Fake It_A Fake Marriage Baby Romance

by Mia Ford

  We arrived early to the house and mother said dinner was at seven. She was nowhere to be found at fifteen minutes before. My father said she was still getting ready so I shouldn't have been surprised when she came down in a long green gown and a tiara.

  “You didn't tell me this was formal,” I said as she glided into the room glass of wine in hand.

  “There's nothing wrong with getting dressed up to meet your lady love son.” My mother walked up to Sophia and held out her hand.

  Sophia took it and smiled. She looked lovely in a purple dress.

  Julia came in also over-dressed for the dinner and blatantly looked at Sophia when she said, “Oh I thought this was a nice dinner.”

  Sophia didn't seem to notice or ignored the slight. “I didn't know you had a sister honey,” she said holding a hand out to Julia.

  “I'm not his sister. We're very good friends. We go way back.”

  “Julia is a lovely dog sitter, “my mother said.

  I had to fight a smile because my mother completely took the wind out of her sails.

  “I love dogs.” Sophia sat at the table in front of my mother and I took the seat next to her.

  “So, Sophia, what do you do?” Julia asked. I had told her what she did of course, but the paper hadn’t said she was a manager and I hadn’t clued her into the fact that I lied a little about what she did.

  “I work at the bar. I’m sure you’ve seen it in the papers,” she says spooning some soup into her mouth.

  “Yes, Julia,” my father says. “Remember he told us about her.”

  The rest of the dinner had been just as awkward with my mother getting drunker with every course and Julia asking inappropriate questions. I had been happy to retreat.

  My father had followed me outside when we’d gotten ready to leave.

  “Sophia seems lovely son, I hope you’re as happy as you seem.”

  That statement threw me off a bit, but I didn’t think there was any way he could see through what we were doing. Sophia did make me happy as a lover and a friend, so it was probably genuine feelings he was getting from me. There was no reason for him to know the seriousness of our relationship wasn’t real.

  “Thank you, Dad.” I smiled and walked towards the car.

  “I’m proud of you for getting a job too, son. It’s good to see you not resting on your laurels. This whole thing with the heir was kind of to wake you up, but if you end up marrying and having children with Sophia, I’ll honor it. You know your mother is very angry with me. I just want to see what life is like when you don’t have anything.”

  “You’ll still have whatever you need from me, you know that.”

  He clapped me on the back and smiled. The thought had crossed my mind a couple of times there was something my father wasn’t telling me. I didn’t know what it could be, maybe just a feeling.

  I pull up my anonymous email address and send a couple gossip mags a tip about where Sophia and I are going to have lunch. I think I’ll take her to Chopped.

  Once she’s pregnant, I won’t do this anymore. It’s simply for authenticity at this point. Once she’s pregnant she will need to avoid getting swarmed by photographers. I have been checking the tabloids to see what they say. I need my father to think this is something that developed organically.

  One said they were doing a bump watch with Sophia which she said made her feel strange. It made me feel protective of her to think of the men constantly staking out her apartment. Sometimes I feel guilty, I hadn’t really thought of how much this whole thing would interfere with her life.

  I find myself looking forward to having lunch with her. I just have to get through meeting with the partners first.

  “Thomas, looking well,” Baxter says as I walk into the conference room. They’ve set out lots of finger foods and drinks. I didn’t realize we were going to meet with a client. I had thought it was just the partners. There’s a very pretty redhead sitting at the head of the table with a much older man. She wears a white suit with a white hat and looks very put out by the sandwiches.

  “Mrs. And Mr. Bernard, I give you Thomas Henry.” Jeffry Church the other partner says as he points to me. I stand and shake hands with the couple.

  “They own the old theater downtown and are looking for someone to help them rebuild it. Our company would handle all the advertising for the shows after it’s rebuilt.”

  “That’s amazing. Marketing plays and musical acts would be a dream come true,” I nod.

  “Thomas, the Bernards feel like they have enough funds to get started on the renovation, but they may need a little extra push once it really gets going. I mentioned to them you liked to fund charitable events and we thought this might be an opportunity for one.”

  “Don’t get me wrong,” the redhead speaks in a throaty voice. She must smoke a lot of cigarettes. “We have plenty of money. It’s just not money we’re willing to tie up in this particular investment.”

  Because you’re stingy with it. I think, but I don’t express it.

  If this is how they want to play Baxter and Church are in for a game. I’m not just going to give money to whoever they want me to.

  “I think we could do something great with it. A community theater or a camp for kids. We can raise money for several fundraisers throughout the year. Once you get started, we’ll know how much you’ll need and how many events we need to have.”

  “Jeffry, you said he’d just give us the money,” Mrs. Bernard says.

  I try not to let them see the anger building up inside of me. It’s now becoming more obvious I’ve only been hired to be their purse strings.

  “Well,” Jeff stammers, “I said we’d see if he wanted to contribute.”

