Chapter 6 – Alice
If Charlotte Tate had known that she was about the meet the love of her life, do you think she would have taken such a big bite of that peanut-butter and jelly sandwich?
Peter Brandon had been watching Charlotte for days, just waiting for the right moment to ask her out. The NYU undergrad had a crush on his fellow coed without ever really speaking to her before. A minor detail that he was determined to rectify. Of course, he probably could have picked a better moment than when she was stuffing her face. Even still, he found Charlotte endearing in a way he had never found anyone else. He almost wanted to ask her before she could swallow, just to see her face turn from that delicate shade of pink to an even brighter red than it was beginning to become already.
What Peter didn't know, was that Charlotte had been eyeing him too. The reason for her blush was not just because she was embarrassed for the full mouth, but also that he had just so happened to pick the one time to approach her when she wasn't wearing any makeup.
Of all the luck; of all the days.
Not that Peter even noticed or cared about the nudity of her face. She was always beautiful to him, and on that particular day, she was especially stunning.
"Two ordinary people that I've never met, that together would later create my entire reason for existing," Jasper told Dr. Platt at his next therapy session.
"This is a good direction to go in. Why don't you tell me more about Alice's background? It might help me get a better understanding as to why she chose to leave you," Dr. Platt suggested.
Jasper nodded to himself as he began to recollect the stories of Alice's history. He didn't really understand the point, or how it could help, but he was already thinking about it so he figured it was better than talking about his probation again.
"Peter and Charlotte were college sweethearts, pretty much from that first conversation on. Both graduated to become teachers. They were good people. They had trouble conceiving. Went through three rounds of fertility treatments before she finally got pregnant with Alice. They adored her. Worshiped her even, especially since it took so long for them to have her…. And then they died."
"How did they die?" Dr. Platt questioned gently.
"Car accident," Jasper said emotionlessly. "Alice was ten. She was in the car with them at the time. They lived in Connecticut, but were driving to New York to see a Broadway play for Alice's birthday. The front of the car was completely smashed. It was a head-on collision. Her parents died instantly, and little Alice was left in the back seat screaming for them. Oh, and her father was decapitated. I guess I shouldn't leave that part out. Ten year old Alice was stuck in that car for over forty minutes before rescue could get to her. Forty minutes with her dead mother and headless father. Something like that can seriously fuck with a kid's mind."
"It certainly can," Dr. Platt agreed. "So, what happened next for Alice? Did she get the help she needed?"
"No. The closest relative she had was an uncle who had rarely ever done anything legitimate in his life. He used to molest her. She endured it for two years until she found one of his guns and told him if he ever touched her again she would kill him. Just to prove her point, she shot him in the knee."
"Oh," Dr. Platt said surprised.
"Yeah, he never bothered her again. My baby was one tough chick, even as a child," Jasper said with a level of reverence that kind of took Dr. Platt's breath away for a moment.
Jasper would continue his story of the love of his life through her adulthood and right until the day they met. Alice was a strong young woman, but she was also troubled and riddled with self-doubt. She pretended to be confident, almost to the point of over-confident shallowness, but it was just a protection mechanism.
Alice had been completely taken aback by Jasper' forward approach to wooing her. She had dated a wide variety of men, but never one quite like him. Jasper had a beautiful face, but more importantly, he had the kindest blue eyes she had ever seen, and a pure soul that just radiated out from them.
A man like that was terrifying to Alice. What could she ever offer him?
However, that speech. That speech he gave her about not asking her out until they were both ready, absolutely ruined all other men for her. No one would ever – could ever – measure up, and she knew she was helpless to resist.
Despite Jasper's intensity, their romance was always soft and sweet. Jasper was her safe-space – the calm in the middle of her stormy life. He was the first feeling of home for her since her parents died, and she wasn't going to let her overactive mind get between them. It didn't matter if she thought she was unworthy; he chose her. He loved her. He wanted to spend the rest of his life with her, and by god, she wanted it too. As long as she got her dog…
"That doesn't look like a small dog," Jasper told her as she held the fluffy puppy in her arms, kissing it over and over on its head.
"What do you mean? He's tiny," she cooed. They were celebrating her birthday, and for her gift, as promised, he had brought her to the local ASPCA. They had already been married for over two years, so it was well past time, and Alice couldn't have been more excited.
"Ma'am, how old is this little guy here?" Jasper asked the woman working there.
"He is about ten weeks."
"Ten weeks!" Jasper said back to Alice, emphasizing each word so she would understand exactly what that meant.
Alice only giggled. "He's just a baby. He needs us."
"Ten weeks," Jasper repeated. "That means he isn't house trained. He will cry all night, and look how big he is already. I can't even imagine how big he will be when he is full grown."
"That's a German Shepherd mix," the woman working there interjected. "He will be around sixty pounds."
"Sixty pounds!" Jasper said with comical fear. "Babe, we live in a tiny apartment. What are we going to do with a dog like this?"
"I don't know. You're right," Alice said sadly, before putting the puppy back down. "Come on, let's go."
"Wait, there are other dogs," Jasper said encouragingly.
"I know, but any other dog I pick right now will just be a consolation prize. I need to wait a bit now to let myself get over the puppy."
