33 - Samantha
I check my watch and glance at the door. My boss, Margaret, is throwing me a look and raising her eyebrow and I take a deep breath. I was a few minutes late to work and now Dean is as well. It’s not looking good.
“Come on, Dean, where are you?” I say under my breath. He’s late, and it took a lot of convincing to get Margaret to agree to have him do a clown show for the kids at the after-school program.
Finally, the door bursts open and dozens of heads turn towards the door. Dean appears in full costume, bursting through the door and pretending to fall over. He does a full flip and lands on his feet as the room full of kids burst into laughter. A few of them get up and run to him and I get to watch him do what I saw the very first day we met.
It’s one of his best performances, and I slide over to Margaret whose face softens a little bit.
“He’s good, right?” I say as Dean starts his balloon animal bit. Margaret’s face looks like it’s fighting not to smile. She nods once.
“He’s not bad. We’ll see how it goes.”
With that, she turns to a nearby child and I look at Dean. I give him a subtle thumbs up and he winks at me before turning back to the kids. I sit back and start watching the show. A soft smile plays on my lips as I watch him captivate the children’s attention and make them laugh and giggle with every move. Maybe everything will be ok. He obviously loves kids, maybe he’ll want to have one of his own.
I’m so engrossed that I almost jump when Margaret touches me on the shoulder.
“Someone’s here to see you,” she says, nodding to the door. I frown and nod at her before heading towards the front door. For some reason, my heart starts beating a bit harder as I push the door open and glance down the hallway.
That’s when I see her.
A chill runs down my spine as she turns to face me. She’s taller than I am, and in her six-inch heels she towers over me. She’s wearing a tight, fitted grey dress with a sharp white blazer. Her black hair is silky and straight, and it sways when she turns towards me. Her heels clack on the floor when she steps in my direction, and she stretches her hand out to shake mine.
When our palms touch, I have to stop myself from recoiling. Something in her eyes fills me with a deep sense of unease. Her lips curl into a smile that seems jarring against her other features, like her face wasn’t meant to smile.
“Samantha,” she says. “So nice to finally meet you.”
“Do we know each other?” I ask, already knowing the answer. She laughs melodically and shakes her head. Her long hair sways with every movement and her eyes drill into me.
“You should stay away from him,” she says slowly. My heart starts thumping and my chest feels hollow. I stand my ground and take a slow breath, trying to understand what she’s saying.
“Who?”
“Your new boyfriend,” she replies with venom. “You should stay away from him. He isn’t what he seems, and he’s just going to break your precious little heart.”
“What do you know? Who the fuck are you?” I ask, squaring my shoulders. I feel silly in my no-nonsense shoes, hair pulled into a messy bun as she stands up straighter and towers over me, exuding wealth and poise. She lifts an eyebrow and almost snarls at me.
“In the end, he’ll choose his family. Wealthy people always do. We’re not like the rest of you.”
I almost choke as I try to respond. “The rest of us?!” She shrugs.
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
“Who are you?”
Instead of answering, she turns around and walks out of the building. I watch her hips sway from side to side, and see her slide on a pair of sunglasses as she pushes the door open. Relief washes over me as soon as she leaves the building and I turn back to the main room. The kids start flowing out as I walk back in, calling out goodbyes and see-you-tomorrows as they rush past. My tense body starts to relax and I head back inside.
Margaret and Dean are talking, and she starts laughing. I look at Dean and shake my head. Only he would be able to make her laugh within minutes of them meeting. They turn to me as I walk up to them.
“Samantha,” Margaret says. “Dean and I were just discussing the details of our arrangement. Dean said he could get a couple performers, and we could start clown classes as soon as next week.”
“That’s great!” I exclaim. “The kids seemed to enjoy it.”
“I’ll be in touch with more details,” Dean says. Margaret nods and walks away. I squeeze Dean’s arm and grin at him.
“That’s amazing! She loved it! She’s never that enthusiastic!”
“That was enthusiasm?” he asks as he glances towards the woman. I laugh and nod. He swings his eyes back to me. “Where did you go just then? Margaret said someone wanted to meet you.”
My face falls as I think of the woman in the hallway. I look up at Dean and can still see the gleam in his eyes from his performance, and I don’t have the heart to dampen his spirits. Who cares if someone warned me off him! I know he comes from a rich family, and so far he’s chosen me every time. Nothing has hinted that he would do anything different.
I shake my head. “Just a parent,” I lie. “Come on, I should go home.” I open my mouth, wanting to tell him about the baby but nothing comes out. What if the woman was right, and he’ll freak out? What if he doesn’t want to be with me at all?
He puts his arm around my shoulder and kisses the side of my head. “Oops!” he says as he licks his finger and wipes at my temple. “Forgot I had all this makeup on,” he laughs.
I chuckle. “Do you need me to clean you up and undress you again?” I ask with an eyebrow raised, thinking of the very first day in the hospital parking lot.
“Need?” Dean grins. “I don’t think I need you to, but the real question is do I want you to undress me.” He wiggles his overdrawn clown eyebrows. “The answer is yes.”
I laugh and tap his arm lightly. “You have to wash that off first,” I say. “I know you love being a clown but there’s nothing sexy about it.”
“Nothing?” he says in a sultry voice as he licks his lips and pretends to unbutton the fluffy red buttons down his front. I laugh again and nod to the door.
“Come on, you. Let’s go.”
He laughs and swings his arm around my shoulder, leaning over to plant a sloppy kiss on my cheek as I laugh and try to push him off. We gather his things and head out towards our cars to head back home. I give him a kiss after we finish loading everything in the car and search his eyes. I looks at me, questioning my stare. I just smile and kiss him again before we part ways for the night.
He wouldn’t betray me, I know he wouldn’t. He wouldn’t choose money over me, would he? I touch my stomach and glance at him from my car. Everything seems a thousand times more complicated with this baby inside me.