Where the Streets Have No Name
Chapter 40
Do I love her?
He opened his mouth a few times and closed it. For an average couple on their wedding night, the question would be redundant. Yet for them it was an uncomfortable reminder of the patchwork they were trying to stitch to seal their youthful mistake.
"Not even a little bit?" Carmen asked again when Edward failed to respond. Her voice had a calmness that unsettled him for some reason.
He didn't understand why she was choosing to bring this up now. After all, he didn't harbor any illusions about Carmen's feelings for him. Theirs was a marriage of necessity, not of love. They both understood that. Or at least he hoped she did.
"Carmen, honey, I... I care about you. You know I do. Why are you even..." He tried to explain the obvious to her without resorting to lying. "I'm with you; we are married. We're having a baby. Nothing else matters," he said with all the confidence he could rally.
Carmen didn't react to Edward's words. Her face remained impassive.
"Speaking of babies, don't forget your appointment on Tuesday. Dr. Bergen is one of the best OB-GYN in the state. Dad knows him through friends of friends and he agreed to squeeze you in. You'll be in real good hands," Edward continued, hoping a change of topic would shake her out of her funk.
It didn't.
Carmen suddenly stood up and vanished inside the bathroom without saying a word, leaving a dismayed Edward sitting on the bed.
Edward was gradually getting used to Carmen's abruptness, though he had hoped she would sport a slightly better spirits on their big day. Shaking his head, he proceeded to take off his shoes and dress suit.
He climbed into the massive bed as he waited for Carmen to return.
As the minutes stretched on, he wondered what was taking her so long. He didn't want to rush her, or seem impolite about feminine hygiene rituals, so he decided to be patient and allow Carmen the space she needed.
When the clock suggested that she had been gone for nearly thirty-five minutes, Edward began to get worried. Was she taking a bath? Perhaps he should make sure that she didn't fall asleep in the tub.
However, before he could put his thoughts into action, a violently loud noise from the bathroom set off a shock wave of alarm in his brain.
He jumped out of the bed and rushed to the bathroom door. It was locked.
"Carmen!"
Thank you Lulabelle98, HeidiJoVT, and Dinx.