Weighting for Christmas

by A. J. Harmon

  By mid-afternoon I have made my selection and I’m having a hard time standing by my decision. This is just the worst day of my life.

  The first two firings are horrible, but done. The responses were what I expected but nothing I wasn’t prepared for. This last one, however, is going to be the hardest. I should have done it first.

  “So I guess I know what this is all about,” Tina says as she slumps down in the chair opposite me. “You’re letting me go,” she says, using air quotes.

  “Tina, I wish I didn’t have to do this but it’s not up to me.”

  “Don’t give me that bullshit. I saw you with all the personnel files. You’ve decided who’s leaving and who gets to stay.”

  Fuck! “Unfortunately, I had to make a hard decision based on performance and the needs of the company, not personal feelings.”

  “You think that since you got all skinny and got a hot boyfriend that you’re really special now, don’t you?”

  Well, damn! I didn’t see that coming. I thought we were friends. I guess not any more.

  “Tina, I’m really sorry, I am, but the decision has been made. Here is all of the information you need from me and security will take you to HR on the way out so you can sign the paperwork.”

  “Security? You’ve called security?”

  “It’s standard protocol,” I offer my explanation. “This isn’t personal.”

  “You fucking bet it’s personal.”

  But security is waiting outside my door and don’t let the conversation go any further. I watch through my open door as Tina gathers her belongings from her desk and throws them in a box. And then she storms off without even a glance in my direction.

  I run to the restroom and puke my lunch into the toilet and then sit on the floor and cry.

  FOURTEEN

  It’s nice that Chad has a truck, and that he can practically lift an elephant by himself. It’s taken us several truck loads but all my stuff is out of my apartment and at Chad’s house, a lot of it just stacked in the garage, but at least it’s here. It’s now official. Chad and I are living together.

  And just in time for the Halloween trick-or-treaters.

  There were a few kids in my apartment building, but when they knocked, I just ignored them. Yeah, I can be nice like that. But now, living in a neighborhood filled with families, I am excited to have a string of little minions, dinosaurs, Elsas, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles streaming to our front door.

  “I’ve always been at the gym on Halloween,” Chad says as I’m filling a giant orange pumpkin bowl with the best candy. I’m making sure that all the kids think that ours was the best house for treats.

  “Well, it’s Sunday, and I want to do it with you.”

  “I’ll do it with you anytime, baby,” Chad growls and slithers his arms around my waist and presses his hardening cock into my ass.

  “Yes, later,” I mindlessly say and continue with my candy selection.

  Chad laughs and kisses my cheek. “You’ve settled into domesticity pretty damn quickly.”

  “Well, isn’t that what you’re supposed to do when you live in a house on a street filled with kids?”

  “I suppose so,” he agrees.

  “What made you decide to buy a house here? I mean it’s a beautiful house in a great neighborhood, but doesn’t necessarily scream bachelor,” I ask.

  “I didn’t want to stay a bachelor forever,” he winks at me. “I was actually looking at a newly converted loft a few blocks from here when my realtor called me about this house. It was a short sale. The owner had bought it to flip it, and had finished doing all the hard stuff, like the kitchen and bathrooms, and had all the flooring stacked and ready to lay when he ran out of money. I took one look and made an offer. What sold me was the back yard. I really wanted a yard but didn’t think I’d find something I could afford.”

  “You’ve done a beautiful job,” I remarked as I looked around the kitchen.

  Four bedrooms, two and a half bathrooms, and a two-car garage make this the perfect family home. I haven’t thought much about having a family, but being here with Chad and this neighborhood, I admit the idea of having a family is always just a thought away. But it’s still too soon. We’ve only been dating a few months and have been living together for literally a day. Plus, there’s the new business venture that will take all our time… and all our money next year. It’s certainly not the right time to be daydreaming about the future. We need to focus on the present and get used to being with each other every night and every morning. Call it our adjustment period.

