“Like you’re repulsed by me.”
“I’m not repulsed.” She forced a smile.
“Is the thought of having a child with me so repulsive?” Gabriel’s features hardened.
“Of course not.” She wound their fingers together. “It’s difficult for me to think about children when I’d rather focus on conference presentations and grad school.”
“It isn’t an either-or proposition, Julianne. I’d never make you sacrifice your dreams. I think I’ve demonstrated that ably enough.” His voice was glacial.
“As you may recall, your sacrifice caused us both a great deal of pain.”
“Point taken.” He released her hand and gestured to the hallway. “Shall we?”
“Gabriel.” She placed a light hand on his arm. “I told you before we were married that the thought of having little blue-eyed boys with you made me happy. It still does.”
“Then why can’t we talk about it? God, Julianne. If we were going to go to Africa, we’d talk about it. If we were going to build a house, we’d talk about it. Why can’t we talk about having a child?”
“Because I can’t say no to you, not when you look so happy and hopeful.” Her eyes filled with tears. “I can’t bear to be the one standing between you and your dreams, like a coldhearted wench.”
“Darling,” he murmured, sweeping her into a tight embrace. “Nothing could be further from my mind.”
His hand found the skin of her neck, underneath her hair, and he stroked it tenderly.
“This isn’t the best place to have this conversation, but I promise I don’t think of you that way. I told you I’d wait. I understand you want to finish your program. Watching you yesterday, I don’t know when I’ve been more proud of you. You were fantastic.” He pressed his lips to just below her ear. “When I bring up the subject of a family, I swear I’m not trying to pressure you. I’m simply bringing up a topic that makes me happy, hoping that it will make you happy too. We can talk about the future and make plans without changing our time line. Starting a family is a momentous decision, especially given our backgrounds. I know that you’ve given the matter some thought. I’m simply asking that we talk about it. But we certainly don’t need to talk about it now. I’m sorry for bringing it up on the heels of your lecture. Just promise me we’ll talk about it someday, even if it’s in the most general of terms.”
“Of course, Gabriel. It’s just that the topic makes me anxious.”
“Then I need to do a better job of bringing up the subject and not springing it on you. But I don’t want to hear you refer to yourself as either coldhearted or a wench ever again.” He pulled back to make eye contact with her. “Neither of those ascriptions applies to you, and I certainly won’t have anyone speak about my wife that way.”
She nodded.
“Good.” He took her hand and began walking. “Now, as I recall, you were telling me about Rachel’s email.”
“Her exact words were, ‘I’m calling in all my chips. I’ve got Christians, Muslims, Jews, and even a Zoroastrian praying.’”
Gabriel looked puzzled. “Rachel knows a Zoroastrian? How is that possible? There are less than two hundred thousand Zoroastrians worldwide.”
“She works with a woman who’s Zoroastrian. How do you know how many Zoroastrians there are?”
“I Wikied it.”
Gabriel gazed at her solemnly before giving her a sly wink.
“Don’t believe anything you read on Wikipedia, Professor.”
“I couldn’t have said it better myself, Mrs. Emerson. Someone wrote an entry about me on that damned site, and the content was shocking. Wikifuckers.”
He kissed her gently but firmly before they heard someone nearby clearing his throat.
A security guard stood two feet away.
“Move along.” He glared at them.
“Sorry.” Gabriel sounded far from apologetic as he wound his arm around Julia’s waist and ducked into an adjacent room.
“We need to be more discreet.” She felt flushed as they continued their tour.
“We need to find a darker corner.” Gabriel gazed at her provocatively, and she felt her flush deepen.
“I’ve asked John Green to send Christa a cease-and-desist letter.” Gabriel led her into the hallway.
“Do you think that’s a good idea?”
“John did. It’s a shot across the bow. We’re simply reminding her that we won’t tolerate slander. The woman is a menace.”
Julia took a deep breath and held it before exhaling slowly. “The conference went better than expected.”
He brought her hand to his lips. “You were exceptional.”
“So maybe the slander isn’t as worrisome as we thought.”
“Slander is always worrisome. Don’t you know that line from Othello:
“‘Who steals my purse steals trash. . . .
But he that filches from me my good name
Robs me of that which not enriches him
And makes me poor indeed.’”