As she stepped into the hallway, she heard the sound of the water running coming from the bathroom. The fact that the door to the bathroom was closed let her know it wasn’t a plumber hired by Mr. Walker to fix the water situation. It must be John, taking a shower. The mysterious John that sounded like a forty-year-old man with broad shoulders was only a few feet away, taking a shower in the bathroom they shared. It couldn’t get much weirder.
For a moment, Julie thought about turning around and hiding in her apartment for a few minutes. She could wait for the sound of John coming out of the bathroom. Then simultaneously, she could pop out to go to work. She would look surprised to see a strange man in her hallway. He would smile and introduce himself. Then the mysterious John would just be her new neighbor John, and all of this awkwardness would be gone between them. She would finally be able to thank him for the card. Julie snickered at herself and locked her door. Only a crazy person would stalk their neighbor.
***
The all-too-familiar sound of a Facetime call came through just as Julie stepped onto the train. Melinda’s video was already active on her end, so Julie could see her sucking down coffee out of a to-go cup as she waited for Julie to answer. Julie fished her headphones out of the abyss called a purse, plugged them into the phone, and popped the earbuds into her ears.
“Hey, I’m on the train so I might lose you,” Julie said instead of hello.
“Good morning to you too.”
“Are you calling me from work?”
“Yeah. So, do you remember that guy I was telling you about? Paul. Handsome, smart, gainfully employed obviously. Remember?”
Julie nodded, grateful that nobody near her could hear Minty.
“Wellll…he’s single!” she hissed in an attempt to shout quietly. “I know you said you aren’t ready to date again, but—”
“No. Minty. No.”
“Buuuut, you cannot, I repeat, can not pass up this opportunity. This guy really is Mr. Perfect.”
Julie could feel the corners of her mouth turning downward. She couldn’t help it. Minty knew that she’d thought Peter was Mr. Perfect. Look how that turned out. Her alluding to this Paul guy as really being Mr. Perfect was a slap in the face.
“Minty, I’m not interested. Besides, how are you talking about this guy in the middle of your office without anyone hearing you?”
Minty smirked. “I don’t care who hears me. Paul just went to the bathroom.”
Minty’s shamelessness made Julie’s cheeks feel hot. She shouldn’t have cared. She wasn’t the one making a complete fool of herself. Still, she did care.
“Minty, hang up. That’s so unprofessional.”
“Julie, chill. Nobody can hear us. I’m in my boss’s office. You’re seeing the office through the glass wall. They can’t hear me. Okay? Oh! Wait! Paul just came out. Okay. Look!”
The camera turned to show a tall and handsome man, just like Minty had described. Julie thought for a moment she was feeling butterflies in her stomach when she realized it wasn’t butterflies she was feeling. It was the baby.
“Minty, I’m hanging up now. Love you.”
As Julie ended the call, she heard Melinda’s last-ditch effort to stop her. It sounded like a plea of mercy. Melinda could be dramatic sometimes. Why did she have to be right about that guy? He was possibly the best looking guy Julie had ever seen in real life—a chiseled jaw, thick eyebrows, a wide smile. A real-life version of Theo James. Ugh.
Julie realized the ugly sound she’d just made had slipped out of her mouth and attracted a few concerned looks from her fellow train riders. She offered a polite smile and glanced down at her stomach. As if Theo Jame’s doppelganger would want to date the therapist living in the world’s smallest studio in Manhattan, carrying another man’s child in her ever-growing stomach.
Paul didn’t look like Peter, but something about him still reminded Julie of him. The fact their names were both Biblical? No. That was a stretch. Their features couldn’t have been more polar. It was probably the fact that he was also a lawyer. A person’s profession didn’t define them. Lawyers could be completely different types of people. They had to have some things in common though. They were tenacious. Anyone willing to fight for a living was stubborn and didn’t give up easily on what they believed in. They had to be smart in some kind of way, either book smart or street smart. An air-headed lawyer wouldn’t make it very long in the Big Apple. Being tenacious and smart didn’t mean conniving and deceptive. Lawyers did have that reputation, and Peter hadn’t helped their case any. It wasn’t fair to label Paul that way without meeting him.
Why was she even thinking about him still? Why was she thinking about meeting him? That would never happen. She was pregnant with Peter’s child. A relationship with someone was out of the question for now and for a very very long time.
A message pinged from Julie’s phone. It was from Minty. Julie inhaled and exhaled to prepare herself.
Don’t kill me. I showed Paul a picture of you and said that you were single. He said he hoped he bumped into you some time, and I definitely saw his face turn red!
She read the words on the screen again to make sure she’d read them correctly the first time. Julie bit her tongue instead of the muffin she had intended to bite. Stopping a scream from escaping her mouth, she rocked on her heels. Darn it, Minty. No means no, Julie wanted to text back. Instead, she sent, I am going to kill you.
***
It’d been almost impossible to concentrate at work while patients complained about their narcissistic exes and self-esteem issues caused by their fathers. She knew both of those problems all too well and normally would’ve been all ears. The image of Paul’s face had made it impossible to be a good listener though. It had been as if her thoughts canceled out her ability to hear because the part of her brain that imagined Paul’s face took up too much power to share any with the part of her brain that processed words.