  And it only lasted two weeks.

  *****

  “It’s an opportunity I really have to seriously consider,” Chad says. “The money it would add to our bank account would make a considerable addition to our new fitness center. The studio is paying for hotels and everything, so all the money can be put straight in the bank.”

  Anna Baxter is off to film a new movie – three weeks on location in New Orleans – and she has it written into her contract that she gets a personal trainer on set with her 24/7, and the trainer she wants is Chad.

  Fuck!

  “It’s not the money I’m concerned about,” I mutter under my breath. “It’s the bitch.”

  Chad walks around the island in the kitchen and pulls me up out of the stool I’m sitting in. He hugs me tightly and kisses my neck several times. “Even if she did have an ulterior motive,” he breathes against my skin, “it doesn’t matter. You are the person I am with. You are the woman I love. You are the woman I want.”

  While I believe him, I’m still not at ease, but I can’t tell him not to go. It’s his decision and I must support him.

  “If you think it’s a good idea, then you gotta do it.”

  “You don’t mind if I go?”

  “Of course I mind,” I laugh. “I don’t want to be away from you for three weeks!”

  “It will go by fast, I promise.”

  “You’re going to speed up time?” I ask.

  “Anything for my girl,” he grins.

  “So when do you leave? And more importantly, when do you come home?”

  Chad lets go of me and pulls out his phone to look at his calendar. “Um, so we leave on the twenty-eighth and I should be home on the twentieth.”

  “That’s cutting it a little close,” I frown with concern.

  “I promise to be back for Christmas.”

  “You’d better be,” I warn.

  “I promise.”

  *****

  Before Chad left for New Orleans with the bitch, we met with the bank to officially apply for our business loan. I had worked on the business plan and projections for a couple of weeks every evening after I came home from work, and Chad provided all the information for equipment purchases, space rental and remodeling, and together it was a complete and well-prepared plan. The loan officer agreed that we’d come prepared with answers to all their questions and using Chad’s house as additional collateral, our loan was approved and would be fully funded in thirty days. By the beginning of February, we would be working full-time in our own business and hoped to open the doors to the public on May 1st.

  And the best news of all? I could put in my notice at my job. The satisfaction I received by turning in my resignation letter was immense. Chad took me to dinner and we celebrated with a bottle of champagne and a chocolate soufflé for dessert. When we got home we made love and then fell asleep in each other’s arms. It couldn’t have been more perfect. I am one very lucky woman.

  I keep reminding myself of that every day now that Chad is half way across the country with the bitch. It just makes me crazy sometimes knowing that she is scheming to get him in her bed. I trust Chad, I do. I just don’t trust her. She’s the type of woman that gets what she wants and doesn’t stop conniving and angling until she succeeds. Have I said I don’t like her?

  I go to work, I come home and make sure the house is clean and tidy. It’s four times the size of my old apartment, ye
t it seems to take me ten times as long to clean. I admit with Chad gone, the house does stay cleaner, but if I had my choice, I’d still have Chad home. I really miss him.

  The bed is so big. We sleep in a king and when we are in it together, it’s the perfect size. With me in it alone, it’s massive and lonely.

  “How’s my girl?” he asks when he calls after he’s finished for the day.

  “Lonely,” I whine.

  “It’s only been a couple of days. You’d better get used to it or it’s going to be a very long three weeks.”

  “I am not getting used to being alone,” I mutter, annoyed he even suggested it. “This is a one-time thing, remember?”

  “Yes, it is,” he agrees. “I miss you too.”

  “What do you do all day?”

  “Eh, not a whole lot. Anna does her workout in the morning and that takes about ninety minutes. After that I hang out in my trailer in case she needs something?”

  “Needs something? Like what?”

  “If she’s got a cramp or twisted her ankle running during a scene. You know. Stuff like that.”

  “Hmph!”

  Chad laughs into the phone. “I kind of like that you’re jealous.”

