“I was out late last night. He was upset. I tried to make it up to him and he put me off. What man doesn’t want sex?”
Tasha certainly wasn’t going to say anything but she had been wondering the same thing about Eric. It had been awhile since they’d been intimate too. And, when they were, it was as if he just needed a release and she was left frustrated. She spoke softly, “Maybe he wants more than that from you?”
“Like what? I’ll never be the happy homemaker if that’s what he’s looking for. I mean, he knew that when he married me.”
“Sabrina, where were you last night?”
Rarely did Sabrina look guilty but guilt was written all over her face. “I was with him. Look before you get all up on your soapbox, he was only in town for a few days. And…we ended things last night.”
“You ended things with Daniel again?”
“We seriously ended things last night.”
“You’re going to get yourself killed! That’s Tim’s brother-in-law. I don’t even know what to say…”
“Don’t say anything. Just tell me what I should do about Tim. I feel like he might be thinking about walking away from this marriage.”
“Can you blame him? If he ever finds out…he will. You would if he was doing half the stuff you’re doing.”
“What…has…Tim…told…you?”
“I’m your best friend he’s not going to say too much. But, I know that Tim wants to be able to share his inner thoughts with you. He wants to spend quality time with you. He used to talk about wanting to start a family. Maybe you should slow down at work.”
“Why is it that women always have to be the one to slow down? No one ever makes those kinds of demands on the man.”
“Tim adjusted a lot of things in his life for you. Maybe you could slow down just a little bit.”
“You know…this would be my third divorce. Daddy already thinks I’m a failure and I’m sure if we divorce, that will go a long way to proving that point.”
Tasha was getting a headache. “No he doesn’t. But, you’ve definitely got to figure some things out.”
Sabrina took a deep breath and reached out to hold Tasha’s hands. “If I can just get through all of this…I promise I’ll be a better wife.”
“Sabrina…you’ve got to figure out why you can’t control that part of you. Control that and you and Tim might have a chance.”
“I just need more time. Then, I can figure out a plan.”
“Why do you need a plan? Just be real with him.”
“Because…I’m pregnant.”
“Oh...my…god…Sabrina, that’s wonderful news! What is all this nonsense you’re talking about then? You know Tim won’t leave you. You’re carrying his child. He’s been wanting to start a family for some time now.” Sabrina looked as if she wanted to cry. “Wait…what’s wrong?”
“I don’t think it’s his.”
*****
Two weeks later, Sabrina called Tasha at work. Her voice sounded weak, “Hey, do you think you can come get me?”
“Come get you? When?”
“Now.”
“Give a girl some notice will you? I’ll just have to let my boss know I’m leaving. From…where? Where are you?”
“I’m at the Mercy hospital. It’s on the Westside.”
“You’re in the hospital? Why didn’t you just say that? Are you okay? What the hell were you doing on the Westside? What happened? I’ll call Tim!”
“No! Don’t call him. Please. You know he’s in Hong Kong for the next couple of weeks. There is no reason for him to rush back here. There’s nothing he can do anyway.”
Tasha grabbed her keys and her purse from her desk as she rushed out of the office. “Are you okay?”
“I lost the baby.”
Tasha stopped short and sucked in a breath, “I’m so sorry, Sabrina.”
Instead of Sabrina sounding distraught, she sounded…relieved. “Please don’t say anything to Tim. I hadn’t quite figured out how to tell him I was even pregnant in the first place.”
“Of course, I won’t say anything. That’s between you and him. I’m in the car, I’m on my way.”
Tasha had this nagging feeling that Sabrina hadn’t “lost” the baby but more likely terminated her pregnancy. She felt awful thinking that way about her and tried to wipe those foul thoughts from her mind.
Chapter 15
Tasha was standing in front of the stove finishing up dinner. Tim was in the living room watching the game waiting for Eric and Sabrina to arrive. They were both running late, no surprise there. He’d only come because Tasha asked him to.
She heard him the moment he came into the kitchen. Lately, just being near him made her heart race.
“It smells good in here. Need any help?”
Tasha wasn’t sure when her feelings for Tim had changed but they had. It was getting harder and harder to pretend that they were just friendly. The guilt she carried was eating away at her. What type of woman was she?
Trying to sound normal, Tasha responded “Actually, everything is almost ready.”
“I’m starving. Let me taste something?”
He tore a piece of French bread off from the loaf on the stove. He was now standing directly in back of her. She could feel him. His presence was so strong.
Tim leaned over her shoulder, “Come on. Let me dip this bread into that pot. You should at least let me have a taste as a reward of sorts for being on time.”
“Fine.” Tasha took the bread from him and dipped it into the pot. She turned around to put it up to his lips for a taste. When he tried to put it in his mouth, he accidently sucked her
