Where the Streets Have No Name
Chapter 17
Carmen picked an upscale, art-deco cafe downtown as the venue where Edward could make his case. He paid for their order - regular black for him, double-shot latte for her - and followed Carmen to a relatively isolated table away from the other customers.
When Carmen picked up her latte, he considered remarking how she needed to cut down on her caffeine intake, but was struck dead on his track by her deadly glare. Nothing was set in stone. She hadn't bought on to his sales pitch yet. He needed to pick his battles carefully.
"You have thirty minutes," she said once they were seated, facing each other.
Edward took a deep breath then laid out his grand plan before her. He knew the impromptu marriage proposal was a stretch. Secretly, he was a little relieved that Carmen had shot him down.
That matter aside, he still felt they could raise a baby together. Divorced parents shared custody all the time. So could they. He would support her financially, emotionally, and in real time by actively caring for the baby so Carmen could rest. Yes, both their lives would be impacted, but he would do everything in his power to make sure her future plans took the minimum hit.
They could move to a bigger place, together or just her. He would pay for it, of course.
The pregnancy might have been unwelcome, but their baby didn't have to be.
Was it not worth considering at least?
Carmen's face remained impassive. Her eyes stared into empty space as Edward spoke.
"I got short listed to be the weekend co-anchor at UWTV," Carmen said finally in a flat voice. "This is it; my first break. They won't hire a pregnant whale. I may never get another chance like this."
Edward could sympathize with her predicament and it reminded him of the acceptance letter from New York that was sitting on his desk at home. He had completely forgotten about Lenox Hill. What would he do? Would Carmen be willing to relocate across the country? Could he even ask that of her? In either case, this clearly wasn't the right moment to bring it up. With a heavy sigh, he filed away his problems to deal with later.
His focus needed to be on Carmen's troubles right now, not his.
Thank you Lulabelle98, HeidiJoVT, and Dinx.