"Cook, Robin - Vital Signs" - читать интересную книгу автора (Cook Robin)

But his restatement didn't mitigate the blow. In a flash, Marissa's anger dissolved to despair. Tears welled anew and Marissa began to sob.

Robert tried to put his hand on her shoulder, but she pulled away from him and ran into the bathroom. She tried to shut the door behind her, but Robert pushed his way in and enveloped her in a hug, pressing his face into the crook of her neck.

Marissa's whole body shook as she wept. It took her a full ten minutes to begin to recover. She knew that she wasn't acting like herself. No doubt the hormones that she'd been taking contributed to her fragile emotional state. But that knowledge didn't help her pull herself together any faster.

Robert released her long enough to get her a tissue. Choking back new tears, she blew her nose. Now she felt embarrassed on top of her anger and her grief. In a shaky voice she admitted to Robert that she knew she was to blame for their infertility.

"I don't care if we don't have children," Robert said, hoping to soothe her.

"It's not the end of the world."

Marissa eyed him warily.

"I don't believe you," she said.

"You've always wanted children. You told me so. And since I know all this is my fault, why don't you be honest about your feelings. I could deal with honesty better than your lying to me.

Tell me that you're angry."

"I'm disappointed but I'm not angry," Robert said. He looked at Marissa. Marissa stared back at him.

"Well, maybe there have been a few moments," he confessed.

"Look what I've done to your clean shirt," Marissa said.

Robert glanced down at his chest. There were patches of dampness from Marissa's tears both on his shirt and on his half-tied tie. Robert took a deep breath.

"It doesn't matter. I'll put on another." He quickly pulled off the shirt and tie and threw them into the laundry basket.

Gazing at her red and swollen eyes in the mirror, Marissa had a hopeless feeling about the task of making herself presentable.

She slipped into the shower.

Fifteen minutes later Marissa felt significantly calmer, as if the hot water and suds had cleansed her mind as well as her body. As she dried her hair, she returned to the bedroom to find Robert just about ready.

"I'm sorry I got so hysterical," she said.

"I just can't help it.

Lately all I ever seem to do is overreact. I shouldn't have gone off the deep end just because you don't feel like going to the clinic for the umpteenth time."

"I'm the one who should be apologizing," said Robert.

"I'm sorry for picking such an idiotic way of expressing my frustrations about this whole experience. While you were showering, I changed my mind. I'll come with you to the clinic after all. I already called the office to arrange it."

For what seemed like the first time in weeks, Marissa felt her spirits rise.

"Thank you," she said. She was tempted to take Robert in her arms, but something held her back. She wondered if she was afraid he might somehow reject her. She was hardly looking her best. She knew that their relationship had been changing through the course of their infertility therapy. And like her figure, the changes hadn't been for the better. Marissa sighed.