3 C.R.I.M.E.S

Chapter 14

Myself, Joseph, Natalya and a party planner named Lukas were all sitting around one of the many kitchens we have in the mansion, listening to Natalya state what she wanted for her birthday party.

Joseph spoils Natalya rotten, and she knows that she can get whatever she wants from her father. She doesn't have to ask, beg, plead, all she has to do is say "I want this" and it'll be there in a second. He'll stop at absolutely nothing to make sure that his daughter has anything and everything she wants and she, definitely takes it all for granted.

"And tigers, I like tigers, daddy," she said as she struggled to lick all of the melting ice cream off her hands and I sighed, standing and walking around to clean her up using a dishcloth, "and I want to come in with ponies, daddy, pretty pink ponies. Lots of them!"

"I can get the ponies," the party planner nodded who was a tall, average looking Russian man with a bit of a pot belly and a fabulous dressing sense, "but tigers..." He trailed off looking nervous as he looked at Joseph and Joseph simply looked at Natalya.

"Natalya, do you want tigers?" Joseph asked her and she nodded her head vigorously as she giggled, "then get her tigers. Natalya, do you want lions and elephants?" She again nodded her head, grinning, "then make sure it's there," he deadpanned as he narrowed his eyes at Lukas and he looked like he was seconds from crapping his pants in fear.

"What's the guest count?" He asked as he adjusted the glasses on his face and looked at down at the notepad that he was taking notes in.

"Very well could be 600 or more people," I replied as I finished wipe Natalya's hands and started to wipe her mouth, "but we could have the party at a zoo," I suggested, hoping to give the party planner some ideas because his sweaty shirt said otherwise. He nodded immediately and Natalya clapped her hands at the idea.

"Yes! And I want bears too!" She added and Joseph nodded. "I want to come in with two ponies and I want to wear a big dress, like a big pink dress with sparkles and wings. I want candy floss and different fun games, like the stab game, daddy."

