by Tiana Cole
Jeannie, who had been stirring her homemade pasta sauce, cleared her throat and held up the wooden spoon in protest.
“That means I get a say, too, doesn't it? I'm the godmother, after all,” she said smugly.
Jessica giggled as both Nick and Jeannie continued to go back and forth about baby names. Her giggles were interrupted by the ringing of her cell phone from the family room, and she excused herself to go take the call. Seconds later, she poked her head back into the kitchen and excitedly gestured me over. Curious, I followed her down the hall and out of earshot from our company.
“What's up?” I asked quietly.
She grabbed me by the arm and dragged me into the bathroom, closing the door behind her before turning her speakerphone on. She placed her cell on the counter and took a deep breath.
“Okay, we're both here,” she said nervously, her eyes locked on me as she awaited a response. I glanced down at her phone and saw that it was Jay who'd called.
“Listen, Tasha and I have talked this over a lot,” he began, then paused for a long sigh. “Look, we forgive you both for lying to us. I might have overreacted a bit, so I apologize for that.” Jessica and I looked at each other in relief, then returned our attention to the phone as Jay went on. “We're not going to rat you out or anything, Bastian. We know you two really do love each other. Hell, that much is obvious. You're having a baby together, so we figure it's best to just move past this.”
Overjoyed, Jessica hugged me while repeatedly thanking her brother, and I offered my sincerest appreciation as well. I felt a slight weight lifted off of my shoulders, but still took the blame for being the cause of their brief rift.
“Yeah, and most importantly, we love you, Jessica,” Tasha said nicely. “Bastian, you're a work in progress, but we're family and that's what matters most.”
“I understand,” I replied. “We're both so relieved to hear this.”
“Yeah, no more lies,” Jessica told them, nodding her head even though they couldn't see. “We'll be totally straight with you two from now on,” she assured them.
“That's all I ask,” Jay returned.
“When can we see you guys?” Jessica asked eagerly. “It's only been a week but it feels like forever. And how's JJ?”
I recalled how we'd practically traumatized the poor little guy, and the confused, pained look on his face as the sight of Jessica's tears. He hadn't seen his aunt Jessica since then, and he was too young to understand why.
“JJ won't stop asking for you,” Jay groaned. “He's been beside himself. We're actually in the city right now having dinner. Maybe we could swing by with ice cream a little later?”
“That sounds great, yeah!” Jessica burst, her face lit with happiness. “Definitely come over. We have dinner guests here right now, but they'll be gone in an hour or so.”
“We just ordered dinner, so that's perfect,” Tasha replied. “We'll see you in a bit.”
We swapped goodbyes and rejoined Nick and Jeannie in the kitchen. When they asked about the phone call, we told them it wasn't important and quickly changed the subject. Neither of them knew the truth about our marriage, and quite frankly, I was glad they didn't. I trusted Nick, but he didn't need to know about the arrangement since it would only put him at risk.
I had my suspicions about Jeannie, however, and wondered if she'd pieced the truth together somehow. Over the last few days, several of her comments had come across as flippant, but Jessica hadn't seemed to notice. I got the feeling Jeannie was a tad jealous of her friend, and envied the lavish lifestyle she was living.
I hoped the girl hadn’t done some snooping and uncovered something she shouldn’t have. If Jeannie could unearth the truth somehow, there was a fairly good chance that immigration could as well. Perhaps I was merely being paranoid.
Nick and Jeannie left together minutes before Jay arrived with Tasha by his side carrying JJ, and as soon as the little boy saw his auntie Jessica he wormed his way out of his mother's arms and bolted from the elevator.
“Jessie, don't fight, don't fight with mama and papa!” JJ pleaded with a sad tone to his voice. I was never one for kids, but I couldn't deny that JJ was adorable and made me that much more excited for my own child. “And you don't fight, too!” he added as he glanced at me with his big eyes.
“Okay, we won't fight, we promise,” I assured him with my hands up in mock surrender. JJ nodded at me, then turned his attention back to Jessica.
