“The symptoms line up. When was your last period? Are you late?” The surprised frown on his face slowly morphed into a smile. Strange, almost greedy in its intensity.
The possibility was extremely remote. I’d taken the pill religiously since I was fourteen. My mother had been a cautionary tale about the dangers of not being safe. I’d decided long ago to never leave it up to the man to be in charge of birth control. Even then, more than half the times Rick and I had sex, I insisted on him wearing a condom to be double safe.
“No, Rick, I don’t think that’s it,” I said.
“Well, what else could it be? With these symptoms?” The worried yet hopeful smile on his face made me uneasy.
I opened my mouth to answer but paused. The symptoms did sort of line up with pregnancy, and it had been a while since my last period. I’d been on the pill the whole time, though. I never missed a dose. A baby would seriously screw up the timeline I had planned for my life.
“I’m not pregnant,” I said more forcefully.
“If you say so,” Rick said, but the glint in his eye and the excited grin told me he didn’t believe me.
Straightening, I swatted his chest. “Listen, lover boy, if you’re all gung ho about a kid, then maybe you should finally introduce me to your parents. We’ve been together for a while, and Istillhaven’t met them.”
The smile on Rick’s face vanished. He shrugged uncomfortably. “I know, I know. The timing never works out. Either I’m out of town, or they are, or you have plans. It’s tough to get us all pinned down in one place.”
“Uh-huh,” I said, unconvinced, though he was probably right.
Rick’s parents were rich and influential. They were very busy, that much was true, and Rick did travel a lot for work. Deep down, however, I worried he didn’t want to introduce me to his parents because of my station in life. When we met, I’d only just become an actual reporter after finally getting promoted out of the mail room. I’d had to hound Brent for eighteen months for the promotion. I felt better about where I was professionally because it was one step closer to where I wanted to be in the end.
Maybe Rick was holding off until I worked my way up the ladder a little more. A star front-page reporter had a bit more panache than a leisure and lifestyle reporter. Could that be the reason he was dragging his heels? I hoped not, but that explanation was more likely than our schedules not lining up foralmost a year. His parents were probably the snobbish types who wouldn’t approve of their baby boy dating anyone who wasn’t a CEO, pop star, or billionaire heiress.
It was the way the world worked—and deep down, I knew that—but it still irked me. I’d worked my ass off for what I had. Why should I be looked down upon because I managed to get born to a poor woman from Zamora rather than a rich white lady in New York City or something?
It was silly. Then again, much of society was.
“I’m serious,” Rick said as we walked back to his car. “They’re really busy, but I’m going to call them as soon as I drop you off and nail down a date. I promise.”
He sounded more eager than he had when I brought it up in the past. Maybe I was right that my new opportunity atThe Chroniclehad made me a bit more presentable to his parents.
“Oh, hell,” Rick said, slapping his hand to his forehead. “I almost forgot. I know the perfect place for you to meet them.”
“Where might that be?” I asked as we both got back into the car.
“My parents are hosting a big gala for charity. I wasn’t originally going to attend because I was supposed to be in Quebec for a deposition. Now that I’m on this construction account, Dad gave that task to one of our junior attorneys. You can come with me.”
“A gala?” My eyebrows rose. “The one to benefit the local children’s hospital?”
I’d heard about it at the paper. In fact, I’d almost been assigned to it, but thankfully someone else would be covering the festivities. I couldn’t imagine how awkward it would have been to be working at an event Rick and his parents were hosting.
“Yeah, that’s the one. What do you say?” Rick’s smile faded as he rubbed my arm. “If you’re feeling okay, I mean.”
“I’ll go.”
“Great,” Rick said, and he pulled the car back out onto the street.
I could picture myself chatting with his parents, sipping champagne and eating whatever little canapes were being passed around. Rick would be holding my hand as the four of us laughed together. Even more happy thoughts crossed my mind after that. Rick and I purchasing a house for ourselves, and maybe a home for Mom and Gael. The three of us would get out of that shitty apartment.
It was almost too good of a fantasy to be believed, but if Rick really was going to finally introduce me to his parents, then perhaps we were moving closer to engagement and marriage. I slid my hand into Rick’s and smiled in contentment.
I paused as I thought about that little fantasy. God, I sounded like a gold digger. Every time I thought about our future, it was only about what Rick could provide, and never about my life with him as a partner. Maybe that had something to do with how out of balance our relationship was beginning to feel. With him always pushing and trying so hard, it made it hard to view him as anything more than a provider.
I shoved those thoughts to the back of my mind for later introspection.
“Can we stop at one more place on the way?” I asked.
“Sure, where do you wanna go?”