  “Harold,” Mrs. Bernard addresses her husband who hasn’t said a word. “We’re leaving. We’ll find someone serious about financing.”

  “Last I checked, we were a marketing company,” I said when they left. “I’m not here to just invest in your client’s needs. I thought you wanted me here because of my background and good ideas. I’ll be in my office.”

  I think my pride is hurt more than anything else. I almost told them right then my dad was cutting me off. It’s no good having a lot of money. People don’t take you seriously. I kill time until my lunch with Sophia and neither man comes in to tell me I have it all wrong. Their actions speak volumes.

  Chapter Fourteen: Sophia

  I'm feeling so bloated and over it today. The clothes Thomas has let me buy are so gorgeous. I just feel like a bloated princess. Everything hangs weird and the elastic in my maternity panties is digging into my skin. I can’t get comfortable at all.

  I took a test and found out we've already been successful. These past four weeks have been amazing and I feel close to Thomas. Since this whole thing is a scam I really don't want to feel anything. I'm hoping it's just the hormones of the newly growing life force inside of me. I feel tears forming in the corners of my eyes. I’m worried he won’t want to have sex with me anymore when he knows. I feel like I need to be close to him and over time I’ve developed some feelings I need to keep buried deeply.

  I haven't been sick or anything I just knew when my period didn't come. I took three tests and they all say pregnant. I'm only telling him because it's so early and I want to go to the doctor and know for sure. I am about to get a huge payday and I have mixed feelings about it.

  “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me you were dating him, Sophia. I have to find out from a blog your brother’s wife showed me.”

  My mother was finally calling to tell me how disappointed she was in me, but surprisingly she was being really nice. I almost wanted to tell her, but I knew better.

  “I just want you to be happy my love, your Abuela is dying though. She’s so excited about this. You’ll have to bring him to the house.”

  “I didn’t want to say anything until I knew it was serious. Now that it is getting serious, I’ll bring him around. You see the pictures, you know how the press won’t l
eave someone alone.”

  “Okay darling, I love you. I can’t wait to see you and him.”

  I hang up wondering where my mother had been taken since her body has obviously been taken over by aliens. Maybe she’ll be excited she’s going to be an Abuela herself. I hope so anyway, my mother’s approval has always been important to me.

  Thomas has been so great taking care of me I haven't needed anything. I stand in front of the mirror and put a hand on my belly.

  I can use it for the baby to go wherever they want to school. It will be his or her money to start a life. My kid is never going to have to struggle like I have.

  That's a good feeling. No matter what happens with Thomas I’ll be able to provide for us. I haven't been back to his house, thank God. His mother made me feel uncomfortable and I've noticed every time I call him there Julia is around.

  She doesn't like me one bit and I can only guess it's because she's always been in love with him.

  I wonder as I get showered and ready when I should quit the bar. I could do it at any time but when would be appropriate? Maria has always been good to me so I hate to leave her shorthanded. Especially since George is thinking of leaving.

  I also know I can't show up with a round belly in a cropped The Spot shirt. I had been reading a lot more and everything was going to swell. My feet couldn’t handle standing up for hours slinging drinks. I think the tips I would get would be out of pity.

  No, I need another job. I don't want to just rely on the baby making money. I think I'll go a little crazy. Maybe not right after the baby comes but certainly once he or she can stay with someone else.

  I call him to see if he can do lunch.

  “Baxter and Church, this is Brianna.”

  “Hi, is Thomas in?”

  “Yes, he is Sophia darling, I'll send you through.”

  I've only met Brianna a couple of times but I really like her. She's from the south so she has an adorable accent. She and her husband moved here for his work and she took on the job as personal secretary to the man who worked in Thomas spot before him. Now, she was his.

  Thomas was really finding his way in the company. He'd been eagerly telling me about the campaigns he was working on and I like that he is getting excited about something.

  Part of me worries he may not care about our arrangement since he's doing so well. It's too late now.

  “Hi Sophia, how are you?”

  He's so formal with me. I mean he used to call me some pretty sexy things and now sometimes I feel like a means to an end.

  “Hi Thomas,” I realize I don't know how to express that I need to tell him something. “Can we meet for lunch today at that little pasta house with the private booths?”

  “Okay, that’s fine. I’ll just have to email the paps again and tell them about the new location.”

  “Oh, you’re still tipping them off.” I feel a little disappointed he’s still hyping the relationship up so much. It feels like a huge publicity stunt, which it is. Well, it sort of is.

  “You don’t want me to?” He asks.

  “No, it’s fine. Just didn’t know you were still doing that. I’ll meet you at your office. I can’t wait.” I hang up and go to look at myself in the mirror one more time. Some makeup will help.

  When I get to his office I feel a little more pulled together. The purple maxi dress and golden sandals his assistant picked out are so pretty. I’m wearing several large pieces of gold jewelry and a huge black purse. I feel like a movie star as several cameras flash while I enter the building. It hadn’t taken the press anytime to realize Thomas was working here and they were outside all the time. It was crazy these people’s only job seems to be to take pictures of him and now me.

