Beginnings -- Chapter 4

3 months later

Eames paced the length of her living room rug as she waited for Goren to get there. Initially she told him she wanted to be alone, but three hours of gnawing at her thumb nails prompted her to call him.

She heard a knock, his knock, and opened the door to a casual Goren dressed in jeans and a flannel shirt.

“Hey,” she said.

“Hey…what’s wrong?” he asked as he followed her into the living room.

She could feel his steady gaze searing into her back.

He was always the anxious one; the one fighting to explain himself, while she was the steady one. She was rarely indecisive or easily spooked. So, why did she so hastily tell him that she wanted to be alone, and then call him to come over barely three hours later?

He listened as she took a deep breath and led him to the sofa. She turned her body toward his once seated and held his hand. He took this a sign of good faith.

“Okay…” Eames sighed. “So you know I went to the doctor this morning because I was gonna go back on the pill…”

“Yeah…” he said with a furrowed brow.

“Well…it looks like…it’s a little late for that.”

She looked up at his eyes, wondering if he was going to make her say the actual words. She’d never seen this fearful, silent face before.

“You’re?”

“Yeah…”

Goren stood and started the same path Eames walked earlier up and down the rug.

“How…how far along?”

“About six weeks.”

She propped her arm over the sofa and rubbed her forehead. Her stomach seemed to be swirling in step with his pacing.

“How long have you suspected?”

“I didn’t.”

“We’ve been careful.”

“Obviously not careful enough.”

“Wh-what do you want to do?”

She grabbed his wrist and tugged him back to the sofa.

“Please sit,” she pushed him onto the sofa and she sat on the coffee table. “Bobby, I’m thirty-six years old, I may not get another chance at this…and ever since…”

Goren tapped his fingers against his knee and kept his eyes on her joined hands.

“I knew…I could tell you wanted kids after you had your nephew, but we’ve never discussed this…I don’t know if I…we haven’t even told anyone that we’re together and…”

“Look, I’m prepared to do this on my own—“

“No—“

“I don’t want you here out of obligation.”

“It’s not that I don’t want this…there’s just a lot to consider. Work, your family…my mom,” he said then met her eyes. “You know it’ll have a greater chance…”

“I know,” she said reaching behind her for a group of papers. “I’ve been reading about it since I got home.”

He tentatively took the print outs from her and thumbed through them.

“You read all of this?”

She nodded. “I may not spend hours at the library, but I can do research. Listen, I’m not being naïve about this, but the fact that you or your brother has never shown signs means there’s a good chance that your children wouldn’t either.”

Eames could feel him thinking and with her gaze attempted to sooth him into believing it would be okay; that one way or another things would work out.

“You really want this…with me.”

“Yes, I do.”

He exhaled and placed his hands on her knees.

“How long do you want to wait to tell everyone?”

His voice was flat, trying to hide his concerns, but it was still something.

“I figure we have a couple months before we have to.”

He slid his hands up to her hips as he leaned his forehead to her shoulder and she draped her arms around his. She lightly kissed his cheek and then buried her nose in the crook of his neck.
He focused on the light strings of air tickling his neck and wanted desperately to believe her.

“Eames, I don’t want you to be upset with me but…I’m gonna need some time to get my head around all of this.”

“I know…it’s okay.”

“I—“ Goren began to open his mouth again when his cell started to ring.

They let go of each other and he fished his phone out of his pocket.

“Goren,” he answered and paused to listen. “Okay…no, I’ll call her.”

She rubbed her face against her hands before looking back at him, as if putting on a new face.

“So?” she asked as he put his phone back in this pocket.

“Uh…there’s a body in the subway…looks like he just collapse after stealing some diamonds from a jewelry store near the station…looks like an accomplice got away with the goods.”

“How considerate.”

He rose and headed toward her bedroom.

“I still have a suit here, right?”

“Near the back of the closet,” she called as she followed after him.