“I would be busy with other projects on the West Coast…”
I wait bravely for the ball to drop.
“I’m a little confused here, so please pass me the last eggroll so I can get this right.” Kate hands her the last eggroll, which she munches on. “When you say ‘West Coast,’ do you mean us or you?”
“Us, Charlotte. I wanted to speak to you about this earlier, but the deal was only sealed this afternoon. Dreamteam Studios needs an investor, and I’ve wanted to get into production for a long time. They are located in LA.”
“So, we will need to move to LA? And when?” she questions rather calmly.
“Yes, we will need to move to LA, and probably after the baby is born. Look, Charlotte, I know it’s a lot to take in, your practice is here, and so are your friends… it’s just—”
“It is a lot to take in, and I wish you would have spoken to me about it when it first came up,” she clips, narrowing her eyes with annoyance. “Yes, I will miss my friends, and as for my practice, well, Nikki and I are looking at expanding anyway.”
“Wait, you mean you want to go?”
“It’ll be nice to start fresh, and Manhattan is too crowded to raise a baby. I just have one condition,” she demands, keeping her expression stern.
“What’s that?” I ask.
“Oh, not a condition for you but for Kate.” Charlotte grins playfully.
Kate looks at me, shrugging her shoulders in confusion. “Err… what’s that?”
“That I get custody of Eric.”
We all laugh. Yes, even me. Eric has entertained me with his sick humor on more than one occasion, and if it makes Charlotte happy, then I’m happy.
“But I get him on the holidays,” Kate argues.
“Deal.”
They shake on it, and I can’t be happier that soon we will start a new life in LA. With my nerves disappearing, I realize I should have been honest from the start. I need to give Charlotte the respect she deserves, and there’s no more hiding behind my own insecurities.
Planning to move to LA is a huge task in of itself. I find myself flying back and forth with the paranoia Charlotte will give birth at any moment. She’s only in her thirty-second week, but I can’t shake the worry, so I have my mom stay with her every time I have to fly out. Charlotte doesn’t complain. They can talk babies all day, and as much as I love my baby, an hour-long conversation discussing diaper genies is tedious.
Charlotte is busy scouting houses on the internet, and after a whirlwind trip to LA, we find a house nestled in the Hollywood Hills we both instantly fal
l in love with. It’s a Spanish-style home, full of character and plenty of space. Our neighbors are big-shot celebrities, but Miss Charming won them over, discussing once again—diaper genies. That’s my cue to leave. I busily inspect the home and put in an offer. It will be home as soon as the baby is born, and we are able to fly over.
Charlotte finds herself busy with Nikki, planning out the new LA practice. Eric, as predicted, is eager to move out to Hollywood, his constant texts begging me to use my connections and locate where Matthew McConaughey lives. I keep reminding him that I won’t be the one to bail him out of jail should he violate the restraining order I have, no doubt, will be placed against him.
Mason & Romano already has a client base, mainly their clients from New York who have moved to the West Coast. Between that and being heavily pregnant, I warn Charlotte to slow down.
“If I slow down now, then it’ll be all downhill from here,” she complains.
“Charlotte, having a baby is not going downhill,” I say, trying to ease her fear.
“Well, of course, you would say that, you don’t have a giant head coming out of your vagina!”
And the worst part of the third trimester is the mood swings. One minute she’s counting down the days to finally holding the baby, and the next she is talking about going downhill. I know, I know, I shouldn’t complain. I should be sympathetic since I’m not the one who has to physically go through this.
Then there is the sex.
It’s becoming difficult.
Charlotte has never looked more beautiful, and my desire for her only intensifies, but much like a box of assorted candy, I don’t know what I’m getting. I make a move, and she’s riding me faster than a bucking bull, but then, I make another move, and she recoils and complains that my cock is too big and full of sperm, and it’s what got her in this ‘fat’ state to begin with.
Hormones, Lex… blame the hormones.