“Now you promise,” he demanded.
“I promise,” she said sweetly, kneeling down to kiss his cheek. JJ hugged her, and in a move that I hadn't expected, turned and reached up for me. I scooped him up and he studied me closely before wrapping his arms around my neck and hugging me tightly. Satisfied that all was well, he shimmied down to his own feet and returned to his mother.
“Well, I guess that breaks the ice,” Jay joked, then revealed a thick paper bag. “We have ice cream,” he smirked as he made his way across the room to shake my hand.
“Perfect,” Jessica grinned, hugging Tasha warmly.
We led them into the family room where we put on a movie and relaxed as if nothing had happened between us. Both Jessica and JJ fell asleep early, and Jay and Tasha decided to spend the night instead of making the trek back to the Hamptons.
When the morning came, I woke to Jessica bolting from our bed to the bathroom. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes, noted that it was only 8:00 am, and hurried to hold her hair while she went through another bout of morning sickness.
“Dammit, I was doing so good…” she mumbled as I helped her to her feet. “I thought I was past the morning sickness stage.”
“I read that it can happen anytime during pregnancy, really,” I told her as she brushed her teeth. She groaned, and I smirked as I kissed her softly on the shoulder. I'd just turned on the shower for the both of us when my phone rang in the bedroom.
“I'll be right back,” I told her. She nodded sleepily as I hurried to answer the call.
“Hello, this is Bastian Kosta,” I answered warily after failing to recognizing the number.
“Mr. Kosta, this is officer Charles Dunbar from USCIS.”
My heart began to pound at the grave and decidedly unfriendly tone of his voice.
“Officer Dunbar, what can I do for you?” I asked, making sure to keep my own tone appropriately light and curious.
“We've been doing a few reference checks on you and your wife, and, well, some things surfaced that are a bit…concerning. I'm going to have to ask the both of you to come to our office for an interview,” the officer replied matter-of-factly, and my mind raced as I feared what he could have uncovered.
“No problem!” I said as coolly as possible. “Just say when and where and we'll be there.”
I swallowed hard when he asked us to come in that very day, and my hand shook as I jotted down the address. I'd expected him to schedule the interview for the following week, but apparently his questions couldn't wait and he wanted us in his office at 10:00 am. Trying to stay positive, I reminded myself that we may not be screwed since immigration hadn't shown up pounding at our door. Officer Dunbar likely needed to ask a few simple follow-up questions, I tried to convince myself, though his voice inferred otherwise.
Jessica was already in the shower when I returned to the bathroom to deliver the unsettling news.
“Come join me,” she said with a slight pout, and any other time I would have jumped at the invitation. “What's wrong?” she asked when she noticed my worried expression.
“Officer Dunbar just called. He wants us to come in…” I told her quietly, still in shock from the unexpected call.
“What?” she asked over the sound of the running water.
“That was officer Charles Dunbar,” I repeated louder. “He wants us to come in.”
“Wait, what? Why?” she questioned, her face turning serious as she turned the water off and stepped out of the shower to grab a towel.
“Apparently they found somethi
ng and want to speak with us about it,” I told her, trying to hide the extent of my concern. “I'm sure it's nothing, but he wants us in his office at 10:00 am.”
“Found something?” she replied uneasily as she dried off. “Like what?”
“No clue, but don't panic. We got this,” I assured her, flashing her a forced smile as I moved by her to rinse off.
We got ready quietly as both of our minds were consumed with worry. We only had an hour left until the interview, so we headed down to the kitchen for a quick breakfast and were about to catch the elevator down to the lobby when Jessica remembered that her family had slept over. In the rush to get presentable, we'd totally forgotten they'd crashed in the same guest bedroom I'd put my mother up in.
“My brother!” Jessica blurted, stopping in her tracks with her eyes wide.
“Jesus, I totally spaced on that, too,” I replied.
“Shit,” she sighed. “I'll leave a note.”
