Childless: A Novel by James Dobson, Kurt Bruner Read Free Book Online Page B

about his being late and not calling. She was clearly upset about something. He slowly ran his fingers up her back to her long, dark hair. Then she pulled away.
    “I can’t,” she said, a tear forming in her eye.
    He kissed her nose, then her forehead. “Why not?”
    “My dad called.”
    This time Tyler pulled away, seating himself on the edge of the desk. “What happened?”
    Renee brushed away the tear, blinking several times before saying anything. Tyler felt momentarily awkward. He hated this kind of stuff. Renee’s parents were always calling about something. Usually it was her mom complaining about Renee’s dad and his crazy nonsense, or going on and on about their latest health woes. But rarely was it her dad who called.
    “My mom fell. The ambulance came and, well, they’re at the hospital now. They thought she might have broken her hip.”
    “Again?”
    She nodded. “But I got through to my dad after I called you and apparently the doctors think she’ll be OK. A bit bruised. She sprained her arm trying to catch herself.”
    Another tear.
    “And you know my dad. He can’t take care of himself worth anything if she’s not there to cook and pick up after him.”
    Tyler tried to inject a bit of levity. “I don’t think he’d remember to change his underwear if she didn’t lay out his boxers for him.”
    “Exactly.” She smiled, slightly. “So now I have to figure out what we’re going to do.”
    “We?” It came out before Tyler could check himself.
    “I was thinking they could come and stay with us. Just for a while.”
    “Here?” He glanced around the room, looking for any reason that wouldn’t work. “They can’t stay here. Imagine if your mom falls again while climbing the stairs? And this room…it isn’t big enough for them! I can hardly squeeze around the bed! There’s gotta be somewhere else. Somewhere better.”
    Renee perched herself on the edge of the bed. “I know, I know. But there is nowhere else. They certainly can’t afford one of those rehabilitation centers right now. So I was thinking—and this is just for a week, two tops—that they could move in here and stay in our room.”
    Our room . That’s what had come of living together three years. He missed the days when there was just his room. When any overnight guest was there for a short, no-strings-attached frolic. And now he was being asked to give up the master suite in exchange for this room. This very small room.
    “It’s downstairs,” Renee stated over Tyler’s silence. “No steps to manage. And there’s a shower instead of a tub. It’s perfect, really.”
    “But…it’s our bedroom.”
    “I know. I’m sorry, Ty baby. But don’t worry. We can celebrate our anniversary in here just as well as downstairs.” She patted the mattress reassuringly.
    He half-smiled, but that wasn’t what he’d been thinking. In fact he’d forgotten, once again, about their upcoming anniversary. He’d been thinking that this wasn’t what he had signed up for when Renee suggested moving in with him. At the time he’d naïvely thought it would make sex easy. No special dates or grand gestures required. Living together would mean that anytime he wanted it, all he had to do was roll over. And that’s how things had been…at first.
    But the longer they lived as domestic partners the more tension he felt over the increasingly intertwining and interdependent realities of their lives. Especially the business loan. And retiring that debt would require at least another eighteen months, a year and a half more of near-marriage.
    He looked into the same eyes that had drawn him so deeply into the longest serious relationship he had ever endured. Her eyes were pleading while her lips formed an alluring pout. Truth was, he did care about Renee more than he wanted to admit. He couldn’t throw her out in her time of need—especially over something like her mother falling.
    Tyler reached out toward her. Their hands met, and he