At work, my partner Michael Jefferson looked at me and said, "Are you okay, man?"
I looked back at him and just said, "Yeah. Why would I not be okay?"
"Well, if I were a betting man, I'd say your girlfriend's miscarriage might have something to do with it."
I counted the tiles on the floor for a minute.
Michael laid a reassuring hand on my shoulder. "Listen, man. It happens. It sucks but it still happens. My wife and I went through the exact same thing, before we had our girls."
"So, how did you get through it?"
"Well, these days, things are a little more open minded. They have couseling for the man as well as for the woman. Back then I just drank a lot, for a while, anyway."
I smiled but it was a half-hearted one.
"Listen, man, why don't you take the rest of the day off? If anyone around this office deserves to take a mental health day, that would be you."
This time my smile was stronger. I stood up. "You sure you can handle things without me?"
Michael stood up, too. "Yes, I'm sure. There's nothing big on the boards today anyway, and you need to get your head on straight. I want you one hundred percent. You copy that?"
"I copy that."
"Good man. I don't want to see your ass around here until tomorrow morning."
That finally got a smile out of me. "I promise. Not till tomorrow."
"Good man. Now get the hell out of here."
Before I changed my mind, I punched out and headed for the nearest exit. From the office, I drove to Mercedes' clinic.
The secretary looked up at me. "Hi, Mr. Jones. Is Mercedes alright?"
I took a deep breath. "Yeah. Mercedes is alright. It's me I'm here about."
"Okay. How can we help you?"
"Doctor Franklin said she could refer me to a counselor..."
The secretary gave me a sympathetic smile. "Have a seat. I'll notify Dr. Franklin."
"Thank you."
Not even five minutes later, Doctor Franklin came out. "Hi. Zach, right?"
I stood up. "Right."
"Come with me to my office."
"Thanks."
"Sure."
It wasn't until we were in her office, that she finally said, "So, the secretary says you asked for a referral to a counselor."
"Right."
"Did Mercedes suggest this?"
"Actually, no, Mercedes doesn't know about this."
"Okay. Have you two been able to talk about the miscarriage?"
"Yeah. I got her to talk about it, at any rate. It's me who needs to get their head on straight."
"Well, before I give you a referral, I'm a great listener and sometimes it helps just to talk, no matter who you talk to."
I sighed heavily. "Okay, I guess."
"Nothing you say will leave this room. Not even Mercedes will know, unless you tell her yourself. Okay?"
"Okay."
"And trust me when I say that nothing you say will shock me. So go ahead."
"Well...This is gonna sound stupid, but...I'm afraid that it might happen again."
"You mean that Mercedes might have another miscarriage?"
"Yeah. What if there's something...wrong, with me?"
Dr. Franklin had a look on her face like she'd heard this one before.
So I said, "I mean, really, one second there was a baby inside Mercedes and the next second ... I don't wanna go through that again."
"Zach. As I said to Mercedes, there is nothing stopping the two of you from trying again and having a normal pregnancy, if that is what you want to do."
"Yeah. I know. But...I gotta say, I'm scared."
"That is natural. I'm sure if you talk with Mercedes, she is just as scared."
"Yeah. Well, thanks again for squeezing me in today."
"Not at all. That's what I'm here for."
So I left the clinic and drove home. I was disappointed that Mercedes' car wasn't parked nearby. It wasn't even time for her to come by. But I was disappointed all the same.
I pulled in to the driveway and parked, then went inside and changed into something more comfortable.
I put my weapon in the safe, then changed into a pair of black jeans and a gray t-shirt. I made myself a sandwich and settled myself on the couch and played video games.
It seemed like I'd hardly started playing before I heard the sound of Mercedes' car.
I looked at the time and was a little shocked at how much time had gone by.
A minute or two later I heard the sound of her key in the lock.
I put the game on pause.
She came in the door, carrying a pink Victoria's Secret box in addition to her purse, wearing a bright yellow sweater, dark blue jeans and matching yellow high heels.
She smiled a big smile as she saw me. "Hey, baby!"
We hugged. This was what I needed.
Then she said, "What are you doing home so early? Is something wrong?"
"No. Nothing's wrong. I just needed to take a day off is all."
Mercedes squeezed my arm. "Okay."
"How was your day?"
"Wellll... First I got this beautiful French manicure..."
"I can see that."
"Aaaand... I went to the post office, to pick up the outfit my man ordered."
Despite myself, I cracked a grin. "I see that, too. What did I get for you?"
Mercedes also cracked a grin. "It's a surprise! So why don't you sit back down, while I go put this on?"
"Sounds good."
With a kiss, Mercedes sashayed down the hall, her hips swaying provocatively to the beat of her high heels.
Still grinning, I sat back down and started playing the game again.
But suddenly I wasn't in the mood to kill any more, even if it was just a game. Mercedes did that to me.
I turned off the games, and turned the TV back on.
As I watched the evening news anchor drone on and on, I thought about what Dr. Franklin had said. I did owe it to Mercedes to tell her how I felt.
Mercedes said, "Zach?"
"Yeah..."
"You gotta close your eyes, baby."
Playing my part, I said, "Okay."
"Eyes closed?"
"Yeah."