She hurried to the kitchen where she scribbled something on a piece of notepaper and stuck it to the refrigerator door.
We took the Mercedes, and I drove us across the city to the address officer Dunbar had given. I'd entered it into my phone's GPS, so it was relatively easy to find and we arrived right on time. When we reached the building, Jessica and I waited nervously while the lady who'd greeted us at the front desk called the officer to announce our arrival.
“It'll be just a few,” the portly brunette told us. “Please take a seat. He'll be out soon.”
“I'm freaking out,” Jessica whispered to me as we seated ourselves in the small waiting area.
“I am, too,” I replied in the same hushed tone, taking her hand in mine and squeezing it tightly. I couldn't help but notice that we were the only two waiting, and wondered how common these interviews were.
“Mr. and Mrs. Kosta?” officer Charles Dunbar greeted flatly when he emerged minutes later and waved us into his office. When we'd met him weeks earlier, he came across as friendly and kind. Now, his entire demeanor had changed and he appeared to be all business, making no attempt at small talk as he sunk into the chair behind his desk. His office was small, cold, and clinical, and I wasn't sure if it was designed this way to intentionally make people uncomfortable.
“Mr. Kosta,” he began, then cleared his throat and leaned forward with his hands clasped together on his desk. “I'm just going to put this bluntly and say that we know you made an arrangement to marry for the sole purpose of gaining legal status here.”
“Excuse me?” I replied in shock.
“What makes you say that?” Jessica asked indignantly.
Officer Dunbar studied us for a moment with an inscrutable gaze, and I noticed Jessica shift nervously in her seat.
“We were given detailed information regarding how quickly the two of you got together,” he informed us as he opened a manila folder and scanned our file again. “It appears that you were conveniently promoted to Senior Partner around this time, Jessica, and given a share in the company.”
Jessica didn't respond, instead choosing to sit quietly and fidget with her purse strap. She glanced at me, her worried face tacitly pleading with me to do or say something to bail her out of this nightmare situation.
“Both my partner and I agreed that Jessica was extremely talented and deserved the position,” I answered on her behalf.
“I'm sure,” the officer nodded dismissively. “Look,” he sighed, “let me cut right to the chase. We did our homework. This isn't our first rodeo, you know. It's no coincidence that a small fortune was deposited into Jessica's bank account around the time of the engagement and promotion. We—”
“That was her Senior Partner bonus,” Bastian interrupted in an attempt to defend us, the lawyer in him bursting out full-force.
“Just stop, Mr. Kosta,” officer Dunbar replied calmly. “Save your courtroom dramatics. We know for a fact you bribed Jessica into marrying you so you wouldn't be deported.”
I stole a look at Jessica and could see her crumbling quickly. Tears were welling in her eyes, and her hands were shaking noticeably. She was coming undone, and Charles could see it just as easily as I could.
“Our marriage is real,” I once again contested. “My wife is pregnant. What other evidence do you need?”
“We have enough evidence to send you back to Greece,” Charles fired back, seemingly ignoring my words. “In fact, you are going back to Greece. I only called you in here as a formality to give you a bit of warning,” he shrugged, “and to hopefully work out a deal for you, Jessica,” he continued as his focus shifted to her.
“I…I don't understand,” she stammered and swallowed hard, unraveling in front of our eyes. “You were so nice before…you said America needs people like Bastian. Why are you doing this?”
“It's nothing personal, believe me,” officer Dunbar explained. “I'm a fairly nice guy, and an understanding one, too. I'm sure you're both good people who made a mistake, that's all. I just don't like being lied to, and definitely don't like being made a fool of. I have a job to do, and I'm doing it. The information that was brought to light can't be ignored.”
“How can you send him back to Greece? I'm pregnant!” Jessica burst and began to sob, tears staining both cheeks as she clenched her purse tightly.
