“I do, and so does Billie Jean,” I said.
“Alright, I’ll put on an extra one for her,” Marilyn said. “What do you want to drink?”
“Whatever beer you have is fine. I can take over here if you have other things to do,” I offered.
She nodded and went back into the house.
She was acting differently with me. Almost back to normal. If therewasa normal with Marilyn. There were probably about three normals with her.
After we’d eaten dinner and I’d thrown the frisbee for Billie Jean enough to get her tired, we went into the pool and relaxed with our drinks. I was dying to know why she had invited me over but felt reluctant to ask her. I decided to let her bring it up when she felt it was the right time.
Marilyn was on her second lemonade when it dawned on me, she wasn’t drinking a beer with me. She loved beer, and I knew she had one after work a few times a week, so I found that a little odd.
“You’re probably wondering why I invited you over,” she started quietly.
“Yes, I am, but I figured I’d let you tell me when you were ready,” I said as I took a swig of my pale ale.
She took a deep breath. “I want you to let me finish saying everything before you make a peep. Understood?” She eyed me for a minute until I nodded. “I’m pregnant.”
My eyes widened, and I was shocked. That was the furthest thing from my mind. I thought this was going to be about work or how rude she’d been to me lately. However, it did explain the reason she wasn’t drinking alcohol.
I had so many questions running around my brain, but I refrained from saying anything as per her request.
“Before you say anything, I’m not going to divulge who the father is until I’m good and ready. Please respect that.” She turned to face me. “I know I’ve been less than friendly lately. I have my reasons, but I am sorry. We’ll have that conversation another time. I need a huge favor from you, and please feel free to say no if you like. I would completely understand.”
I took another pull on my beer and remained silent.
“I’m afraid that if the partners know I’m pregnant, they won’t bring me on as a partner, thinking I’m incapable of the workload. I know I can manage as many women do. I’m unsure how this pregnancy will go, and I can’t risk them finding out. My ask of you is that you help me conceal it. I figure I can hide it until the end of the second trimester, at which point I will make something up about going on a trip to Europe to visit family.”
I waited to see if she had anything else to say.
“There may be times that I need you to do something for me outside of work hours. You are my personal assistant, so I’m hoping you’ll help me with my personal life as well. Meaning that I might need some help around the house at times. Would you be willing to do that for me?” Her voice sounded so hopeful.
I waited.
“Okay, you can talk now,” she told me.
“First of all, congratulations. I hope this is something you are happy about. Having a child is out of this world.” I knew this from spending time with my brother and Faith, and someday I hoped to have my own children. I was a fantastic uncle, and since I spent so much time with my niece, I felt I was a great person to help her with everything as she became a new parent. “I’ll help you in any way that you need. You must know that I’m here for you.”
She closed her eyes in relief. “Thank you, Chris. This really means a lot to me, and I’m sorry to have to put this on you.”
“Don’t be sorry. I just want you to remain happy and healthy. If you get any midnight cravings, keep my number on speed dial, and I’ll get it for you. Just say the word and let me know what you need, when you need it,” I offered.
“Thank you. I will keep that in mind and may need to call you up on it. I’m really tired and think I’m going to go have a bath and watch some TV. Thank you for coming over, and I’ll see you in the morning,” Marilyn said as she yawned.
I desperately wanted to ask her who the father was. I wanted to know if it was mine. I was trying to think back to that evening. Did I use a condom? It was all hazy because we’d been really drunk that night. It was then that it dawned on me. I remembered thinking I hadn’t seen a condom in my wallet and that I should go and get some for that chance encounter and then ended up forgetting. But I wasn’t sure if she’d had any. With being so drunk, would we have remembered to use one? That was the million-dollar question that she wasn’t ready to talk about.
I really, truly felt that she was carrying my baby.What do I do with that?
THIRTEEN
MARILYN
“How long do you think you’ll be off?” Mr. Farthington asked me.
“Well, I won’t be off. I’ll just be working from home for about a week. I’ll be back in the office for the courtroom hearings the following week. Don’t worry, all my work will be getting done,” I assured him. I was starting to get nervous about taking the week to work from home, but Alice ordered me to get some bed rest for the baby’s sake as my stress levels were too high. I couldn’t very well tell him that.
I was so afraid that if they found out I was pregnant that they would pass me over instead of making me a partner. I couldn’t lose that opportunity; it meant the world to me, and it was what I’d been working so hard to achieve over the past few years.