"Now, we can't play the actual stab game that you and I play, angel, but we'll think of something just as fun," Joseph said and Natalya grinned at him, "did you take all of that down, Lukas? Because what my daughter wants, my daughter gets," he paused as he looked at the man and Lukas loudly swallowed while Joseph looked relaxed, he did afterall threaten people on a daily basis, "and if she's not happy, Lukas...I pray for you and your family."

~~~

"You're three weeks late with your period..." Galina began slowly, looking at me questioningly and I nodded, pacing against the floors.

"Yes...but that doesn't mean anything right because like I'm always late with my periods," I spoke fast, my mind racing. There was no way I could be.

"And mood swings...?" Again she spoke slowly and softly.

Joseph, Natalya and myself were supposed to have gone shopping for outfits for her birthday party coming in a week but I felt sick as hell and ended up staying. Well, I faked that sickness and now here I was in Galina's house panicking about all the dots that seemed to be connecting.

"I'm always moody."

She nodded with a small smile, "that is true. Now what is the problem, boss lady?"

I knew that I shouldnt tell her because somehow word would go back to Joseph and he'd find out. Which would not be pretty for me or the doctor who tied my tubes.

"Joseph thinks I'm pregnant..."

She raised an eyebrow, "well are you?" I shook my head no, "well, why do you think he knows? Did he ask you or tell you?"

I sat on her bed, facing her, "it all began when he came back from his week trip last weekend."

I was laying on the bed, surrounded by all the soft pillows around me and enjoying the conversation I was having with my mother. I'd just found out that she was currently dating a 30 year old millionaire who's "tall and fine like a glass of wine".

Her words, not mine.

"Mama," I began laughing and kind of cringing, "I don't need to know all that."

My mother is the over sharing type, I think she sometimes forgets that I'm her daughter and not her best friend. Well, not the kind of best friend where you tell her about the first night spent with your young lover. I'm the daughter best friend, the one you tell all your minor issues to like finance and life problems, not s****l details.

She laughed, "sorry baby, it's hard not having a close friend you can talk to about all this stuff."

"I'm sure if you go to an old age home you'll find people your age there."

"Excuse me bitch."

I choked and then broke out into laughter at the abrupt cuss word from my mother, "mama!"

"Who the hell are you disrespecting? I don't look a day over 35 and don't you ever forget that, bitch."

I was practically wheezing for air, unable to stop myself from laughing, "ok, ok, I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

"What are you laughing at Jacqueline?" Joseph appeared by the bed, looking at me with a small smile on his face.

Instead of his usual suit he wore a sweatpants and a white vest.

"My...she's calling me...oh my god," I struggled to speak in between my loud laughs.

"Stop laughing, Jacqueline. It's not funny," I heard her say through the phone and I took several breaths to calm myself.

Wiping tears from my eyes I looked up at Joseph, tapping the space next to me. All I wanted was for us to cuddle but Joseph's always hated cuddling. He's hated it ever since we've been together and whenever I try to get him to cuddle with me he leaves the room entirely or ignores me.

He sighed, getting on the bed and instead of laying besides me he put his head on my stomach and his arm around my waist.

"What are you doing?" I asked him, smiling because I was still trying to recover from my mum calling me a b***h.

"Building my relationship."

I furrowed my eyebrows then rolled my eyes choosing not to pay attention to Joseph anymore.

"Ok, listen I'll call you later or tomorrow or whenever I can basically. Kiss my little granddaughter goodnight for me and give Joseph my greetings," She cut the phone after that.

"Mama sent greetings," I said to him and he looked up at me, getting up slightly and placing a kiss on my lips.

"I love you..." He softly said with a smile on his face.

"Why are you being so...soft?" I asked with a small smile on my face.

He shrugged, then went back to his original position of putting his head on my stomach.

"Jacqueline, let's look at things as though we were just starting our relationship, like Angela said. We have to just keep rewinding back to our good times, so tell me, when you first met me and at the beginning stages of us, where did you see us in twenty years time?"

I looked down at him and then ran my hands through his soft hair. Gosh, I'm jealous of this man's hair. Does it have to feel so good?

I smiled, going back to those college days when he'd pitch up in some fancy foreign car and wait for me whenever it was time for me to go home. No matter how many times I'd flipped him off and even called 911 on him, the boy was persistent.

"I pictured us together, happy and living a good life where it would always be sunshine and rainbows. No hard times, no arguments, just you letting me win at everything. Bowling nights, bar nights and double dates with friends. I pictured us doing so many things and just living, you know...what about you?"

He was quiet a while after, "I started dreaming of out future right after I'd seen you on that bus and it only got worse as we went on more and more dates. I imagined a life where, you know, a life where I wouldn't have to worry about not coming home to you. A safe life for us. I imagined you and I having kids, five to be exact, don't look so shocked, detka you knew this."

"It's weird saying this but I wanted to have daughters so I could take them to father and daughter dances, I wanted to have sons so I could teach them to always protect their sisters. I wanted to have children, so I could take care of them and give them all I could offer, because I never had that for myself. I wanted, happiness. And I seen that only happening with you. That's what I imagined us to be," he looked up at me, smiling, and running his hand over my stomach, "happy."

"I am failing to understand why you are panicking, boss lady."

"He wants a whole picture perfect family," I spoke, looking at the design of my nail polish, "and I can't give him that..."

"Why can't you give him children?"

"Because...I tied," I looked up at her, "my tubes after I gave birth to Natalya."

Her face was straight, as it always was and I didn't know what to say. I didn't know what she was thinking.

"Well?" I asked her, impatiently. Wanting some sort of reaction from her.

"Does boss know you did that?" She asked me and I shook my head. She put her hand under her chin, her eyes looking at me in my eyes, unnerving me.

"Should I tell him?" I asked her.

She kept quiet, "if your tubes are tied then why do you even think you're pregnant?"

"What? I don't think that."

"You didn't have to say it for me to know it, I can practically read you, boss lady."

"You think I'm pregnant?" I asked her slowly.

"I don't think anything, boss lady, and if I do, what I think doesn't matter. It's what you want that matters."

I nodded my head slowly, "well, I know that I'm not pregnant, I'm sure about that. What I'm not sure about though is how long I can keep this going."

~~~