One Night Stand (New Yorker III) by M.O. Kenyan Page B

mind.
    She
pulled out of the embrace. “Tortilla’s for the pregnant woman.”
    As soon
as she could, Catalella escaped into the bathroom and let out the gut-wrenching
pain she felt in her heart. I’m pregnant,
I’m pregnant, I’m pregnant… Lisette’s voice echoed in her ear, reminding her
of how inadequate she was. Catalella was a failure, and barely a woman. The
realization that she would never feel that kind of closeness to another human
being, that she would never utter those words, made her glad that Rich had left
when he did. The last thing she wanted was to go through another rejection.

 
    * * *
*

 
    Monday
morning met Catalella with the same problems. She couldn’t get rid of the baby
blues but at least the bruise on her cheek was fading. She had used her make-up
to cover it up, as well as the black rims under her eyes. When she got back
home on Sunday all she did was cry. There was no way that she could survive,
not now. She found herself needing Rich but she promised herself not to return
to De Alma . She wasn’t going to give
him the pleasure of seeing how crushed he had left her.
    A knock
on the door brought Catalella back to the present. “What’s up, Darcy?”
    “What
happened with tall, blond and handsome?” There was a cheeky, excited look on
Darcy’s face and Catalella wished that she could share it.
    “He
came, he saw, he conquered, then he left,” Catalella summarized.
    “But
you are going to see him again, right?” Hopefully. Catalella
saw the word Darcy left out in the expression on her face.
    “Nope. Apparently I’m too damaged for
him.”
    “Did he
say that or are you assuming?”
    “He
didn’t say those exact words.” She didn’t feel comfortable giving Darcy the
note. It was private, plus she didn’t want to look desperate since she carried
it everywhere with her.
    “Survive!”
Darcy bellowed. “What the hell is wrong with this guy?”
    “He
might be right,” Catalella confessed. “On Saturday my sister told me she was
pregnant and I haven’t stopped crying.”
    Catalella
dabbed the tears starting to form in her eyes. The look of pity Darcy gave her
broke her heart. It usually enraged her but this time it just broke her heart.

 
    * * *
*

 
    “Keep
it together.” Catalella leaned over the bathroom sink. This was her third trip
here. Throwing up and cleaning up. She didn’t like how exhausted she looked or
felt. It was like her body was repelling everything she ate for the past week.
Catalella felt a tremble in her hand and bit back a gasp. She didn’t want to
think the worst, but how could she not?
    The
meeting with the McCrery representative was today. She only had to get through
her meeting, do her best, then later on she would go
see her doctor.
    She
walked out of the bathroom and to her office, determined that the morning would
go on without a hitch. She stopped at Darcy’s desk, then said. “Call doctor…” She stuttered—just saying his name gave her a chill, a
premonition of what was to come. “Call Doctor Caplain, and don’t tell anyone
else.”
    A
startled Darcy stared at her, her hand covering her mouth as she tried to hide
her gasp. “Your oncologist? Why do you want to talk to
your oncologist?”
    Catalella
stared back at her, silent. She didn’t have an answer. She didn’t want an
answer. Dennis escorted an older man to the boardroom and, to her dismay,
Michael Mathews followed behind the two men. Catalella’s hand reached for the
chair next to her. The shock seemed to have rendered her legs useless. From now
on she had Michael to remind her of how unworthy she was as a woman. There was
no escaping from it now. There was a reason she worked to the wee hours of the
night, to keep her mind occupied with work. She wanted to keep busy so that her
mind wouldn’t wander to what was wrong with her life. But now Michael was a
visual reminder.

 
    * * *
*

 
    “Survive!”
Rich hissed. “How stupid could I be?” He sat in his limo,