I wake up the next day, incredibly happy despite the lack of sleep. With a shaved kitty and a refreshing cup of tea, life has become a bed of sweet roses. Not to mention, I get another text from Haden which makes me smile.
#Jerk: I still mean what I said.
I don’t respond just yet, and when I receive a bouquet of flowers ten minutes later, my day gets even better. It’s a bunch of rainbow-colored roses with a card attached that says, “From your #Jerk.”
I can’t help but smile, until I notice Eloise walking towards my cubicle. Holy shit! Perfectly dressed in a pristine, white, turtleneck dress, she appears somewhat cheerful as she greets me hello and bends down to kiss me like we’re the best of friends.
My conscience and Kitty are on the run like fugitives, leaving me to deal with that god-awful emotion called guilt.
“Hi Presley, are you free for lunch?”
“Uh . . . I’m kinda busy,” I lie.
“It’s really important. Hey, nice roses.”
She leans in to sniff them and I thank God the card is still in my hands.
Reluctantly, I join her for lunch at another one of her green diet-friendly restaurants. She sits across from me, sipping her lawn in a glass, flashing her bright white teeth.
“So, first, I know we haven’t had a chance to catch up, but I heard everything went well with your trip to visit your parents.”
“Yes it did, thank you.”
“I’ve been so preoccupied with the wedding that I haven’t been able to give you this.”
She slides an envelope in front of me and I see the fancy cursive writing on the front. Opening it slowly, I see that it’s their wedding invitation.
“The date on there is next week,” I say, trying to control my nervous stutter.
“Yes, we made the decision to move it closer. It’s only very close family and friends at my parents’ house, so changing the date wasn’t really an issue.”
“I’m not sure what to say. I just think it would be uncomfortable for me to be there.”
“But you’re family. We’d really love to have you there.” She smiles.
My mind is reeling; did he know this information last night? Surely he had to. Then why did he go on and on about it just being us? Or was my brain reading way too much into this?
“How’re things going with the pregnancy?”
“Fine. Five weeks to go,” I respond with my best poker face.
“I’m kind of excited to say this, but since we are like family and I feel like I can really open up to you . . . Haden and I are trying to have a family.”
“You’re trying for a family?” I stare at her in disbelief.
“Yes. We spoke about it briefly, but I thought, why not go off the Pill now? Anyway, before he left for L.A. we had quite a night.” She leans in. “We did it three times that night. I really think we made a baby.”
The sound of my heart shattering into a million pieces echoes throughout the room, or at least that’s how it feels. I feel a stabbing pain, its persistent jabs creating deep, unfounded wounds. I’m infuriated with him, with her, at myself for believing that this fucked up story would become a fairytale.
“I think it will be perfect. Our babies can grow up together. I told Haden this morning that I had a gut feeling about it.”
“What did he say?” I can barely speak.
“He seemed pretty tired, but he said that if I am pregnant then we proba
bly should get a bigger place for both of the babies.”
“Both babies?” This time I don’t hold back my animosity.