The distraction had successfully taken her mind off of Peter’s letter. The handwritten Congratulations hadn’t haunted her in several hours, which had to be a record. Maybe moving on wasn’t such a bad thing. If it would finally put the whole Peter thing behind her, it definitely was not a bad thing.
Minty had somehow convinced Julie to meet her after work after their Facetime that morning. She’d even talked Julie into meeting outside of the law firm she worked at. They’d been texting back and forth all day between sessions. What had started with Minty apologizing for overstepping, had turned into plans for dinner. They hadn’t seen each other in person since that awful dinner when Julie had announced that she was pregnant. Julie knew why. She’d been avoiding Minty and Carrie. She would’ve avoided Anne too if it weren’t for the fact they’d lived together after that.
Julie wasn’t oblivious to the reason Minty wanted to meet at her job. She was hoping Julie and Paul would bump into each other like something out of a movie. Sparks would fly through the air and a year later, they’d be repeating vows while holding hands under an arch wrapped in vines. Julie didn’t have to assume that this was what Minty had been thinking because she had literally texted it. And maybe there was a microscopically small part of Julie that was hoping the same thing.
Chapter 5
The law firm where Minty works is on Madison Ave. So the train ride only takes me thirty-five minutes from 5th Ave. The ride was literally a straight shot along Madison Ave until the train deposited me almost directly in front of the skyscraper made of glass and concrete. The building gives off an air of sophistication mixed with intimidation. It looks like it’s trying to remind criminals of jail while reminding potential clients that their money will be well spent.
Minty wasn’t standing outside when Julie arrived. That wasn’t too surprising considering the cold front that had come in the night before. Standing outside was tempting nature to turn you into a popsicle. Reluctantly, Julie reached for the golden bar attached to the door. Going inside was an option if she wanted to retrieve Minty. Also, the
warmth that would greet her on the other side of the doors beckoned for her. Minty was evil for doing this to her.
Julie gave the oversized glass door a push, shivering as a current of warmth rolled over her, and allowed the tide of hot air to pull her inside without resisting anymore. Her eyes scanned for Minty. In and out. Grab Minty and go. That had been the plan, and Julie could see that the plan was quickly melting away. Minty was nowhere to be seen. She was doing this on purpose. Julie really was going to kill her.
It’d been over a year since Julie had been inside of Blanch Law Firm. The last time she’d stepped foot onto the marble floor, she’d been in love with a man that worked here. Minty couldn’t have known the sort of psychological torture this was putting her through to be back here, in this building specifically, or else she wouldn’t have asked her to meet here. Even Julie hadn’t expected to feel like she was on the verge of a panic attack.
With each step forward, her palms got sweatier. Her heart beat faster. It was downright foolish to be afraid of an inanimate object. The building wasn’t Peter. He didn’t work here anymore. The memories being triggered by the leather and mahogany furniture were saying otherwise. Even though it’d been a year since she’d held Peter’s hand inside of this building, she swore for a moment she’d felt his skin against hers. The feeling had felt so real, she’d even glanced down to make sure her sweaty palm was alone. It was. Alone.
Before she could press the button for the elevator, a ding sound preceded the door’s opening. A tall man walked toward her, almost running into her. Before she could look up and see his face, his hands were around her shoulders. She jumped back, almost pushing the man away. It wasn’t Peter. It wasn’t Peter.
“Are you okay, Ms?” the voice asked.
“Yeah,” she panted. “Fine.”
“Maybe you should sit down. You look a little pale.”
She shook her head even though she found herself following the voice to one of the leather sofas. She sat although she wasn’t sure why she was listening to him. His voice was gruff and soothing at the same time. It reminded her of the voice Minty had described Paul having.
When Julie was finally sitting and breathing almost normally again, she looked up. Chiseled jaw. Wide smile. Deep amber eyes. Thick eyebrows. Oh no.
“Do you need anything to drink?” Paul asked.
Paul. The one person, niche that, one of the people she had hoped to avoid.
Before she could answer, a peppy voice came from nearby. “Jules! Oh, I see you’ve met Paul. Paul this is my friend Jules I was telling you about.”
Could she be any more obvious?
“We were just about to go get a quick bite. If you’re not busy, you should join—Hey, are you alright, Jules? Why are you so pale?”
Apparently, she could be that obvious.
Julie glared at her friend. “I thought you were going to meet me outside at seven.”
Minty’s eyes widened as if she’d just been accused of committing a crime. “I was just heading that way. If you’d been here five minutes later, I would’ve been outside.”
If Paul hadn’t been sitting close enough to hear their conversation, Julie would’ve said, “We didn’t agree to meet at 7:05 though. Did we?”
The comment seemed way too snarky to say in front of a handsome stranger though. So, instead, Julie said, “Are you ready to go then?”
Minty turned toward Paul. “Are we? What d’ya say?”
Paul’s skin did have a very cute telltale as Minty had mentioned. It turned the color of Julie’s lip gloss almost instantly. How could he be a good lawyer with such a glaringly obvious give-away when he got nervous?
