She stood over the salmon and reached for the olive oil. David was still sitting on the couch and had switched to a crossword. As the fish changed color, Ariel imagined the living room without David. Then, slowly, she began to imagine each room empty; the study filled with only her books and laptop, her posters and small treasures. David glanced at her.
"We should talk about this. We can't keep ending the conversation by one of us leaving the room."
She looked up at him. "I wonder who set up that precendent."
He walked over to the kitchen and put his hand on her shoulder. "I don't want to fight."
She relaxed her posture. "The first time I bring up having children you blow me off. How am I supposed to be acting right now?"
"I'm just not ready."
"When we met you said you wanted a big family, didn't you? What happened to that?"
He looked towards the refrigerator and back at her. "I just want it to be us for a while longer."
She placed the salmon and asparagus delicately on a white serving platter. "Well, I don't know if I can wait that long."
He took off the lid to the pot holding the rice. "Let me think about it, okay?" He put his hands around her shoulders and stroked her neck. "I love you. You know that, right?"
She exhaled deeply. "I do."