  “I bet you do,” I grin. “I love you.”

  “I love you. Wanna have phone sex?”

  “Absolutely!”

  *****

  It’s supposed to be my last week of work but I can’t seem to leave the toilet. My stomach is just rolling and every few minutes I wretch again, even though I swear there’s nothing left to throw up.

  “Damn Thai food!” Yesterday, I bailed on family dinner at my parent’s house, even though I wanted to cuddle with Jack. He’s getting so big so fast and I haven’t seen him in a couple of weeks, but I was in a funk… missing Chad, so I ordered Thai to be delivered for dinner. I’m paying for it now. I should have just had some eggs on toast. Serves me right, I guess.

  I must call in sick. I’m annoyed as hell that I’m one of those employees who calls in sick their last week, but it can’t be helped. I literally can’t leave the bathroom.

  When Chad calls several hours later, I’m doing a little better, but not much.

  “Oh, not the Thai place on Third and Weaver?” he asks.

  “Yeah, why?”

  “Shit. The last time I ate there I got food poisoning.”

  “Well, that would’ve been good to know,” I chide.

  “Do you need me to text you a list of restaurants close by that are good?”

  “No!” I almost gag at the thought. “I doubt I’ll be eating anytime soon.”

  “Oh, babe, you don’t sound good at all.”

  “I’m not good at all,” I sigh. “Do you mind if we keep it short tonight? I just want to curl up and try and sleep.”

  “Sure thing. I love you, Kate.”

  “Love you, too,” I say and throw the phone on the other side of the bed. Sleep sounds good.

  I think I might be feeling a bit better after a few hours’ sleep, good enough that I get up and take a shower and start to get ready for work… until I am hunched over the toilet once again, heaving and vomiting again. I have to make that call again saying I am not coming to work.

  Fuck!

  I go back to bed and sleep for a couple more hours and when I get up again, the nausea seems to have gone. I might be human again, but I’ve said that before.

  As I am still lying in bed contemplating the state of my digestive tract, my cell phone rings. When I check the caller ID, it’s Grace. Decisions, decisions. To answer or not to answer, that is the question.

  “Hello?”

  “Hey, sis. How’s your last week of work?”

  “I wouldn’t know,” I shrug. “I’m not there.”

  “Why? What’s wrong?”

  “I have food poisoning. I ate Thai on Sunday and now I’m sick.”

  “Food poisoning doesn’t last this long. Are you faking it to get out of work?”

  “No! I am not faking it,” I snap. “I’m puking my guts out and I feel as though I’ve been mauled by a bear.”

  “Well, you wouldn’t still be throwing up if it was food poisoning. That’s over in about twenty-four hours. It must be something else. A virus or something.”

  “Maybe,” I say.

  “Or you’re pregnant,” Grace giggles.

  “That’s not even funny!” I groan. “Besides, I’m on the pill.”

  “You can get pregnant on the pill. I have a girlfriend who was on the pill and her boyfriend always wore a rubber and she still got pregnant. The only fool proof way to avoid it is abstinence. And with a man who looks like Chad does, I doubt that’s an option,” she laughs.

  Dear God! Please don’t let me be pregnant. Please.

  FIFTEEN

  Well, I’m pregnant!

  After I talked to Grace I panicked and went to the pharmacy to buy a pregnancy test. I know that they can often be wrong, so I bought nine – three of three different brands. They are all positive. I can confidently state without any doubt whatsoever that I am in fact pregnant.

  Chad is gone for another two weeks and I’m here at home… pregnant.

  Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!

  I call Grace.

  “Hello?”

  She always answers the phone with such a happy voice.

  “I hate you,” I say.

  “Why? What did I do?”

  “I’m pregnant.”

  I move the phone away from my ear as Grace screams like a banshee. “Oh. My. God. That’s wonderful! Congratulations.”

  “Um, not so sure about that,” I sigh.