"Alice…"
"I promise, it's okay. We will come back next week. Really. Hopefully by then the puppy will have found a great home and I won't feel bad about leaving here with a different dog."
Alice was sad, but she refused to let it ruin the rest of her special day. She got herself made up, and the couple went to her favorite Italian restaurant for dinner. Afterwards, they met up with some friends and spent a few hours dancing and having fun, which was pretty much Alice's favorite pastime.
They ended the perfect night back at their apartment, making love and holding each other like they promised to always do. Their love was strong, and with every passing year, their love only grew more intense.
The next morning, Alice was awoken by kisses all over her face. It was her day off, and they had been out late the night before, so it was safe to say she was a little grumpy that she was being forced up so early.
"Come on babe. I'll fuck your brains out in a hour, I promise. Just give me that hour first," she whined, reflexively pushing him away. The feeling of his body, however, was quite strange, and quite hairy.
Her eyes popped open. "Oh my god!" she screamed, thus startling the puppy. "Jasper!" she cried with tears of joy welling in her eyes. "How?… Why?"
"Because you were in love, and I love you, so how could I deny you that?" he told her tenderly. "When I told you I was going to the bathroom before we left there, I really went back and adopted him. I made special arrangements with the staff so I could pick him up extra early this morning."
"Babe, you are the best person on the face of this planet… But I thought we agreed he is going to be too big?"
"We will just have to make do. Maybe this will force us to move to the suburbs. I know how much you'd love that," he snickered.
She groaned. "We are not moving to the suburbs… but maybe eventually a bigger apartment closer to a park."
"And until then, we will just have to figure out how to live with this little fuckface."
"Jasper," Alice said slowly as she noticed the nametag hanging from the puppy's collar.
"Yes, my love?"
"Did you seriously name the dog Fuckface?"
He chuckled. "The pound insisted that he needed some kind of name before he was able to be released from there, and that was the first thing I could think of. I didn't know they were going to actually put it on his tag. It was more of a joke than anything."
"Aww, did daddy name you Fuckface?" she asked the puppy while holding him up so she could look in his eyes. "You know, it kind of suits him."
Jasper chuckled. "It really does."
"I'm going to come up with a better name for him, but we need to leave that tag on. I'm sure strangers will love it," Alice giggled.
"To hell with strangers; I can't wait until my mom sees it," he said excitedly.
"Oh, your poor mom. It might just give her a heart attack. Telling her she is going to be a grandma for the first time while introducing her new grandpup, Fuckface. It's going to be too much for her."
"I should probably videotape her; she hates dogs more than I do," he said with a laugh, but then he realized something. "Wait… Did you just say what I think you said?"
She nodded slowly. "I'm pregnant. We're having a baby."
"Oh, my god! Baby, we are having a baby," he said, getting emotional. Tears immediately rolled down his cheeks as he looked at her still flat stomach with new eyes.
Jasper had always wanted to be a father. He loved kids, and even though the couple had agreed to wait a few more years before expanding their family in that way, he couldn't have been more excited.
Alice, on the other hand, couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed. She put on a happy face for her husband, but the truth was, she wasn't ready to be a mother just yet. She always assumed she would have kids someday, but there was still so much she wanted to do first, and now she was feeling like they were going to skip over all their dreams and be forced to settle down prematurely. She still enjoyed the nightlife and hanging with their childless friends. Was all their fun really over? Would their idea of a good time turn into watching baby movies and hitting up the good sales on diapers?
But even more disappointing than feeling like they were losing their youth, was knowing they would probably never go on that big vacation they had been saving for. They had planned to see France and Italy – the honeymoon they never had the chance to go on since they couldn't afford it at the time. Now, Alice was sure they would have to spend that extra money on baby stuff.
"Babe, what's wrong?" Jasper asked her when he had gone on and on about the excitement of becoming parents, while she had remained mostly silent.
"Nothing. I'm just still a little surprised myself. I mean, I found out yesterday, but you had such a busy day planned for us for my birthday that I never had time to tell you. I guess I didn't even really have time to think about the impact it's going to make on our lives before now. It's just going to be a big change. I hope we're ready for it."
"Well, we have to be, right? What other choice do we have?" he replied with a huge grin. "It's going to be great!" he added when Alice didn't smile with him.
"I know it will," she agreed with a nod, trying to convince herself more than anything.
Alice knew deep down that Jasper was right. She hated that she had any sort of negative feeling towards their baby at all, and she was bound and determined to lose them as quickly as possible. If she didn't feel like smiling, she damn well was going to fake it.
"We will have to come up with a better name than Fuckface," she suggested.
"Aww, whatever we decide will be perfect. This kid is going to be amazing! The most amazing kid there ever was. Just wait and see."
As much as Alice didn't share her husband's confidence, she didn't have a doubt that Jasper would see them through it. That was just the kind of guy he was. Where Alice lacked, which in her opinion was a lot, Jasper would always pick up the slack. He took care of her in ways she had never been cared for before, and she loved him like hell for it.
Deep down she knew they would figure it all out. They had to. Like Jasper said, what other choice did they have?