White Lies

Mirror, Mirror

Pregnant. The word splashes in her mind like a flickering sign. She asks herself how she could have been so careless?

"But I wasn't," Blanche told the air.

She pinches the bridge of her nose, then goes back to read the same sentence she has read many times before. It still doesn't sink in.

"And with a stranger, no less. What the hell do I tell my child? Like I'm going to keep him, her, it?" Blanche picks up the phone and dials Trisha's number. Her friend answers right away.

"Bee, are you okay?"

"I don't even know what to call... him or her or it. 'It' sounds weird. And what if I keep... it?"

Trisha remains quiet for a moment before speaking. "Maybe you should come back home. We'll do a pros and cons list."

"No, I have work to do. I haven't done any yet. I'll talk to you later."

"Okay. Hey, why don't we go out for a nice dinner tonight? Troy said he has to visit his sister in Brooklyn."

"Can we just stay in?"

"Yeah, we can do that too. I'll pick up a slasher movie and order in. What do you feel like eating?"

"I don't know. I'm not nauseous or anything but I read that some smells can trigger it."

"Then we'll order everything and test which one will set you off. That way we know what you can avoid."

"Thanks, Trish."

"I'll see you soon... and Blanche, be careful."

"I will."

After ending the call, Bee's heart swells. If she didn't have Trish, where would she be? Maybe not pregnant. Maybe pregnant with Perry's baby.

Somehow, having a stranger's child weighs better than having her ex-fiancé's child. She shivers at the thought. Blanche forces herself to look at the file in front of her and takes notes, but all she ends up doing is writing down children's names.

She doesn't realize this until a noise breaks her thoughts.

"Hello?" she calls out to the hallway, taking the scissors from her drawer for defense, just in case.

"Blanche?" Her boss peeks in, then the rest of him joins. "What are you doing here? It's Sunday!"

"Same reason why you're here, I assume." Blanche nods at the box in Jay's arms. More files for her, no doubt.

Jay chuckles. "We are a good team, aren't we?" He pats his pants for something then pulls out his cellphone. "Oh hold on, Blanche, little brother is calling."

Blanche stands to grab the boxes from Jay. Has she known that Jason has a brother? She imagines a younger version of her boss, maybe two years younger as Jay doesn't look a day over thirty, even though she knows he's reaching the big four-oh. Would this brother be cuter or more handsome? With a muscular body, longer hair, with glasses to make him look more intellectual.

Realizing that she's stepping into a dangerous pat, lusting over someone she has never met, Blanche blames it on the pregnancy hormones. She has read about that and the wicked desires that they may bring on.

"Hey, are you coming over for dinner?" Jay says on the phone after mouthing off a 'thank you' to Blanche. "Yeah, Marianne is making your favorite."

She follows Jay's movements to the small couch in their reception area, which looks more like a lounge than a law firm's waiting room with the bright teal walls, a gold Indian-inspired mirror hanging above a small sideboard, which is flanked by two ecru-coloured sofas. Jay mentioned that Marianne loves to decorate. Looking around, Blanche can see the careful touches of a woman.