sound as real as possible as it went on with a pitch about health insurance. Curiously, she didn’t feel nearly as rotten about lying to Felicia, but her beginning to stammer there for a second was a reminder of how not good she was at it. So, she took a deep breath and prayed she sounded as convincing as she was going to try to sound. “Hey, babe,” she said a little too high-pitched, so she brought it down a notch. “Sorry I hadn’t checked in. But I’m here and everything’s good. I’ll give you a call when I head out.” Danica paused, smiling again as Felicia watched her. “Okay, I love you too. Bye.” She shrugged, hoping Felicia hadn’t picked up on her shaky voice, then dropped the phone back into her purse.
“How long have you two been together?”
“About a year.”
The unease Danica had thought she’d picked up on from Felicia seemed to morph into relief. She appeared pleased and intrigued by this change in subject. “Any plans on marriage?”
Nodding, Danica kissed the baby on the head as he nuzzled into her chest. This wasn’t a total lie, just a no longer a valid truth. So, she went on, glad she wouldn’t have to completely improvise here. “We’ve discussed it. He anticipates getting promoted this year and wants to get all that squared away before he asks for the time off. But it’ll likely be a few years still.”
“How exciting though. You want a big wedding?” Smiling big now, Felicia even looked anxious for the answer to this. Once again, Danica was glad for the used-to-be-true stories she could use when she needed them. Ted had really begun to discuss their wedding plans when, not if, they got married just months after they’d started dating. So again, she at least didn’t have to worry about getting these lies mixed up since most of it had been the truth at one point. “Neither one of us wants a big wedding, but we definitely want a long exotic honeymoon.”
“Ooh,” Felicia said, all smiles now. “Exotic sounds exciting.”
Danica nodded, glad for Felicia’s noticeable change in disposition. Looking and sounding much more at ease with this newfound information, Felicia started to the door, excusing herself because she had to get to work. “It was very nice to meet you, Felicia,” Danica said as sweetly and as genuinely as she could. “Have a nice day at work.”
“Thank you, you too.” Felicia turned back to Danica as she reached the front door. “Bye, little guy.” She waved her fingers at the baby, but he only snuggled up closer under Danica’s neck.
Danica started to the door after Felicia walked out and watched as she got in her car. She stood at the door until Felicia drove away. As soon as she was out of sight, Danica smothered the baby with kisses and danced around with him in Orlando’s large foyer. “My sweetheart,” she said between kisses and nibbles of his little ears. “My Baby O. My little Oreo. Oh, how I missed you.” She spun around, making him giggle in the process as she allowed for the tears to flow now that she could. “I love you. I love you. I love you. Never again. Never again will I leave your side.” She tried not to get too emotional because she knew that last statement wasn’t exactly true. She’d be leaving him again today. But she meant leave his life. She’d die before she let that happen again. Only it scared the hell out of her now. There was so much that could go wrong. Her little Oreo reached up and touched her face again, and she leaned her cheek against his little hand as the tears continued to pour out. She had to snap out of it. Orlando would be home soon, and she couldn’t let anything ruin this. Lifting Oreo up above her, she smiled, despite the tears in her eyes as he giggled. “That’s not gonna happen, is it? No, it isn’t.” She smiled even bigger as he giggled and cooed looking down at her. “Never, ever, ever. I won’t let it happen. I promise you.” Bringing him back down to her chest, she continued to snuggle him as she walked through the house, composing herself before she blew it. Orlando’s house was beyond impressive, and she was glad to see that, despite the beautiful nursery he’d set up for the baby—completely decked out in with bedding and accessories from the Disney movie