Going Alone

“Oh, I don’t know.” I said immediately.

“Mae… you didn’t even think about… it.”

“Fine. I’ll think about it. Call me back when you catch your breath. Wait, no, I’ll call you. My break’s over.”

------------------------

“So, what’d you decide.” Jack asked, clearly excited.

“I didn’t change my mind.”

“Why not?”

“Because I have a year lease on my apartment?” I offered, “And then I don’t want to move anywhere near Alex.”

“Come on!” He sighed, “It wont be that bad.”

“Yes it will.” I exclaimed, scaring Bagel, “I couldn’t even stay in California with him.”

“That’s because he smoked weed!”

“So?”

“…It doesn’t matter!”

“Yes it does!” I cried, “I don’t want to live within 20 miles of him!”

“Then live in Baltimore.”

“…I thought you lived in Baltimore.”

“Nope. But we live close.”

I sighed, “Jack, I can’t break my lease.”

“I’ll pay the fee.” I could tell he rolled his eyes.

“No!” I said, “No! I can’t be this spur-of-the-moment!”

“Live on the edge!”

“I’m pregnant!” I explained once again, “The most extreme I can get is eating spicy food.”

“Come on.” He droned, “You’re killing me.”

“I’m not moving. I like New York.”

“It’s cold there.”

“I have coats.”

“Mae!” He sighed, “I want you to move down here!”

“Jack, you can’t tell me what to do.”

“I don’t want you living so far away.”

“Well, that’s too bad, I’m not moving.” I hung up, extremely pissed off.

-----------------

I picked up my ringing phone, “What do you want, Alex?”

“I want you to move here.”

“I’m not going though this again, I don’t want to.”

“Why not? Maryland is great.”

“Because New York is better.”

“I want to be close to… the baby.” He faltered.

“Well, that’s nice and all, but I never planned on uprooting my life.”

“You don’t have to.”

“I already moved once when I was pregnant, I don’t want to move again.”

“We’ll help you!”

“Why do you want me down there so bad?” I asked, suspicious.

“Because, I don’t want to… miss out.”

I pulled the phone away from my ear and stared at it, confused, “Even if I did move, I wouldn’t have a job. They’re so hard to find.”

“I can hook you up.”

“I don’t know.”

“Come on, please?”

I sighed, clearly beaten, “Do you promise to not be a dickface?”

“Yes.”

“Yes what?” I smiled.

“Yes, I promise to not be a dickface.” He rolled his eyes.

“I’ll think about it.”