Two months later, mid December:
- You are pregnant?
Charles was almost choking to his wine.
Alice sat on the other side of the table, not looking at him, but at her plate, where the food laid untouched. Her face was very pale, but her cheeks were flushed.
- Yes, I'm pregnant.
- What? But how…?
- You're being silly now, Charles, Alice rolled her eyes, You know exactly how babies are made.
- But when did you find out?
He was still buffled, trying to wrap his thoughts around her words.
Pregnant? With his baby?
He was going to be a father?
- My period was late, so I asked Hank to do a test yesterday. But don't worry, I'm barely two months pregnant, there's plenty of time. In fact, I've already booked an abortion. I just thought you should know.
- No! That's out of the question, Alice.
Charles was surprised by his own, strong reaction, but this was how he felt. He was going to be a father, and he was quite sure that was going to be pretty amazing. But apparently Alice didn't share his enthusiasm, as her face was still stern, and pale, only her cheeks burning with emotion.
- That's not really your decision, Charles. It's mine, she stated.
- To have an abortion? But why, why would you even consider it?
- I've never wanted children, ever. I'd be a terrible mother.
- I dare to disagree. I think you'd be an excellent mother.
- Oh, come on, Charles! Alice snapped. What kind of a parent would I be, not able to touch my own child? What kind of a life would she have?
- Now you are being silly. Just think about it. You are already touching the baby. Were you not able to touch her, there certainly would've been a miscarriage by now.
- But Charles, that can mean one thing only, whispered Alice, her eyes tearing. It means that the baby is like me, she has inherited my mutation.
- Most likely, yes.
- Oh, that's even worse. Alice burst. That's the worst thing that could've happened!
- How can you say that, Alice? It can't be that bad.
He offered her his hand, and she took it. They had been practicing touching so much now, that they could do this, on a public place. He felt her desperation, her anger and her sadness like they were his own, and a sudden pain cut his heart. Charles felt Alice's tears burning in his own throat.
- Can't be that bad? Alice said, her voice shaking. Which part of my story isn't that bad to you? That I can never touch another person in my life, that I lost everything - my home, my family, my heritage, my chance for a normal life?
- You've lost a lot, that's true. But you gained me, and our child. Please, Alice. I know it is your decision, but please, just think this through. I love you, I will always take care of you and and the baby. And I would be honored if you'd want to be the mother of my child.
There was a moment of silence, Alice looked away from him, and pulled her fingers away from his grasp.
- It didn't even cross my mind, you'd want to keep this child, Alice whispered. That anyone would want to have a baby with me.
- Well, I do. In fact, that's an understatement. It would make me the happiest man on Earth.
They were silent again, for a few heartbeats, and then Charles remembered. He remembered the reason he had asked her out today, to this same Italian restaurant he had taken her the first time they had dined out together.
He slipped his hand into his pocket, and pulled out the small box he had carried with him for weeks now, just waiting for the right moment. His hands were slightly shaking now, as he popped the box open, and showed Alice the beautiful, white gold ring with a big emerald, the same color as her eyes.
- Alice, I love you, I worship you, I adore you, and I have never felt as complete as I do when you're by my side. Please, be my wife. Marry me, darling.
- Are you proposing to me? Alice's eyes widened.
- Yes, I think I am. So, how is it going to be, Alice? Will you marry me?
But Alice gulped, and looked away. Suddenly tears burst in her eyes.
- I have to think about it. I'm sorry, please excuse me.
She stood up, on her shaky feet, and rushed out of the restaurant, leaving Charles alone in the table, still holding the ring on his hand.
Later that night Charles was sitting in his office with Hank and Alex, emptying a third bottle of beer, and finally beginning to feel the effects. The blissful numbness cut away the edge of pain, that had made it almost impossible to breath.
Alice was carrying his child.
Alice, who had refused to marry him.
Alice, who had left him, and ran away from him. To have an abortion, for all he knew.
That thought brought a bitter taste to his mouth, and weighed heavily on his chest.
Alice, that damn little pixie, who had bewitched him, so that he could think of nothing else but her, and the way she had left her on that table like a fool.
And a fool he felt, fooled by love, and by Alice.
To hell with women, and with love, he thought. But still he was unable to think anything else at all.
- So Hank, you knew she was pregnant and you didn't tell me? he verbally attacked his friend.
- Charles, really. I am her doctor, and there is such a thing as confidentiality. But I encouraged her to tell you as soon as possible, which she did.
