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My heart skips a beat, my grip on the steering wheel tightening. "But I assumed..." I trail off, realizing the depth of our miscommunication. "I just thought that this was a permanent decision, especially with our relationship and us having a baby now. Dylan and I have been preparing everything for weeks to make sure that this feels like your home too."
Mia's tone hardens her protective instincts in full flare. "Jake, I appreciate everything you've done, but us permanently making your home into ours I need to figure out what's best for us, and we still need to give our relationship proper time to see if it even works with us living together for the long haul."
The air between us grows thick, a tumultuous silence broken only by the sound of tires rolling across the pavement. I glance back at Faith, peacefully unaware of her parents' tension.
Turning my attention back to the road, I grapple with the magnitude of our misunderstanding. I had envisioned us starting our new life together under one roof, a blended family with love at its foundation.
"I just wanted what's best for all of us, especially for Faith. I thought being together, in one place, would be it," I say, my voice laden with emotion.
Mia sighs, a long, weary exhalation that seems to carry the weight of her world. "I understand, I really do, but you have to keep in mind that our relationship is somewhat still new. The baby is a blessing but she wasn’t planned. It’s like we rekindled and then I ended up pregnant. Let’s just see how it feels with us all living together before suggesting we make it permanent.”
I can feel the heat rising in my cheeks, frustration and disbelief swirling.
"The pregnancy was nine months, Mia. I believe there’s been plenty of time spent, especially with you and Emily at the house, where you can determine at this point if you’re comfortable living there or not."
My voice is sharper than intended, reflecting the hurt puncturing through my initial shock.
Mia meets my tone, unflinching.
"But have we lived together with a newborn? Let’s just see how it goes, Jake, please? I don’t want to fight. I just think we should focus on the present and the now. You’re already thinking towards the future when our daughter is a few days old."
My grip on the steering wheel tightens, the leather creaking under my fingers. "But I thought a future together is what we both wanted?" I can't hide the doubt in my voice, baffled by her resistance to what I saw as a clear path forward for us.
"Just seems to me like you’re hesitating on our future, is all."
The car's interior feels smaller, constricted by the gravity of our argument.
“A future usually means tomorrow and the time after that. Can we please just focus on today? On the present? I believe already thinking about the future right now will just stress both of us out" Mia responds, her voice steady but the undercurrent of frustration is so evident.
I can't help but feel cornered and misunderstood. "What’s stressing me out is you turning a joyous moment into a sour one. You’re picking a fight about how you’re thinking of the stay as being temporary for now. Couldn’t we have discussed this on another day?"
Her sigh is audible, the space between us widening despite the confinement of the car. "It's not just that, Jake. It's the presumption, the absence of my input in our lives. You’re making assumptions about things I consider to be big decisions."
The remainder of the journey fluctuates between tense quiet and our efforts to close the unexpected gap with words that, paradoxically, seem to expand it even more.
With every mile we cover, the distance grows—not just the physical distance but also the gap between what we expected and what is real.
Chapter 24
~ Mia ~
Equal Footing
Sitting in the softly lit nursery, I gaze down at Faith nestled in my arms.
Her tiny fingers curled into a fist, her serene expression on her face as she fed.
The argument with Jake in the car replays in my mind, but looking around at the room he's prepared, a space out of a dream with gentle hues and soft, playful designs, it's hard to hold onto my frustrations.
I can't help but wonder, amid the quiet of this moment, if I've been too obstinate. Too caught up in the principle of the matter.
The truth is, Jake's house, with its spacious rooms and sprawling backyard, offers Emily and Faith a lifestyle that my cramped two-bedroom apartment can't compete with.
Once Faith's little sighs tell me she's finished, I gently burp her, savoring her warmth against my chest. Then, with a care that comes naturally, I lay her down to change her, and she falls asleep almost immediately, her chest rising and falling in a rhythm that eases my racing thoughts.
As I gently place her in her crib, I can't help but pause. Watching her sleep, a feeling of contentment washes over me.
The door opens with a soft creak, and Dylan peeks in, his movements cautious, eyes bright with the respect and wonder of a new older brother. "Is she asleep?" he whispers, tiptoeing closer to confirm for himself.