“Yeah. If you don’t mind,” he said, directing the comment at Julie.
“Actually, I do,” Julie wanted to say. Instead, she said, “Um, not at all.”
A cold look was directed at Minty as they stood and walked toward the street together. The three of them, going out to dinner. How romantic.
***
The dinner had gone a little too well. Julie had secretly hoped Paul would turn out to be a narcissistic jerk. Instead, he’d been a complete gentleman. He’d even paid for all three of their meals, insisting on it since he’d “crashed the party”. It was the kind of gesture that made Julie feel obligated to return. Maybe that’d been his plan. Because right after the waiter took the check and Minty disappeared to the bathroom, Paul had turned to Julie and offered a smile that made her heart explode into a million pieces. She’d never been good at puzzles and there was a pretty good chance her heart would never be the same again. That smile.
“I’d like to do this again sometime. With just you, I mean.”
“Paul, I need to tell you something. I just got out of a…toxic relationship. And…I’m pregnant.”
Paul had smiled. “Yeah. Melinda told me. I don’t see why that’s a problem. As long as you aren’t still married.”
“I never really was,” Julie had thought about saying.
“I’m not.”
“Good. Well, then my previous statement still applies. I would like to see you again.”
He’d said it easily. No blushing. Almost as if he had this power over his blushing and could summon it only when he needed to. Now that he’d hooked her, he didn’t need the bait anymore. His suaveness felt too familiar. It felt like Peter. This was why she didn’t want to date a lawyer ever again. Julie still couldn’t understand what had happened next as she unlocked the door to her apartment, replayed the night for the fourth time in her head, all while balancing her purse and stack of mail,
“I’d like that too,” she’d said.
Had he hypnotized her? Had he drugged her? Where had that come from—that flirtatious answer? I’d like that too? Who did she think she was, Scarlett Johansson?
Her thoughts were interrupted when her gaze fell on one specific envelope in the stack of mail in her hands. Her heart had only just been put back together, and now it was exploding again. Only this time, the explosion had been caused by a gun to her chest that had just gone off.
***
The sharp sound that came from Julie’s phone almost made her pee on herself. That, and the fact the baby was pressing on her bladder and her heart was still pounding. Her hands trembled as she answered the phone.
“That went even better than I’d imagined!” Minty shouted into her ear. “What’d you think about Paul?”
Julie could hardly process what Minty was saying. Her eyes were still glued to the envelope with her address written on it and no return address from the sender. It was in Peter’s handwriting. He’d sent something to her home. He knew where she lived.
“Hello? Helllooo?”
How did he know where she lived? That information wouldn’t be on the internet, because she didn’t own the building. Mr. Walker did. The internet only showed the owner of a building, not the names of people renting it. Had he been following her? The thought shouldn’t be such a surprise. He’d found out she was pregnant somehow. No. He wouldn’t have known she was pregnant just by following her. She was hardly showing still.
“Julie? Are you still there? The call shows that you are. What’s going on?”
“Have you heard from Peter?”
“What?” Minty almost yelled. “Why would I have heard from Peter?”
“I think he’s in Manhattan.”
“Why would you think that? Have you seen him?”
Julie shook her head before remembering that Minty couldn’t see her. “No. He’s been sending me messages. He sent one to my apartment.”
“Jules, do you need me to come over?”
Julie sat on her bed. Standing was dangerous right now. She didn’t need to have another vase incident. The stitches in the back of her head were still there to remind her of that.
“No. I have a neighbor and three locks on the door. I don’t think Peter could get into the building even if he wanted to. I just—I don’t like the thought of him knowing where I live.”
; “I don’t either.” Minty went quiet. “What did he say in the letters?”
“I only read the first one. He congratulated me on the pregnancy.”
“What!?”
“I haven’t read the second one yet. I’m assuming he wrote something similar.”
“If he thinks you’re going to let him see that child, he’s even crazier than I thought.”
Julie didn’t respond. She stared at the envelope that was burning a hole through her fingers.
“Jules? You’re not going to let him see that baby. Right?”
“No. God no.”
“Good. You worried me for a second there. What’s going on? You got quiet.”
“Should I read the letter?”
Usually, Julie knew exactly what she should do. Something in her felt like a child again. The Julie that knew what she should do left the building back when Paul had asked her out on a date and she’d said yes. Julie wished she could blame it on pregnancy hormones, but she knew that wasn’t the reason for her recent behavior.
Minty finally answered, breaking Julie’s train of thought. “I hate to give him that kind of power, but you might need to, Jules. What if he’s threatening you? You might need to give the letter to the cops.”
Julie tried to open the flap of the envelope, but her fingers failed her. She was shaking too much to open the envelope with a knife.
“Julie, please don’t get so quiet on me. I’m kind of freaking out over here and I really think I should just come over. I don’t think you should be alone tonight.”
Finally, Julie’s finger tore at the edge of the flap. She used her finger like a letter opener along the edge of the envelope until the entire thing had been sliced open. Inside was what appeared to be a photograph. She could only see the back of it, but the shape was unmistakable.
“Ouch!”
The Offspring Page 4
