I sat in the living room. Erik came in and sat down beside me. I grabbed his hand and rest my head on his shoulder.
"Erik, we need to have a serious talk." I told him. He looked at me petting my hair away from my eyes.
"What would that be about dearest?" He asked I snuggled a little closer to him and gave a small regretful huff.
"Children. I saw the way you tensed up with Claire mentioned children. That worried me. I- I want children. But I can see you are a little timid towards the topic. What do you think?" I asked. Erik sighed heavily then wrapped his arms around me loosely.
"You are very maternal. I can tell by the way you act around Christine and the younger ballerinas. You are very motherly." He told me, he pressed his forehead to my temple. His fingers ran lightly over the flesh of my neck. I waited quietly for his reply.
"It's hard to decide. You said it was chance; whether my deformity will be passed on to our children." He told me. I reached around and touched his upper arm.
"Please allow me to think about it for a while." He asked me. I kissed his neck gently.
"It's okay; you can think about it for as long as you need." I told him, he wrapped his other arm around me and held me closer to him. I did the same.
"I love you." He told me. I smiled.
"I love you too." I snuggled closer to him. We were in silence for a few moments until I was swatted on the ankle, causing me to jump. I growled and sat up looking down at the annoyed looking Calean. She meowed angrily. I rolled my eyes.
"Is it two-forty yet?" I asked, Erik sat up and checked his watch.
"Um, two twenty, why?" He replied and sat up as well. I picked up Calean. She hissed and yowled in annoyance.
"Ooh you poor baby! I'm just killing you!" I told her in a sarcastic voice. I looked to Erik with a smile.
"I'm taking my little Queen to the vet to see if she's got a few buns in the oven." I told him. Erik smiled and laughed.
"Where is her carrier?" I asked him.
"The basement, would you like me to go get it for you?" He asked. I shook my head, giving him the feline. He smiled and cooed to her in a bit of a soothing way. The cat calmed down slightly. I went to the basement and I lit a match and ignited the tar that was lined around the room. Erik used this trick in several places. I saw the carrier and went for it. I gave a small cry and fell; having tripped on a misplaced box. I landed with a painful grunt. Sitting up I looked to the box. I stopped, the infamous Punjab lasso laid across the ground. I sat frozen. I was surprised that he had kept it. I coiled it back into a loop shakily and put it back in the box. I turned and grabbed Calean's carrier.
I thought that Erik, if he kept the lasso he would've at least put it in a place that his clumsy fiancé wouldn't be able to literally stumble upon it. I thought he was done with that life. If I were to lead a life like Erik had. And if I had something like that lasso; I would get rid of it if I left the life style.
I went up the stairs and came back into the living room. Erik was scratching Calean behind her ears, she was enjoying immensely. Erik looked to me.
"Are you alright? You look as though you've seen a ghost?" He asked. I smiled, and stopped in front of him and opened the carrier.
"Um… I was getting the carrier and I tripped over a box. When I looked I saw a rope." I said as I reached for Calean. He stood and handed her to me.
"You saw the lasso." He said. I nodded.
"Why do you still have it?" I asked. Erik looked slightly ashamed.
"I…that. Constance." He closed his eyes and gave a heavy sigh. I put Calean into the carrier with my hands hardly spared from her claws.
"I'll let you put together your thoughts and possibly an excuse. Until then, I'll be at the vet, okay?" I said. He looked to the ground in a bit of a shameful fashion. I kissed him briefly and left.
I walked up to the front desk and put Calean in her carrier on the counter.
"Hello." I greeted the vet technician with a smile. He returned it and gave me the sign in sheet. I signed the paper and sat down. A Saint Bernard watched me with a saggy expression, his mouth open and drool dripping from his mouth. I looked to his owner and froze.
"Jonah!" I nearly yelled, then blushed heavily when I got a look or two. The old painfully familiar face looked up to me from his newspaper. His eyes brightened as he recognized me.
"Constance! Hello! Of all places to meet you it's the vet." He said, laughing, his stormy eyes sparkling. It used to make me weak.
"How have you been?! I really can't believe that I ran into you at the vet!" I told him. He smiled.
"I have been wonderful. So many wonderful things have happened. My business took off and I now have two beautiful little girls and a wonderful home and family. But now I've heard that you've finally met someone you want to settle with." He told me. I smiled.
"That's wonderful, how old are your daughters?" I asked, he beamed proudly and took out his wallet. He gave me a picture, his wife, Mary was holding an infant, and a younger girl was smiling at the camera.
"Jane is the six month old and Josie is the older one. She's six. I spoil her to death though." He told me chuckling. I smiled and studied the picture of his daughters.
"They're precious. The closest thing to a baby I've had recently is Calean and I have a hunch that I'm becoming a grandmother soon." I said, gesturing to the carrier at my feet. There was an annoyed hiss as Jonah's Saint Bernard. I felt like kicking the carrier as bitter as she had been recently. But the baby was a victim of hormones so I didn't. Not that I really would in the first place.
Jonah had a laugh at my joke. He pets his Saint's head and leaned down to get a look at Calean. He then looked to me.
"So how about this newspaper article? Look at it, Nobleman Viscount De Chagney in Jail for Attempted Murder. Date of Trial still to be released." He told me. I blushed and coughed uncomfortably.
"Yeah." I muttered. Jonah gave me a look.
"Yeah; that's it?" He asked.
"So what's wrong with your Saint Bernard?" I asked attempting to avoid the topic. He narrowed his eyes at me. He was always able to read me. What was it about the people I was interested in that were able to completely read me?
"Are you alright?" He asked. I looked around nervously.
"We don't speak much about the Viscount. The entire thing is scandalous and we try to avoid it." I told him.
"Oh, alright that's understandable. But I think Zaon here ate something he wasn't supposed to. I was hoping the vet could clear it up." He told me. I nodded. The vet came out of the office and called Jonah.
"Okay, Constance I'm glad I ran into you. I wanted you and me to meet up. I saw a small café at the corner of the street. You bring Erik; and Mary and I will meet you at 1:30 for lunch tomorrow. How's that?" He said, offering a piece of paper. I took it.
"That sounds wonderful. I might show up alone. Erik isn't exactly social around people he hasn't even met. Oh, and the wedding is April 2nd at eight forty five. You'll be there?" I asked.
"I wouldn't miss it for the world, Constance. Have a nice day." He said, leading the Saint Bernard away. My name was called and I picked up Calean's carrier and followed them to the examination room. The vet was waiting for us, his glasses at the edge of his nose, salt and pepper hair with kind grey eyes. He was wearing the typical vet get up and was waiting for us patiently.
"Hello Mademoiselle O'Rally. What do we have here today?" He asked.
"A possibly pregnant kitty. I just need professional say so. So I can prepare for the little buns in the oven." I told him. He smiled and opened the cage.
"Careful she's mean." I told him. Calean strutted out in her own speed and sat down, switching her tail angrily. I sighed.
"I apologize for any bloody hands." I told him. He laughed and he delicately pressed his hands to Miss Calean. He jumped when she hissed and growled at him.
"I can pretty much tell you that she's pregnant. You should probably make preparations for kittens Mademoiselle O'Rally." He told me. I smiled.
"Okay thank you."