  “What? Why?”

  “We haven’t talked about having a baby! I only just moved in. We are starting a business. The timing is all wrong!”

  “Just because you haven’t talked about it doesn’t mean you guys won’t make fabulous parents.”

  “How do I tell Chad?” The million-dollar question.

  “Don’t do it over the phone.”

  I agree with Grace on this one. Definitely not over the phone.

  “So I get to wait two weeks then until he comes home.” That is going to be torture.

  I make Grace promise to not tell another soul, not Will and especially not Mom. Chad is the next person that needs to know and I must figure out how to do that.

  At least now I can call the VP of accounting and tell her that I will not be coming in the rest of the week. I’m pregnant and they can go fuck themselves. Well, not the last part, but it is a good reason and I don’t care about going back. I removed my personal stuff from my office the day I handed in my notice. I guess I can say I am now officially unemployed.

  And pregnant. Did I say already that I’m pregnant?

  Fuck!

  *****

  As I’m talking to Chad on the phone I catch myself every other sentence almost telling him my news. But I manage to bite my tongue hard enough to keep the secret until I see him. After I hang up I realize that I won’t be able to do it. Two more weeks? Not going to happen.

  I pack a suitcase, book a flight to NOLA and drive to the airport at the crack of dawn. The thing is, it’s not that I’m so excited I can’t keep it to myself, it’s that I don’t know what to think and I need Chad to tell me how he feels so we can decide together if it’s good news or not. Although, if he decides it’s bad news, I can’t even begin to imagine what I’ll do. I guess I’ll cross that bridge when we get there. As for now, I’m just concentrating on getting to NOLA with the contents of my stomach staying put.

  There’s some bumps. There’s a bit of turbulence, but sipping on a cup of Sprite seems to be helping. Once we land, however, it’s straight to the restroom for me and puking my guts out. A couple of women knock on the stall door and ask me if I’m okay, or if I need anything. Kind of them, but unneeded. It is a horrible experience to vomit in a public bathroom. Like that needs an audience!

  I know very little about the movie Anna Baxter is filming. The one thing I do know is tha
t they are supposed to be filming at Jackson Square. I’m kind of excited to see it in person. I’ve watched television and seen it and have wanted to see it for myself, so that’s a definite plus.

  I find a taxi outside the airport and we head into the city and the French Quarter, and before much time has passed, we’ve pulled curbside and the driver wants me to pay him. We are about two blocks away, but traffic has been blocked due to the film crew set up with all their equipment. Plenty of onlookers are crowded near the barricades and I can tell that I am certainly at the right place.

  I push my way through, becoming more irritated with each step. When I finally reach the front of the crowd, a rent-a-cop stops me and tells me to stay behind the tape.

  “I’m here to see Chad Rockwood. He’s Anna Baxter’s personal trainer, and it’s a family emergency,” I implore.

  “He’s going to be on the other side of the church,” the guy says and nods in the direction of the magnificent Saint Louis Cathedral on the north side of the square.

  I thank him and push my way back through the mob and to the street that will take me to where I need to go. As I wander past the cathedral, I remind myself that I must see inside before I go home. I can’t come all the way here and not go inside.

  Lined along the street a block behind the cathedral are a row of trailers blocking the road and, once again, there is a rent-a-cop at the barricade that I have to sweet talk my way past. But I’m telling the truth – it is a family emergency and I most definitely need to see Chad as soon as possible. Apparently, I don’t look threatening, or too much of a risk to let through, so he sighs and allows me entrance in the trailer city. There is so much commotion and people running around I am lost in all the mayhem. I quickly learn, however, that each trailer has a name taped to the door, so I just have to search until I find Chad’s. He said he had his own trailer.

  It takes a good fifteen minutes of reading door after door after door until I come upon a smaller trailer with Chad’s name on it. I sigh in relief and knock on the door and wait. There is no answer so I knock again.