Free as a Jailbird

Chapter 9

"Jesus Christ, Alice, I thought this was what you wanted!"

Shit. Not this again. I try to make my way to the stairs without being heard but the moment I shut the front door, Alice comes storming around the corner. Her face is red and her eyes burn into mine.

"Hi," I say. "I'm just going to-"

"How was the party?" she snaps. Her voice always does this weird, squeaky thing when she's angry about something but desperately tries to hide it.

"It was fine."

Shane appears looking slightly distressed and tries to get Alice's attention back.

"Babe, why can't you just make up your mind about this and we can save ourselves the argument?"

I like Shane. He always stays calm. Nothing really fazes him. He never shouts and he treats Alice exactly the way she should be treated, or any girl for that matter. It's Alice I'm worried about.

Ever since they started going out, Shane and Alice connected. There aren't any clashes with their personalities and they both complement each other. Their only problem is that Alice really wants children and Shane doesn't want to get married. The whole arrangement contradicts itself and I find it very odd, but then again, these two are an odd couple and Alice will do anything for kids. As long as they're together and there is no pressure for the official commitment, Shane is happy to try.

But Alice has been freaking out for weeks now because her doctor thinks she can't get pregnant. Her emotions are all over the place and she questions whether having kids is the right thing for her. I say there's no one better than Alice, I mean she practically raises me. And Shane is the most loyal person I've ever met. I thank God that she's fallen in love with someone who won't back out when things get crazy. But they've been arguing a lot about it lately.

"Shane, of course I want to get pregnant. But I'm not putting my body through some IVF shit just to conceive a child. That's not how I want my baby to be made!"

"Babe, it's not what you think it is, they're not made like that-"

"It would be an artificial baby, Shane! I will not give birth to a lab experiment!" Alice screams.

"Alice," I reassure her, "maybe it'll work out better if-"

"Shush! I need a drink." She storms into the kitchen.

Shane lifts his shoulders up and down and goes to follow her. I turn to the stairs when he stops me.

"Hey, how was the party?"

"It was ... great. Really great," I reply.

"Did you get a bit of lip action with that guy outside?" He grins knowingly.

"Hey, were you spying on me?"

Shane stares at the roof and shrugs again. "I dunno."

I make a face at him and we both grin.

"You'd better take care of your hormonal girlfriend, she's probably making love to Jack Daniels right now." I nod toward the kitchen and Shane sprints off without another word.

As I climb the stairs to bed very slowly, I listen to Shane reason with Alice in a soft, hypnotic voice. I often envy their relationship. My parents were never openly romantic with each other, and I've never had anything serious with a guy. It was mostly biker boyfriends who only wanted sex or someone to strap to the back of their motor. Alice and Shane genuinely care about each other, and it's something I dream about every once in a while.

It's too soon to tell, but I fall asleep that night wondering whether I will find that kind of love with Nick.