- Did you encourage her to book the abortion too? Or were you going to do it to her yourself?
- Don't be absurd, Charles. But if you must know, I told her there is no physical reason what so ever, for her not to have this child. She is perfectly healthy, and I'm not expecting any complications in her pregnancy. But you know, carrying a child is not a physical matter only, and it can be very stressful, even scary. It is her decision in the end, if she feels up to it.
Hanks cool and calm voice only annoyed Charles. He knew that Hank was right, but still he pressed on.
- But the child is mine too! he snapped, and threw away the emptied bottle. I should have something to say about the matter.
- And you did. There isn't much else you can do.
- Except to use a condom next time, said Alex. Really Charles, with all your Ph.D's and you didn't think about contraception?
- Like you never forgot about it, stated Charles, and grabbed a bottle of whisky from his cabinet.
- Nope, said Alex. When I don't use a condom, I do it on purpose.
- Well thank you, that was very helpful, mocked Charles. But it's the 70's and everybody's on pill. How the hell was I supposed to know she wasn't?
- Did you ask? smirked Alex.
- None of your business, smart mouth. Besides, it's not a problem that Alice is pregnant. The problem is, that she's going to abort, and on top of that, refuses to marry me!
- A good thing, that I know just what's gonna help you with that too, said Alex.
- And that is…?
- Whisky. But hey, you already found the bottle. Care to pour us some?
- With pleasure, said Charles darkly.
But just as he was about to do so, there was a knock on the door. A gentle, almost shy knock, he would have recognized anywhere.
His heart skipped a beat, as he recognized Alice's thought patterns on the other side of the door. But he was angry and agonized, and he was drunk and frustrated, so he pushed away the gentleness, and opened the door with a storm in his mind.
Alice was standing there, wearing a loose fitting pair of jeans, and a green sweater that made her skin look like ivory and her emerald green eyes seem like forest meadows. Her dark, short, curly hair made her look very young and fragile, like a fairy, as it revealed her slightly pointed ears, that Charles loved. Her face was very pale, and even if he was drunk, he noticed her eyes and nose were puffy and red from crying.
- Drinking and gossiping, Charles? she stated bitterly. That's classy.
- Well, can you blame me? he said, You just turned down my proposal.
- I didn't. I said I needed to think about it.
- You didn't say yes, so that counts as a refusal. So, are you here to give me an answer? Go ahead then, he laughed, rip off my heart. It's all yours, as it is.
- Oh Charles, for a genius and a telepath, you are incredibly stupid. Sometimes I just want to smack your face, to get that arrogant smile off it. Just read this, and we'll talk tomorrow when you're sober.
And she handed a small, folded piece of paper to him, turned on her feet, and walked away.
- Well' it doesn't seem to me that's she's about to dump you, noted Alex, as Charles closed the door.
- She said she wanted to smack my face!
- We all do, sometimes, but that doesn't mean we don't love you, brother, Stated Hank.
- But she called me stupid too, didn't she? said Charles.
- Because you are, said Hank, for not realizing what is plain clear for the rest of us.
- Then enlighten me, please, said Charles bitterly.
- You'll figure it out, I'm sure, laughed Hank and sipped his beer. And I'm going to eat my shoes, if there's not going to be a wedding by the end of the year.
- We'll see about that, for the year will end in three weeks, Said Charles as he unfolded the note Alice had given him.
Her handwriting was old fashioned, and she had written in black ink, and the writing reminded him of the notes she had handed to him a million years ago in the coffee house.
"My darling Charles,
I am sorry that I could not give you a straight answer today.
I feel utterly honored, that you proposed to me. What you have given me, is more than I ever thought I'd have, and certainly more than I deserve, the unconditional love of a good man.
But there are things that you do not know about me. Things from my past, that haunt me day and night, and I strongly feel that you cannot ask me to be your wife without getting to know my demons.
So please, take a walk with me tomorrow, in the park, if the sun is shining, and I'll share my darkest secrets with you. Then, and only then, can you decide if you still want to marry me.
Yours, heart and soul, Alice."
Without a word, Charles handed the note to Hank, who read it silently, and then to Alex, who smirked as he read it.
- 'Yours, heart and soul'? he laughed. And this is not enough for you, Charles?
- Truly, Charles, said Hank as well. I think you might have been overreacting.
But Charles did not answer, for he had read her mind in the restaurant earlier that day, and even if there had been love, there had also been sadness, hurt and pain. And fear. So much fear, that Charles had been able to sense it's metallic taste on his lips.