She couldn't take her eyes off him the entire dinner. She was staring once in a while as she ate, but Mark had noticed she had something on her mind. He had noticed her eyes on him. Whenever she behaves like that, her mind is occupied with loads of things to talk about.
He gently placed the fork on the plate and adjusted himself in the chair. "Come on, Jess. Spill it." He said. Jessie looked up at him and met his gaze. She was confused at what he said. "Come on, Jess. I know you have a lot of things you want to talk about. You always stare at me whenever you've got questions or things to talk about."
He had noticed her eyes. Now she would have to ask him questions. Thankfully, she was done with her food. She poured water into the cup and drank it all. She gently placed the cup on the table, cleared her throat, and looked at him again. She took her time doing that.
Mark was expecting the type of question that would be thrown at him this time. He was wondering what she was going to ask him.
"You don't like tuna," she said in a calm, warm voice.
"Uh?"
"You ate an entire plate of tuna today, Mark. You don't like tuna. You always say it gives you allergies. What changed today?" The question hit Mark in the chest. He does not know how he was going to answer how suddenly he started liking tuna.
"It looked good on the menu, Jessica." He gave out a nervous laugh. "I just wanted to try it out, and you see..." He touched every part of his face and hands. showing it to her. "No reactions." He sounded happy.
But Jessie felt curious all of a sudden. Whenever Mark called her by her full name, it meant something was up. She doesn't doubt him. Not a bit, but in her gut, she could feel something was up with him, but he was trying not to hurt her.
"All right. If you say so." She locked up and kept quiet.
"Was that all that was on your mind? The tuna?" He asked. "Or is there more?"
She nodded slowly. "We need to talk." Her response became cold and Mark could read it. Those four-letter words made him curious about what she wanted to talk about.
"Talk to me, hun."
Jessie inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly. "We need to cancel the old list and make a new one."
"What do you mean?"
"I don't think I will be able to work on Fridays alone. I know you want that type of sophisticated wife."
"Which you are, Jessie."
She exhaled. "Mark," she called. "I do not want to wake up one morning and have regrets for not pursuing my dreams. You know what this means to me. You said you loved me. Don't you?" Jessie asked.
"I love you Jessie, and you know that, but I do not understand what you are about to say."
"All I'm trying to say is that my dreams mean a lot to me. I have worked so hard to get to this stage and I want to keep going. I need my name up there, Mark, and I need your support on this. I promise to make this work between us when we are married. I don't want to be a stay-at-home wife when her friends and mates are out there working and building a name for themselves."
Mark sighed. "But we talked about this babe. I said I would provide for us."
"That is not enough. Mark, my dreams need to be achieved, you know? And if you truly love me, you will help me with these things. Please, I need you."
He scoffed. "When did you start to talk like this, Jess? All my life knowing you, you have always accepted anything I said. Was it Taylor? Did you meet her? Did she tell you these things?" Mark asked. Frowning.
Jessie shook her head. "No. Taylor isn't involved. I know you have been of help to me and my sister, Bev. We appreciate that and I want to marry you and also support you."
He scoffed again. "Sounds like you are doing me a favour by marrying me."
"Please Marco. You have to understand that I need to make a name for myself too. Just the way you have done for yourself."
He sighed and took both her hands in his. He rubbed them gently. "We talked about Jessica. We have a list and plans for how this was meant to be. You work on Fridays after we get married and focus on being a good mom when you get pregnant. We need to teach our children that there is life outside music. I don't want them to know that their mother sings for crowds for money. That is wrong!"
"You are mocking me," Jessie said as she slowly removed her hands from his. "What is wrong with singing in crowds for money?" she asked.
"Jessica!" He called in a high rhythm. Everyone around them glanced their way towards them. Jessie had tears in her eyes, and for the first time, Marco could see them. She had to be perfect, so she wouldn't dare let the tears run down her cheeks and ruin her makeup. "Jessie," his voice went back to being calm.
"Please Marco. I need this. Please just say yes and we will work this out." She pleaded.
"And what if I don't want that?" He asked. "What if I don't want to get married to you anymore, Jessica?"
"What do you mean by that?" Jessie asked.