  When I walk into the lobby of his office I am struck by how beautiful everything is. The chairs in the waiting area are plush with large black pillows. There are two televisions mounted with the news on and a huge fish tank with colorful fish covered one whole wall. I didn’t expect to see Julia standing in front of the fish tank though.

  She looks pulled together in a black pencil skirt and a gold blouse with cut out shoulders. Her long hair is braided and she’s wearing glasses with cat eye frames.

  “Hello Julia,” I say trying to be civil.

  “What are you doing here?” she doesn’t bother saying hello back. “I came to see if Thomas wanted to grab lunch while I’m in between meetings.”

  I don’t know what she does and I really don’t care.

  “I’m actually having lunch with Thomas because I have some important news to tell him. I’m excited about it. Maybe you can get lunch some other time.”

  She visibly bristles like a cat who’s seen a large dog.

  “You’re not going to last Sophia. You’re just a trashy bar slut he’s infatuated with since that crazy Rosa left him. This is a phase he’ll get over and you know who will be there? Me.” She smiles smugly.

  I just can’t help myself. “I’m pregnant Julia. I’m having his baby and we’re going to be so happy with our little love child. We’ll probably get married after it’s born.”

  Inside I’m jumping for joy that I could impart such news to her. I keep it cool on the outside waiting for her to respond.

  “He’ll make you get rid of it. There’s no way you can trap him. He’s not going to be tied down by a baby from some trash he was having fun with.”

  I want to slap her. How could she say something so awful about her friend and about my baby? I think of describing to her in detail how it feels to have him inside of me and how he tells me it’s the best place to be. Instead, I say, “I’ll make sure to tell Thomas you callously said he’ll want to get rid of his own child. I’m sure he’s going to love your true opinion of him, Julia. Have a nice day.”

  I get complete satisfaction from the way her face falls before she walks away. Two can play her horrible game, I’m just better at it.

  “Hi darling,” Thomas has excellent timing and pulls me into a hug just before she is out of sight. She’s able to see the whole thing and I simply smile over his shoulder.

  “Hi, you ready to go eat?”

  I feel a lot more nervous than I thought I was as we walk from his office to the little pasta place. They have the best food so I’m trying to focus on that.

  Once we’re seated in the booth. I smile and he wipes his face. “Do I have something on my face? Why are you looking at me like that?”

  The booths at this restaurant are completely private. It’s why I wanted him to bring me.

  “We did it, I’m pregnant,” I say because there really isn’t another way to do it.

  He looks at me for a minute as if he’s trying to comprehend what I just said and then he’s in the booth with me pulling me into his arms.

  “We did? That was fast!” He exclaims.

  He presses his lips against mine and kisses me in a tender way. It shocks me and I return the kiss before he hugs me again.

  “We’re going to move in together. I got my first paycheck and found a great apartment for the three of us.” He smiles and my chest tightens a little.

  “The three of us? You want to live with me and the baby?”

  “Well I mean we’re already three now. We can decide how to break up and all that stuff later, but right now we’re selling it and you’re pregnant!” He moves back to his side of the booth and the waiter comes to take our order.

  “Thomas, you just moved me into that nice apartment. I feel bad moving again.”

  I could imagine the neighbors and my landlord wondering who I thought I was. Then again, why did I care what anyone thought? It doesn’t matter, this is my future. This is my time. I am going to have Thomas Henry’s baby and even though the seriousness of our relationship isn’t real, no one can take that away from me.

  “It’s okay Sophia. You are supposed to live with your boyfriend. We’ll tell my parents over dinner tonight. I’m moving out and we’re moving in.”

  The word boyfriend sends a little c
hill through me. He’s my boyfriend, my baby daddy, my roommate. It’s surreal.

  “Can we please not invite Julia,” I ask as our food arrives at the table. I find I’m starving.

  “Why not? You don’t like her.” He asks fluffing his napkin and putting it in his lap. He’s so refined, I do the same thing.

  I tell him about my encounter with her in the lobby and watch his face turn red. He’s visibly upset by her words to me.

  “I’ll take care of Julia doll, you won’t have to worry about her anymore. Of course, she isn’t invited.

  “So, how is work going?” I want to change the subject for now. Our food arrives and I dive into the pasta a little too eagerly.

  “Well, okay I guess.” He looks down at his plate and I wonder what’s on his mind.

  “Tell me, what’s bothering you?”

  “It’s just I feel like they hired me because I have money. They seem to want me to fund things for their clients rather than giving me real work. I have a lot of good ideas and it kind of sucks to feel useless, you know?”

  I’ve never seen him vulnerable. I felt true joy coming from him when I told him about the baby. Now I can tell he’s in despair. I don’t know how to help when it comes to stuff like this. I think for a minute.