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Looking Ahead
Candice twiddled her thumbs and swung her crossed leg nervously. She was sitting in the park, on a bench, awaiting the arrival of her ex-boyfriend, who had agreed to meet her.
"Hey, there you are!" she heard his voice call in a genial tone.
The brunette stood up and noticed the smile adorning AJ's handsome face. She only wondered if the expression would stay as pleasant when she dropped her bombshell on him.
"Hey, AJ... Thanks for meeting me."
"No problem! Anytime for you, Candice." AJ leaned in to kiss her, and the lawyer made sure he got her cheek instead of her lips.
The two ex-lovers strolled around the park at a leisurely pace, enjoying the scenery as well as the company.
"You want to grab some ice cream?" AJ suddenly offered as he gestured toward a nearby ice cream truck.
"Sure," Candice replied with a smile.
They made their way over and got ice cream bars. Candice was wary of getting cones or soft ice cream from a machine on those things because she knew they were unsanitary, to say the least. Her firm had actually represented individuals who'd had bad experiences in that area.
"My treat," the man insisted as he reached into his wallet and came up with some bills.
"Okay," the brunette said with a smile. "Thanks."
After that, they resumed walking through the park. AJ turned to his ex-girlfriend while eating his ice cream.
"So, what'd you want to see me for?"
She half-feigned hurt.
"I thought we were friends now... What, I have to have a reason to see you?"
"Oh, come on... You sounded pretty urgent over the phone," he reminded her. "So, what's up?"
Candice looked up from her toasted almost vanilla bar and exhaled a deep breath. This was it...
"Okay, you're right. I do have to talk to you about something. I... It's not easy."
AJ eyed her and saw all the emotions that seemed to cross over her face at that moment. Whatever was going on had her filled with anxiety.
"Hey, it's only me," he said with a smile. "You know you can talk to me about anything."
"Yeah." She nodded. "Well it's a little tricky because..."
"What? Is it about work?"
The brunette shook her head.
"A guy? Are you seeing someone new?" AJ asked. "Candice, it's all right if that's it."
"No... AJ, I'm pregnant. I'm pregnant and you're the father," she blurted out. She shifted her gaze to him to survey his reaction.
AJ was silent for what seemed like eons, but his face showed many different reactions. One of the strongest was shock.
"Are you sure?" he finally spoke.
She nodded and said, "Well, I took a home pregnancy test and saw my doctor, who confirmed it. AJ, you don't have to worry about anything. I'm keeping the baby and will raise it myself. You can see it whenever you want, but you don't have to. You don't have to do anything... It's fine."
He turned his head to stare at her.
"How can you say that? Of course I want to do something. It's my baby, too."
"Yeah, I just... Okay," Candice said.
"I can't believe you would think I'd be a dead beat," he said. "I'm really hurt by that!"
The brunette winced.
"I'm sorry... I didn't mean it like that, I just thought you might want to save your money and not have to support a kid."
AJ gave her a very pointed look.
"Hey, I take care of my responsibilities." He was silent and thoughtful for a moment. Then, "I can't believe I got you pregnant... I mean, with the surgery and everything."
Candice smiled at the irony.
*
Later, Trish met with her divorce lawyer.
Although she was nervous about her chances of walking away with her apartment, she couldn't help but try to appear at her most confident and attractive. After all, attorney Frank Kazarian was an extremely gorgeous man.
"I don't want you to get your hopes up too much," the lawyer told her. "The truth is, the chances of you keeping the apartment are very slim."
Trish felt her heart skip a beat.
"But Randy gave me the apartment."
"Yes, but it wasn't his to give away... His mother's name is on the lease as the rightful, legal owner," Kazarian said. "We'll try our best, of course."
"Okay."
The attorney turned to gather up as many appropriate papers as necessary, and the blonde took the time to quickly but expertly dab on some lip gloss. And then, a moment later, the office door opened and a man stepped in.
"Don't mind me... I just came for a bagel." The suit-clad man was extremely tall, completely bald, quite big, and even a bit scary-looking, in Trish's opinion. He was just a bull of a man, and she had never seen someone as tall in person before. He had to be seven feet, if not very close to it.
"Ahh... Glen, meet Trish Orton, soon to be Trish Stratus again," Frank said, gesturing to his new client.
Trish arched an eyebrow as she met the dark eyes of the strange man.
"Trish, this is my partner, Glen Jacobs."
"Nice to meet you," Glen said with a smile.
"Likewise," the blonde replied. The man was so strange, but his expression did reflect warmth.
"Getting divorced, eh? Well, you're in good hands with this guy," Jacobs assured her.
Trish offered him a cockeyed half-grin. The truth was, judging by what Frank Kazarian had said in regard to her apartment moments earlier, she wasn't so sure.
"Thank you," she said.
Glen gestured that he was leaving, bagel in hand. He waved as he opened the door.
When the office door was closed again, the blonde faced Kazarian.
"He's a real tiger in this industry," he told her.
"Is that so?" Trish asked. An idea suddenly popped into her head, and then, just like that, she changed attorneys. Glen Jacobs
would now represent her in the divorce from Randy, and she felt extremely confident.