“No, seriously.” Seth leaned back on his elbow and eyed her.
“Mariella’s going to be here soon.”
“Just a quick look.” Seth winked.
Jenny felt a growing sense of panic. She could stave him off for now, but there was no way she could wear this without Seth seeing her swollen belly. It was hard enough keeping concealed in heavy sweaters around him, turning off the lights before she took off her clothes, and remembering to lock the door when she showered.
“I’ll help.” Seth reached for her very oversized red sweater, and she pulled away from him. He jumped at her, seized her, and playfully wrestled her down, then he climbed on top of her, his weight pushing her whole body against the floor.
“Careful!” Jenny shouted. “I’m pregnant!”
“You’re what?” His eyes flew wide open, and he rolled off her and sat up. “What did you say?”
The phone in the apartment chimed, the special sound it made when a visitor downstairs wanted to be admitted to their apartment.
“Jenny?” he asked. “Did you just say—”
“I win!” Jenny jumped to her feet and scampered to the door, where she flicked on the tiny video screen. Mariella, dressed in thick layers with a hat, scarf, and gloves, appeared in black and white, and Jenny buzzed her in. “Looks like your girlfriend’s here.”
“Why do you keep saying that?” Seth followed her to the door. “She’s not my girlfriend. I’ve never done anything with her.”
“You will.”
“What do you mean?”
Jenny sighed and shook her head. It all fit together now. Jenny and Seth’s baby would die, the strain would ruin their relationship, and he would end up with Mariella. If Mariella was really seeing herself and Seth together in the future, then that would probably be the way it happened.
If Jenny and Seth weren’t going to break up, then Mariella’s vision could only mean that Jenny would die, which didn’t exactly fill her with hope for a better tomorrow.
“Jenny...” Seth hesitated. “Did you just say you were pregnant?”
“We’ll talk about it later.”
“So you are?”
“No. Maybe.”
“Maybe?” He gaped at her. “Did you take a test?”
“I...um...” Jenny saw Mariella arrive through the door lens and opened up before Mariella had a chance to ring the bell. “Bon jour! Joyeux Noël!”
“Joyeux Noël!” Mariella replied with a bright smile. Her green eyes seemed to glow, helped along by her matching dress, which she wore under her usual dark coat. She carried bright packages and an embroidered shopping bag into the apartment, and Seth quickly took them from her arms. Mariella leaned in to kiss Jenny’s cheek in the typical French greeting, and Jenny automatically pulled back and covered her mouth, shaking her head. It indicated that she was refraining, not to be rude, but because she was sick and contagious.
Seth had no trouble accepting Mariella’s kisses. He put the glittering wrapped packages on a side table, but Mariella reclaimed the shopping bag.
“Oh, no, you didn’t have to bring presents,” Jenny said. She spoke in English, since it was pretty obvious that Seth didn’t know much French, while Mariella was fluent in English. “We didn’t...”
“It’s nothing, I promise,” Mariella said. She held open the shopping bag, revealing three different bottles of red wine. “I did not know what you liked best.”
“Oh, that’s too much!” Jenny laughed.
Seth was giving Jenny a very serious look over Mariella’s head. He gestured toward the bedroom, clearly wanting to talk privately about whether she was pregnant or not. That was the subject Jenny wanted to avoid most, at the moment, so she took Mariella’s arm and led her into the kitchen instead.
“How can I help here?” Mariella asked, looking around at the multiple dishes in progress.
“You don’t have to.” Jenny set the wine bottles on the counter. She opened a Pinot noir and poured two glasses.
“Please, it does not feel like Christmas if I’m not a kitchen slave for at least part of the day,” Mariella said. “You forgot to pour a third glass. I’ll do it.”
“No, I’m not drinking right now,” Jenny said.
“Even on Christmas?” Mariella looked at Jenny’s ridiculously baggy sweater, which reached almost to her knees. “Are you pregnant?”
“Sh!” Jenny said, and Mariella’s eyes widened.
“He does not know?” Mariella whispered.
“You’ve been in my house for thirty seconds and you’re figuring out all this? In five minutes you’ll be telling me my own darkest secrets.”