Her Bundles Of Joy

Nicole carefully slipped off his bed and picked up her discarded dress. She walked into his bathroom and ignored how it was bigger than her entire apartment. Nicole checked her appearance in the mirror; she looked awful. Exactly like someone who’d spent the night drinking and then having hot, hungry s*x. She washed her face and pulled her hair into a tight bun on top of her head. Nicole could feel the awful taste of sour alcohol in her mouth so she used Evan’s mouthwash. After rinsing her mouth, she peeked around the door and was relieved to see that the blond man was still asleep. Nicole took a moment to drink in the image of a sleeping Evan, he looked so calm and careless. His lips were pulled into a slight smile, and suddenly all Nicole wanted was to sneak in a goodbye kiss. Of course, it wasn’t the wisest idea she’d ever had so Nicole decided against it. She had to leave this apartment without Evan noticing.

She was so not ready to face him yet. In fact, she didn’t know when, or if, she’d be ready to face him again.

Nicole rushed down the stairs and was surprised to find the apartment empty and squeaky clean. Perks of being rich, she figured; you go to bed and your house looks like a trashcan, you wake up and it looks perfect. The dancer felt slightly embarrassed as she greeted the sweet elevator operator that had seen her the night before. She’d never done the walk of shame before. He smiled knowingly but said nothing. Nicole wished she could drop dead right now. Snatching her cellphone out of her purse, the she called the number of the taxi driver that had dropped her off. He’d told her he’d give her a discount if she rode back to Brooklyn with him. The man picked up the phone and informed Nicole he was finishing a trip nearby and would pick her up in ten. The ten longest minutes of her life, the young woman decided. She was leaning against the wall of a very expensive apartment building at the Upper East Side, wearing a wrinkly party dress, no makeup, and looking like she had a horrible hangover, which she did, in fact. Some of the white, rich people walking through the streets threw her dirty looks, but Nicole didn’t have the strength to tell them off. On another occasion, maybe…right now, all she wanted was to walk into the safety of her own apartment and cry herself to sleep.

Thank God Terrence had given her the week off.

*****

For the past month and a half, there had been a silent agreement between Nicole and Evan. The two friends had distanced themselves and barely exchanged a couple of words since that New Year’s Eve. Nicole figured that Evan probably regretted sleeping with her, and she felt humiliated knowing that she gave herself to him that easily. Brandi noticed that there was something weird going on between her friends, but guessed it would be better to give them space. If Evan or Nicole wanted to talk about whatever it was that had happened, they’d come to her on their own terms.

Nicole missed him immensely, though. It wasn’t easy going from seeing or speaking to each other virtually every day to not having any sort of communication at all. It really hurt her. Worst of all, the events that took place that fateful evening kept playing on a loop in her mind. She couldn’t forget that night, no matter how hard she tried. Nicole craved Evan’s touch, his kisses, his presence, his friendship. She wished she could turn back time and change everything about that night. Sure, it would hurt her to take back all the things she’d done with Evan, but if it meant she’d regain his friendship, Nicole would gladly erase that night from history. Too bad it wasn’t something she could actually do. She blamed herself every day for being stupid. Who the hell got drunk and spent the night with their best friend? Only stupid people.

To make matters even worse, the dancer had contracted some sort of stomach infection and now it had been a week or so since she’d started throwing up in the mornings or when she smelled certain smells. Nicole had gotten sick while teaching a lesson that morning, and it was so intense that she’d actually passed out. Terrence had been kind enough to bring Nicole to a hospital and the doctor had asked for a few blood exams. Nicole was in the waiting room, her boss sitting next to her, while they waited for the results. All the dancer could think about was how expensive this was going to be. Nicole wanted to cry at the thought of yet another bill to pay by the end of the month.

“You do realize you won’t get paid for this morning’s lesson, right?” Terrence broke the silence. Nicole stared at him incredulously. “Don’t look at me like that. You didn’t finish the lesson, you can’t possibly want me to pay you for it. Also, you’ll have to pay an extra fee to Mrs. Robbins.”

“What the hell, Terrence! I’m freaking sick, and you want me to pay the cleaning lady for doing her fu*king job?”

“Actually, it’s not her job to wipe your vomit off the floor. Poor woman had to clean after your mess, and you don’t even want to pay her.”

Nicole inhaled deeply to stop herself from slapping the cynical look off Terrence’s face. God, she hated him so much. She never understood why the guy had become such an asshole.

Money and power really turned people into uglier versions of themselves. Before she could tell him to choke on a di*k, the doctor came back and called Nicole into his office.

“Ms. Carter, I have the results of your blood exams here. Don’t worry, there’s nothing wrong with your health. This ‘infection’ you think you have is actually something else. A very good thing, actually. Congratulations, Ms. Carter. You’re going to be a mother.”