Ari Ch. 03

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Thanksgiving is traditionally a time to eat until you're too full, and I was so stuffed I could hardly breathe. I was standing with Marsha in her kitchen, wiping off the counters and passing her the pots and serving pieces as she washed them and put them in the drainer.

"I can't thank you enough for letting me come, Marsha, and for being so welcoming. It means more to me than I can say."

She smiled at me. "It's been a long time, hasn't it? I'll bet that neither of us expected we'd ever see one another again, back when the divorce happened."

"That's certainly the truth. I can't believe Bobby and I are back together--and I know I've been given a second chance that I don't deserve."

"I don't know about that, Ari--but I do know that Bobby seems really happy. I haven't seen him so relaxed and comfortable since ... well actually since way back when you two were married."

We talked a little more and I said, "if I don't get the chance to speak to Daniel privately, would you also please thank him for me? I'm sure it was really hard for him to let his little brother's whore ex-wife back into the house, especially on a family holiday."

Marsha put down a soapy pot and looked at me very seriously. "At first it was pretty difficult for him to believe that Bobby was seeing you again--for both of us, actually. Dan's very protective where Bobby is concerned.

"But they've talked an awful lot, as I'm sure you know, and Dan kept telling me how happy he sounded, how it was like something missing had been restored to him.

"Just last week Dan said to me, 'I'll be damned if I can figure it out, but if Bobby can find a way to trust Ari after all that, then I'm going to try to do it too.' "

She looked at me and said, "just don't hurt him again, Ari."

"I won't. I promise." We looked at each other seriously, and then she smiled and gave me a warm hug, soapy hands and all. "Welcome back," she said.

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On the drive home we chatted for a while, then sat in a comfortable silence, Bobby's iPod playing one of our favorite Iron Painters albums.

"What do you think about Dan and Marsha's children?" he said, surprising me.

"They're great. Well-behaved, cheerful, helpful--but still silly and funny. Just great kids. And Aaron in particular seems amazingly bright."

"No, I meant--actually I meant, what do you think about their birth order, their arrangement? You know, a girl, then three years later a boy, then two years after that another boy."

I turned my head and stared at Bobby as he drove, noting his deadpan expression.

"Okay," I said, very slowly, a bit suspicious. "Well, I suppose that's a very nice order, but I also don't think it matters that much. If it were my kids we were talking about there would be just two requirements--everything else is negotiable."

"What are the requirements?"

"First is there have to be at least two of them. No only children.

"And second is, the father has to be you."

I kept looking at him. "Why this question all of a sudden?" I noticed he was slowing down a little and pulling the car into a rest area. He eased into a parking space and stopped the car.

Turning to look at me he said, "well, if we're going to have children I need to know what kind and how many you want, and how far apart."

I forced myself to breathe. I said, "and ARE we going to have children?"

"We're not getting any younger, babe. And I don't want to be in my 40s while you're still popping 'em out."

My brain really felt like mush. I had no idea what to say, and but knew I really needed to be careful. This was serious.

"Bobby, I--if we--if the message here is that you're asking me whether I want to have children with you, the answer is Yes. And if the question is when, the answer is whenever you want. As soon as I can stop the Pill and get the machinery running full tilt."

"I think it's what I want, Ari. I think I'm ready."

He looked out the window. "You know, when we were married I was actually hoping you'd get knocked up, maybe the Pill would fail or something. And then when ....

"Anyway, then I spent years figuring I wasn't going to get to be a dad. And now--"

He turned back to me. "Now I have you back. And I want to go for it."

I leaned over and put my arms around him, my head against his chest. "You do have me back, I promise.

"How many do you want?" I asked.

"Don't know. Let's start with two and see if we have any energy left after that." He laughed. "I don't mean energy for making more, I mean energy to imagine a house with more than two of them running around in it."

Then he pulled my chin up and kissed me and we held the kiss, our arms holding one another tightly.

"Okay, then," I said. "Two beautiful babies, coming right up. And while we're waiting for the Pill to get out of my system, maybe we can do a little practicing?"

Bobby laughed and kissed me again. And then he just held me some more, while tears ran down my cheeks.

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As we drove on through the darkness I sat back, my hand on Bobby's knee, warmed by an overwhelming happiness. I could hardly wait to talk to Felicia! And I wondered what kind of present I could buy for Jon Erickson, how I could possibly thank him for all that he'd done for me.