Chapter 71
Ryan didn't bother going after Alex when she went upstairs. They both need time to calm down after what happened. He walked over to the fridge grabbing a beer, taking a seat on the couch and watched some rerun of Goodfellas. Maybe he was wrong for not allowing Alex to explain her point of view but it doesn't matter anymore. They'll talk about it tomorrow, or so he hoped. One beer turned into two more before he took a few steps towards the bedroom but changed his mind halfway and decided to sleep in one of the two bedrooms downstairs.
Alex walked over to the crib and picked Phoebe up giving her her bottle. After she was done drinking she got comfortable under the sheets and watched some TV Phoebe still in her arms. When Ryan didn't make an appearance half an hour later she assumed he was going to sleep downstairs. She put Phoebe down next to her in the bed, putting some pillows on the edge so she wouldn't roll over and turned down the lights. Trying to calm the storm inside her so she can get some sleep, disliking it when they went to bed on bad terms.
During the still of the night he heard Phoebe's faint cries but instead of listening to his gut to get up and go see what's wrong with her or if his wife is managing, he turned around and tried to ignore it, feeling guilty the moment he did. But felt at ease again when it stopped a little while later. It was way past midnight and his sleep disappeared so he laid there with his eyes closed hoping time would pass quicker so he can start his day.
When he woke he made his way upstairs quietly not to disturb his wife and daughter who was sleeping soundly. Phoebe asleep in the crook of her mother's arm sucking her pink pacifier. Only when he was standing in the too hot shower water burning his skin that he realized how tired he actually was and that he didn't get much sleep the previous night. Strong coffee would be the only way to get him through the day. He walked around the room as quietly as he could to get dressed. Alex was awoken by the shower running and caught a glimpse of her husband when he came out of the bathroom with a white towel wrapped around his waist. More than anything she wanted him to walk over to her and kiss her, telling her to have a good day before he left for work, but the silence in their household was deafening, so she pretended to be asleep.
Hearing the door close and his SUV pull out of the driveway and down the road, she let out the breath she didn't know she had been keeping in.
"Ryan you finished those documents I gave you yesterday?" Liam asked when he bumped into Ryan on his way up the stairs. "Didn't have time to do it. I'll get on it now." Ryan mumbled walking away from the older man. "Well, I need it now. That' the reason I gave it to you yesterday and not today." Liam answered frustrated. He had to present it to the board in a few hours. "Are we done here? Because then I can start on it." Ryan told his superior. Liam stepped aside and allowed him to walk past into his office before this whole thing blows up.
"Am I missing something?" Maranda asks walking up from behind Liam. "I don't know what got under Ryan's skin but him and I need to be as far away from each other as possible today." Liam answered Maranda's question and took off.
Ryan slumped down in his chair feeling more tired than he was when he left home and frustrated on top of that. Frustrated with Liam and Alex and more so with himself for not sorting things out when he left home this morning. He started working through the documents Liam wanted so there was one less thing to worry about when there was a knock on the door.
"Guess what happened yesterday?" Caleb asked peeing his head around the door. "Not now. Not today Caleb." Ryan said not bothering to look up at his friend. "Who stirred your porridge the wrong way?" The blonde asked taking a seat on the opposite side of the desk. "Everyone plays a part in it. Including you right now." Ryan said irritated. "Message received." Caleb nodded and got up from the chair walking out the door.
Alex and Phoebe laid in bed watching cartoons when she decided to bath Phoebe a lot later than usual. Sometimes babies also need some time to lay around in their pajamas she thought to herself. Too lazy to get up and make a bottle she allowed Phoebe to nurse for the time being. "This is our little secret okay. Just for now." Alex told her daughter who was oblivious to her mother's comments and more concerned with being fed.
They lounged around for another hour before deciding to get up and get their day started. Alex wanted to get out of the house so badly but decided not to and to wait for the weekend instead, then she'll feel more comfortable in her own skin again once the last of the discolored skin disappeared. At lunch time another knock on the door startled the two of them. "It's just me no need to jump for joy." Shelby announced when Alex opened the door. "I'm sorry I've had better days." She apologized handing Phoebe over to her godmother. "Why are you just as grumpy as Ryan?" Alex asked walking past her friend into the house. "We had an argument last night and haven't spoken since." Alex summed up the events. "You wanna talk about it?" Shelby offered an ear. "I might not be able to help but if you wanna vent I'm here." She smiled and Alex nodded. "Thank you, but a woman in your position should not be burdened with my problems. Do you know what it is yet?" Alex asked changing the topic.
