3.0 The Chronicles of Us - Choas & Clarity

Chapter eighteen

*♡ Ellie ♡*

Nathan: I'm sorry, but I have to cancel our lunch date. I won't be available anytime soon.

Date?

Phew! Seems I'm saved by the bell, or rather, buzz. Running into Nathan was nice enough, but he got a little too persistent for my taste. I kind of thought he got back together with ... what was her name? Right, Goldilocks. Their divorce didn't seem that definite to me then. I may have romanticized the whole ordeal for the sake of happy endings. Perhaps sometimes endings are just that ... the end of something.

I put my phone away, ignoring my dreary deduction, and continue with my current activity. It's far too soon to purchase baby or even maternity clothes, but I'm just so darn excited! I've been walking through this megastore for over an hour and I'm pretty sure I've touched all of the little clothes. Totally unintentional, of course, but filling my head with baby stuff makes it easier to not feel guilty about not having told Tex yet.

What if he doesn't want anything to do with me anymore?

What if he rejects me and his child?

What if—

I shake the fearful shudder and take a pair of jeans from its rack. As far as maternity pants go, these are pretty cute. Maybe I should buy a pair. I mean, they are on sale and—

"Ellie?"

Oh no.

Not now, not here.

I turn around and am met with a familiar rush of warmth through my chest. "What are you doing here?"

When Tex holds up a teeny-tiny blue romper, my heartbeat comes to a halt.

He's here to buy baby clothes?

Does he know?

Is this a sign?

"I'm meeting up with Roy at his place. I thought I should bring something for Elodie. That's normal, right?"

The adorably awkward lift of his left mouth-corner sets the plains of my barren heart abloom. My walls begin to crumble and I can't stop it from happening. "You don't have to bring a gift every time you visit them, but it's a nice gesture." I point at the item in his hands. "That romper is too small, though, and you do know Elodie is a girl, don't you?"

"Yeah, I know, but not all girls like pink." He shrugs and smiles at the same time. "You prefer green."

"That's true." Right now, in this very moment, it's hard to remember why we are apart in the first place. Should I simply forgive him? I could blurt out the words and see what happens.

Before I get a chance to do so, he speaks. "What are you doing here? I mean, it's almost lunchtime. Don't you have plans or something?"

What is that supposed to mean?

"No, I'm going home soon."

"Maggie's place is not your home," he counters with sad, downcast eyes, and then, all of a sudden, they light up with a gleam of hope. "Are you getting a present for Elodie too? Did Roy ask you to come over today as well?"

I would've liked that. In fact, I would've loved that. What if I pretend that's the reason I'm here? No, he would see straight through that lie. "I was just looking around ... "

... for stuff for our baby.

It's time to tell him. Maybe this is not the right place, though. He might freak out. I guess we can meet up later today. At our house. I want that, if I'm honest.