The Night Before the Endless Day

Synopsis

After 15 years of chasing love with Jonathan Reed, we finally made it official, and everyone was happy for me. When the pregnancy test came back positive, the first thing out of his mouth was a name. "Clover." I laughed and asked him why. His eyes softened and said, "Clover means luck, and lots of it. I want to have a whole bunch of kids with you." On our wedding day, Jonathan, who knew nothing about cosmetics, offered to rub body lotion on me himself. I thought back to last month at the beach, when he couldn't even peel the foil seal off a bottle of sunscreen, and I climbed onto the bed grinning. But this time he squeezed out the lotion like a pro, warmed it between his palms first, then spread it across my back with an even, practiced pressure. "Babe, go light under the arms, or it traps the sweat. Behind the ears, put a little extra so the scent lingers." He breathed in, satisfied. "Mm. Just like that." His hot palms sent a shiver through me. It wasn't until the ceremony, when a woman carrying that same scent pointed at my belly and laughed through her tears, that the truth finally clicked. "How could he name it Clover? He doesn't even want Clover anymore..." she stammered. I looked at the name tag on her chest. Chloe Vaughn. The name hit me like a slap.