Page 34 of Seven Minutes In Heaven
Claire ignored her. The wedding dress stretched against her skin, and she didn’t care.Yup. I’ve got a bulge.She could still pass it off as a food baby, and it helped that she had enough weird cravings to get away with it. How much Chinese food had she consumed around her mother lately?“Jesus, Claire!”Gloria had cried more than once.“Since when do you eat like this?”She couldn’t help it. The grease and salt were so good and hit the special hole her baby burrowed in her stomach.
“Don’t think it’s going to get any better.” Claire finished checking messages on her phone – none of them from Jake – and looked at herself in the mirror. The seamstress had moved out of the way, so Claire could get a look of the princess skirt expanding from her waist. The bulge was covered, but the waistline was low enough that it would become quite uncomfortable as the wedding approached. The best thing to do was come clean about being pregnant and either needing a unique solution or buying a whole new dress. Unfortunately, she still wasn’t in the mood to share the news with strangers. She had yet to tell her own mother about becoming a grandmother.
“I don’t know what you want me to do, Ms. Finn.” The seamstress pulled another pin from her hair and attempted to loosen up more of the waistline. “I’m very good at what I do, but I’m not a miracle worker.”
“It’s fine. It will have worked itself out by then.”
“I thought you said…”
That’s what Claire did, though. She waffled between calling off the wedding and going about sabotaging it, so Arthur would be the one to call it off.I haven’t talked to him in three days.Ever since she caught him in bed with another woman, Arthur had been scarce. The only time he willingly called or messaged Claire was to discuss tentative details or to invite her over for lunch. She turned him down most of the time, but the wedding planning went on as usual.
What a strange circumstance.
Likewise, Claire hadn’t spoken to Jake. She had asked for space, and he gave it to her. It allowed her to think about his declaration of love and how much it meant to her.
On one hand, she wanted Jake to be real. Those past few weeks sharing his bed and making love whenever they had a spare moment were some of the best of Claire’s life. Love? A part of her had certainly been falling in love with him, hadn’t it? Because she wouldn’t risk everything with her sure-thing of a marriage match if she wasn’t falling in love with a man that should’ve walked straight out of her dreams.
That was the problem, huh? It was too good to be true. The man she saw from across the room… the one she had a fling with… the one who accidentally knocked-her up… in love? With each other? Could it possibly be a forever thing?
Reality told her no. Fantasy, romance… it told her to go for it. To take the husband who claimed to love her, instead of the one who still had eyes for other women. God knew Claire only had eyes for the one who truly loved her.
Ifhe truly loved her.
She left her wedding dress fitting with new resolve. Claire got in the back of a taxi and gave the directions to Jake’s apartment. From her bag she pulled out a manila envelope containing the first few sonograms of her baby, procured earlier that morning.
I wish you could’ve been there, Jake.Maybe that was Claire’s problem. She was going through this alone, because she didn’t know who to trust and who to keep at arm’s length. She was the only one her baby could trust, and she had to be extra vigilant.
I’m tired of being alone in this.Next time, Jake could come with her and see his own child. Until then, she would take these pictures over to his place and gauge his reaction.
“Ms. Finn!” The receptionist in Jake’s building perked up in surprise. Why? It wasn’t uncommon for Claire to be around there anymore. Hell, how many times had she snuck out at three in the morning so she would be home before her mother realized she stayed out so late? “Was Mr. Carter expecting you today?”
Claire stopped in front of the desk. “No,” she said, manila envelope threatening to slip from her fingers. “I’m surprising him. Why? Is he not in today?” He had mentioned something about finishing up a script and shopping it around with his agent. Claire knew that could mean multiple meetings over several weeks.
“He’s in, but… he expressed that nobody else should bother him today.”
“Nobodyelse?” This apartment building would rue the day they hired this incompetent asshead. Because a good receptionist would not have let slip that a resident already had one female caller that day. A secret one, apparently.
The apple truly did not fall far from the tree.
“Ms. Finn!” The receptionist called after her as she ducked into the elevator and jammed her finger into the button.
The doors closed before anyone could stop her.
She rehearsed what she might say the whole way up.“Here’s the pictures of your baby, asshole. Enjoy them with your new skank.” “How many babies you making in this town, Jake? Huh? Your father got a few more, too?”Each one fed into her righteous need for revenge.
It fueled her on her way to his door. When she knocked, it was with a fiery indignation that almost knocked the door in.
Jake opened it a crack. Claire crossed her arms.
“Claire? What are you doing here?” Jake opened the door the whole way. She peered over his shoulder, but didn’t see another woman present in the small apartment.
She slammed the manila folder against his chest. “Sonograms,” she announced loudly. “Mr. Baby Daddy.”
He was too shocked to keep her out of his apartment. Claire entered and immediately found the other guest.
It took her a moment to recognize Arthur’s little girlfriend from the studio lot.She’s younger than me. She’s prettier than me. She’s sure as hell easier to manipulate than I am.That didn’t make Claire feel better to think, but it was worth it in the moment.
“You…” Claire braced herself against the archway leading from living room to the dining area.
