Where the Streets Have No Name
Chapter 42
The rocky beginning of their wedding night led to rockier waters as the months progressed. There were signs - some greater than others - that things were not quite how they should be. Some signs were too small to be noticed, some Edward smoothed over to avoid arguments, others he willfully denied because it was easier than confronting the truth.
When Carmen chose Dr. Miller, whose office was a forty minute drive across town, over Dr. Bergen, Edward found it odd but chose not to question her decision. After all, it was her health and welfare, and it was of paramount importance that she felt comfortable with the physician entrusted with her care during this critical period of life.
When she insisted on attending her doctor's appointments alone - Edward's presence in the room would be an intrusion on her privacy, she said - Edward voiced his objections but was easily persuaded to give up as Carmen agreed to let him come to the ultrasound sessions.
As the first trimester of the pregnancy reached its pique, and Carmen failed to develop any kind of tolerance for morning sickness and the associated fatigue, Edward chalked it up to her unique physiology and strove to be as sensitive and accommodating as he could possibly be. He got up with her at night when she felt sick and held her as she purged. He didn't retaliate when she summarily brandished him as the perpetrator of all ills in her life.
When she dropped out of the university, citing her inability to concentrate on studies or function in the outside world due to debilitating headaches and lethargy, Edward was nothing but supportive.
He even tried his hand at good old fashioned romance and took her out to dinner and movies. Anything to make Carmen happy. He might not yet be able to claim that he loved her, but he was going to try at least.
None of it made any difference. Carmen was unhappy and she continued to be so as the months progressed.
Edward, in his desperate hope to hold on to the illusion that things would work out in the end, turned a deaf ear and a blind eye to anything that might force him to contend with the reality.
He told himself that he just had to be a little more patient, a little more understanding. Carmen surely would get used to the pregnancy by the second trimester.
However, the inevitable could only be staved off for so long. Edward's bubble of wishful hopes came to a sudden collapse the evening he brought Carmen home after an ultrasound exam.
Thank you Lulabelle98, HeidiJoVT, and Dinx.