"Carey Smith. Ken's colleague," Liz said. She left a dumb folded Carey and walked towards some car that matched the description Carey had given her and then called him over.
She stood at the door of the driver's seat and knew very well that he couldn't pass.
"Thank you," Carey mumbled again.
Liz moved towards him, and their bodies touched again.
They both felt that spark and rush of electricity, and none could move from where they stood.
"I have been eyeing you for quite some time," Liz said, breathing into Carey's ears.
He was easily convinced to get into the car, and instead of his place, Liz drove him to hers.
Carey would wake up the following morning to a throbbing headache and find himself in a strange room.
Liz would walk in with breakfast in a tray, which Carey would take after some persuasion.
Carey loved the treatment Liz gave him. For over two years, he could count the number of times he had gotten intimate with Karen.
Their sexual life had been okay until Karen realized she had missed her periods for two months.
Four years ago, when Karen landed her first job in New York, she and Carey had agreed that they could cohabit and share the rent instead of renting different apartments.
At that point, they were exclusive.
A year and months later, Karen realized she hadn't had her menstrual cycle for two months.
She had ignored it when she didn't have it in the first month, citing normal delays, stress, and hormonal changes.
In the second month, she was becoming moody and feeling nauseous mostly, and she knew she had to take a pregnancy test.
***
Flashback…
"Are you sure you don't want to have a medical checkup?" Carey asked, "You look so pale."
"I will go for one after work."
"I will come along. Let me know when you're leaving."
"Don't stress about it. I will keep you posted. Just you get to work," Karen insisted.
After a hectic day at work, Karen had gone to a pharmacy and bought a pregnancy test kit.
She got home, walked straight into the washrooms, and used the kit. She crossed her fingers and prayed that the results come back negative, but her guardian angel had been sleeping overnight.
In despair, she looked at the two pink lines on that kit and felt finished. She walked out of the bathroom and went to her balcony, and dumped the kit in her dustbin.
That evening, she had prepared supper for Carey, having decided to tell him what lay ahead of them.
"What did the doctor say?" Carey immediately asked after he got into the house.
Karen felt her heart leap, and she felt sweaty and faint. Her mouth went dry, and she would have fallen had Carey not rushed and held her.
"I am not sick. I'm pregnant, Carey," she said.
She had expected him to let go of her, but he held her close to him without saying a word.
"That's good news. Why don't you look happy? He will change our world—a little part of our family. Our very own," Carey said in joy.
He was already talking about a boy, and that showed how he anxiously wanted that baby home.
Karen sobbed when Carey reacted in joy. It's not that she didn't want the child. There was something she had hidden from Carey, something she had sworn to go with to her grave.
When he was born months later, Frank changed their lives, but not in the way Carey had expected.
***
"We need to meet ASAP," Evans read Angie's message as he prepared to leave for work. He pressed the call option, and Angie picked on the third ring.
"Hey, babe. I can't make it. I told you I had to see my bro. My parents want me to talk to him."
"You did. It skipped my mind, though. When will you be back?" Angie asked, rolling her eyes.
She had left for home early and mentally prepared how she would break the news to him.
"Tomorrow or the day after. I'm really sorry. See you soon and stay safe," Evans said as he disconnected the phone. In his car, he thought of how stubborn Zac, his brother, was.
When he got home, Zac was as cold as usual, and Evans didn't mind him. He went straight to where Calvin and Peter sat and greeted them.
"What did he do this time?" Evans asked, looking at Zac. He was in high school but had a big body, genetically from his dad Peter.
"Let him explain it to you. We just got a call from the principal, who said that he had been suspended. Surely, this boy will be the death of me," Calvin said, looking at Zac in anger.
There were lines all over his face, and his hands were in fists. The eyes were red, but Zac didn't seem moved.
"It's not me. It's the damn school. It's full of bullies. I am just protecting myself and protecting this family," Zac answered, looking at Calvin in secret.
"I don't get it," Evans said.