I felt empty.
I nodded.
Mark got so happy.
His face lit up.
45
He couldn’t wait to book tickets and plan everything.
