Love and Marriage

Chapter Twenty-Three

Three days later, Sam was driving with Claire in the backseat. They had gone to pick up some carry-out food to take home for dinner. Martin had been recovering nicely but still wasn't fully mobile yet. He wouldn't be going back to work for at least another week, and even then he would have to be on desk duty until the doctor released him for field work.

She liked to think that their relationship had grown stronger these past three days ever since they had that talk about their night of drunken sex. Although they hadn't talked about any of their other problems yet she had high hopes that they were slowly getting back what they had let slip through their fingers.

"Mommy?" Claire asked from the backseat.

"Yes Claire?" Sam answered, keeping her eyes on the road.

"Can we get a dog?" As an afterthought she added, "please?"

Sam sighed. She knew that they would have to have this conversation eventually but was hoping that it would be later. "A dog is a big responsibility." She wasn't sure that Claire was old enough to take on that kind of responsibility yet.

"I know." Claire nodded. Her daddy had already told her no to this, but she had to at least try and ask her mommy about it too. "If I can't have a dog, can I have a baby brother or sister? All my friends have one. They get to teach them stuff. I wanna do that too."

Thankfully they were stopped at a red light when Claire asked that question. How was she supposed to tell her daughter no when she had such good reasons for wanting a younger sibling? "Sweetie, I don't think that right now is a good time for your daddy and I to have a baby. Besides, it's a big decision and there are a lot of things to consider. Why don't you let your daddy and I think about it for a while?"

"Fine." Claire pouted. "That's what daddy said too."

"I'm sorry sweetie. I just don't think that right now is the right time." She felt bad about telling Claire no, but it really wasn't the best time. They were trying to rebuild their marriage right now and the added strain of having a baby would only mess that up. Besides, she wasn't sure she could handle being pregnant again. It scared her too much.

The remaining few minutes of the car ride were silent and Sam could tell that Claire was unhappy with her for saying no to having another baby. But what was she supposed to say? She couldn't tell her daughter the real reasons why they weren't having another child. She only hoped that Claire would understand.

After pulling into the driveway, Sam got out of the car and opened up the backseat where Claire was strapped into her car seat. She quickly unbuckled the car seat and helped her get out of the car before reaching into the front seat and grabbing the food from the passenger seat. Claire had already run into the house and had probably already found Martin to tell him they were home with the food.

And she was right. On her way into the dining room she saw Martin slowly making his way from the living room with Claire walking beside him. She was recounting her day at school, making animated gestures with her hands and giving her father a huge smile.

Sam placed the bag of food on the table and started distributing it around the table. Until now she hadn't really noticed just how much Claire was like Martin. They definitely had the same disarming smile. It was the kind of smile that could make you feel better no matter what was going wrong with your life. And Claire also had the same kind of reserved attitude that Martin had. They were calm and collected until they got excited or passionate about something. Then they talked a mile a minute and their eyes lit up like firecrackers.

"So then Jake took my crayons and pulled my ponytail." Claire told her daddy as they entered the dining room.

"Who's Jake?" Martin asked as he slowly made his way to the table.

"He's a boy in her class." Sam explained. "He's been teasing her and pulling on her hair a lot lately, hasn't he?"

"Uh-huh." Claire nodded.

"Sounds like you have an admirer." Martin joked. "I think this Jake boy likes you."

"Ew daddy! That's gross!" Claire squealed.

"You think that it's gross now but unfortunately there will come a day when you won't think that boys are gross." Martin sighed, not looking forward to that day. He hoped it wasn't coming for at least another ten or twenty years.

"I don't think so." Claire shook her head.

"Well your mother thought boys were gross, didn't you?" Martin asked Sam, hoping for her to back up his claim.

"Yep," Sam nodded, "and as a matter of fact I still think boys are gross."

Martin and Claire both laughed at her comment. "See?" He looked over at his daughter.

Sam smiled. This conversation was making her remember a conversation that she had with Martin the night after Claire was born.

Sam released a huge yawn as she woke up, still feeling exhausted even though she had just gotten a few hours of sleep. Something told her that she should get used to feeling tired for the next eighteen years. Turning her head to the left she saw Martin was standing by the huge hospital window, holding Claire as he looked out at the New York skyline. It was nighttime and the only lights were from the buildings and the street below them. He was talking to her and swaying back and forth to keep her calm.

"You know, your mother and I are so happy to have you." He explained. "We're never going to let anything happen to you because we love you and we're going to protect you. And I'm sorry to have to tell you this now young lady, but you're never dating. I don't want you to have anything to do with boys."

Sam laughed loudly, causing him to turn around and give her a strange look.

"What's so funny?" He smiled.

"She's never dating?" Sam asked. "Don't you think it's a little early to even be thinking about that? She's barely a day old."

"It's never too early to start planning for her future." He pointed out. "And no I'm not joking. I'm not letting boys around her because boys are trouble."

"I agree with you about that." Sam nodded. "Boys are definitely trouble, but what are you going to do? Lock her in her room her whole life?"

His eyes lit up and Sam could almost see the light bulb go off in his head. "Now there's a good idea."

"I'm joking!" Sam laughed. "Besides, if she's locked up in her room for her entire life, how is she going to find that one special guy to spend her life with like I found you?"

He came over and sat on the side of her bed, cradling Claire close to his chest. "I thought I found you."

Sam grinned. "That's because you're a man."

"Ha ha." He rolled his eyes before going back to their conversation about Claire and boys. "I guess we could let her out occasionally."

"Why don't we get through the first few years of her life before making any big decisions like locking her up in her room?" Sam suggested, sitting up and taking Claire from him. "We'll have plenty of time to plan her future later."

"I guess." He replied, leaning in a giving Claire a kiss on her forehead before kissing Sam. "I love you—both of you."

"And we love you too." She smiled.