"No. But I had another checkup last week and we listened to the heartbeat. It was such an amazing sound I felt like I could listen to it forever and not get tired of hearing it." Shelby glowed talking about it. "I know right. It could be a boy then he'll have a role as acting brother for Phoebe." Alex mentioned but Shelby shook her head. "No, I'd like a girl. Then they can be best friends and give their fathers all their days when it comes to them bringing home some boys." Shelby laughed thinking how Ryan and Caleb would react when it comes down to it.
"We can take Phoebe for the night when you and Ryan want to be alone and sort this out." Shelby offered seeing how down her friend is. "No, we just need to talk like the adults we supposedly are. Thanks for offering though." Alex was grateful she had a best friend like the blonde. "Well if you change your mind you know where to find me." Shelby said making her way to the kitchen. "Do you have pickles? Or olives?" Shelby ranted the fridge looking for the things she just mentioned. "Last time I checked you were the pregnant one with your weird cravings. So no, I don't eat any of those things." Alex laughed when Shelby settled for tuna, draining the water and eating it from the can.
Alex wasn't in the mood for making dinner and wasn't hungry either. Depending on the mood Ryan is in she'll offer to make him something to eat or he'll just have to see what there is to eat. She made work of it to bath Phoebe and feed Phoebe before he comes. Sticking to the promise she made earlier the day that Phoebe's nursing would be limited from now on, and gave her formula before he father returned home from work.
Ryan pulled up outside and sat in the car for a while before entering the house. That tension he thought he could momentarily escape while he was at work clearly didn't work. Because at work everyone seemed to notice that something was up with him. Alex heard the front door open and decided it was time to face the music. She came down the stairs carrying Phoebe as Ryan was putting his briefcase on the floor next to the couch. Phoebe squirming to get out of her mother's hold to get to her father.
"Hey you." Ryan greeted his daughter taking her from his wife kissing her smiley face. Surprised to see that she was in pajamas already since she was usually bathed after they were done with dinner. Alex walked over to the kitchen to make her some coffee. Still not saying a word to her husband or making eye contact with each other.
"Alex we need to talk about last night." Ryan told her as he turned to her slowly. She nodded her head while pouring the boiling water into the cup stirring the content. "Why do you always do that?" Alex asked him. "What are you talking about?" He asked genuinely confused. "Whenever we argue about something and it's unresolved you don't come to bed that night." Alex questioned sure this would be the start of another argument which she hope is not the case. "I just feel like we both need space and some time to calm down. Because you're sleeping on the far side of the bed not wanting a limb of yours to touch me, so I guessed sleeping downstairs makes it easier somehow to see things in perspective the next day." He shrugged not sure how well this would go if it started off like this. "Okay." Alex nodded taking her coffee and waling over the couch.
Ryan followed putting Phoebe down so the two parents can work through this. "I didn't give you a chance to explain your side of the story and I said some things that wasn't necessary and for that I'm sorry." Ryan started his part of the apology. "I get where you're coming from, and believe me I didn't make this decision lightly. I didn't stop her from nursing all at once. I was too lazy getting up to make a bottle this morning." Alex admitted softly seeing a small smile creep onto her husband's face. "I heard her cry last night, was everything okay?" He asked guilt getting a hold of him again for asking the question out loud and not doing anything about it. "Yeah she just needed a clean diaper and some cuddles." Alex smiled looking over at Phoebe laying on her back watching the moving pictures on the TV mounted to the wall. "So, does this mean we're good?" He asked not wanting to just assume something and then their issues is not resolved yet.
"Yeah." She nodded leaning her head against his chest.
"I see you haven't cooked. So we can skip right to dessert then?" Ryan whispered in her ear and she lifted her head from his chest.
"Phoebe's far from sleepy so you need to keep your hormones in check." She laughed blushing a little. Curling up closer into his side, cuddling on the couch watching their daughter. Both waiting in suspense for her to fall asleep so mommy and daddy can have some much needed alone time.
Sunshine in the Booth household again. Thank you for reading!
