Page 60 of Noticing Natalie
They all stared to see what I’d think.
I cut a small piece, mentally asking the lobster to forgive me. “Mmmm,” I said as I chewed slowly and swallowed.
He looked satisfied with my answer.
It actuallywasreally good, but I didn’t plan to eat any more of it than what was needed for me not to appear rude.
“Let’s revisit what we were discussing in the drawing room,” Mrs. Reyes said.
I held back a sigh. This dinner was turning into a nightmare of sorts.
Mr. Reyes asked, “You’ll be staying at home, of course, to raise the children.”
He didn’t ask a question. It was a statement, and he was staring at me. He obviously wanted an answer.
I glanced at Heath again, waiting for him to speak up for me. He had to know I wanted to work, right? I would probably want to stay home with my children until they hit school age. Then I’d want to go back to work. Why else did I bust my ass all through college, graduate school, and a residency?
“Well,” I wiped my mouth with a napkin to buy time, “I’d like to stay home until they’re old enough to go to school,” I said.
Disapproval hung in the air. Three faces wearing sour expressions stared at me.
Heath finally let out a mirthless chuckle. “What Natalie means is that she’d probably work part-time while the kids are at school.”
That’s not what I meant.
It didn’t seem to matter anyway. His parents still looked upset. I had to change the direction of this conversation.
“How did you two meet?” I blurted. My voice seemed overly loud in the large room.
Everyone startled a bit.
Mrs. Reyes recovered quickly. She smiled at me pleasantly. “We had an arranged marriage.”
I almost knocked my wine glass over and had to lurch to catch it. I didn’t want to ruin the extremely expensive-looking tablecloth. “Arranged? Like here in Halliwell?”
“Basically,” Mr. Reyes said. “Our families were friends. When we’d both reached a certain age and remained unmarried, they told us their expectations.”
Oh my God. I didn’t know what to say, so I just nodded.
“What are your thoughts on a nanny?” Mrs. Reyes asked, taking a calm sip of her wine.
“I’ve never even thought about that,” I admitted.
“You’ll have at least one, maybe two,” Mr. Reyes said while Heath nodded.
“Yes, dear. You’ll have lots of responsibilities as a surgeon’s wife.”
Wife? Could they all just slow the hell down?
“I’d like to raise my own children,” I spoke up.
“Certainly,” Mrs. Reyes agreed.
I felt vindicated briefly.
Then she continued, “With the help of nannies.”
Jesus. Would this dinner never end?