“I'm aware of that, and I sympathize,” he told her as he handed her a tissue from the box on his desk. “I like you both, I really do. You got involved for the wrong reasons, but I can tell you two love each other. It's fairly obvious that somewhere along the line it became real. I just wish you'd gone about this differently. I might have been able to do something before, but now that a report’s been filed…” he trailed off, looking down at our file again and shaking his head in disappointment.
“Who contacted you about this?” I asked sternly, carefully choosing my words to avoid admission of guilt. “Who told you all of this? I need to know.”
“Sorry, I can't divulge that,” he replied. “But now that we've been given the information, I can't turn a blind eye to it. I'm afraid you'll be heading back to Greece, Mr. Kosta.”
My entire body felt like it had been filled with lead. My worst fear had been realized: I was going back to Greece, and would likely have to sell my share of the firm. Everything I'd worked so hard to build was being taken away, and all because some vindictive tattletale had tipped off USCIS. Yes, I had enough money to last several lifetimes, but that didn't matter to me.
Jessica and the baby were all I truly had left, but would she be willing to uproot her life and live with me in Greece? That is, if she was even free to. The American government may very well toss her in jail for the crime she'd committed. I was a business lawyer and knew little of immigration law, but I could afford the best immigration lawyer money could buy and resolved to fight the deportation every step of the way. Nobody was going to—
“I can give you two options,” officer Dunbar said, interrupting my racing thoughts. He sat back in his seat, and his eyes fell on Jessica with laser focus. I wasn't surprised that the options were solely for her, since my fate had already been decided.
“Considering your upstanding reputation in the community, and your lack of criminal record, we're willing to let you stay in the country…without Bastian, of course. Your marriage will be annulled, and you'll have to pay a hefty fine, but you won't see any jail time and won't be disbarred.”
“Okay,” Jessica muttered as she processed the information. “What's the second option?” she asked with a sniffle.
“Option two,” he explained, “is you pay the hefty fine and accompany Bastian back to Greece. You'd keep your U.S. citizenship and could come back anytime you'd like, but your permanent residency would be Greece. If you two decide to remarry there, I'll personally ensure that your Certificate of No Impediment comes through clean.”
“So…no jail time for either option?” I asked curiously, and Jessica looked at me as though she'd had the same thought.
“No, no jail time,” he reassure
d us, and for the first time during this meeting, he actually smiled. “I know you two are in love and expecting a baby. I also know you're not malicious people, and certainly aren't criminals. If you were, you might have done a better job masterminding this,” he joked.
“Thank you,” Jessica managed to chuckle as she dabbed her eyes with the tissue. Her composure seemed to be returning now that she knew she wouldn't be locked up and disbarred.
“I'll have to pull some strings, but I actually want to see you two make it,” the officer confessed. “Believe me, these options beat jail, having your accounts frozen—both foreign and domestic—and having a criminal record that would get you thrown out of the law practice. The list goes on, as I'm sure you can imagine, and Bastian would still get deported.”
“Yes, I can imagine…” Jessica muttered as she looked at me, and I could tell by her troubled face that she was already weighing the two options.
“I'll give you forty-eight hours to make your decision,” he told Jessica before his eyes returned to mine. “In the meantime, I'd pack your bags, Mr. Kosta, and wrap up any business you have going on here. You're going home in three days.”
With that, he rose from his desk to see us out of his office. I felt numb as I shook his hand, and my head was spinning when Jessica thanked him for his consideration. We left the building in the same silence we'd entered in, and sat in the Mercedes together for a long moment before I finally spoke.
“Back to the penthouse?” I asked. She replied by nodding, and it was clear to see that her mind was preoccupied. Mine was as well, so I understood her lack of words. I pulled out of the parking lot and began the tense drive across the city. We were halfway home when Jessica startled me out of my daze.
“Who? Who goddamn told on us?” she suddenly burst.
“I have no idea,” I replied, shaking my head. “I was just wondering the same thing. My drivers all signed a non-disclosure agreement, and Jay and Tasha said they'd keep quiet.”
“That leaves your mother,” Jessica hissed. “You know she had it out for me. She hated us together. I'd bet anything it was her.”