Eva’s jaw drops, but she picks them up quickly.
“This…this is your girlfriend?”
She looks me all over, as if sizing me up.
“In that case, I’m Eva. It’s nice to meet you.”
The grimace on her face is still quite obvious, but she turns around. The tears fall down my face by now, but I wipe them quickly.
“Where’s Jason? I wanted to drop by for a surprise visit. I’m sure he’ll be super pleased. I even got his favorite snack.”
His favorite snack? I don’t know what that is. Is she his girlfriend? I eye her before looking away again, my throat closing. So then, Jason has a girlfriend? I lower my head, gripping my elbows. If she doesn’t know me, then he didn’t tell her about the baby. So, his plan is to mess around with me and toss me out? Bile rises in my throat.
“What in the world is going on here?”
A deep raspy voice comes from the entrance lobby. It’s Jason. He steps into the living room and walks directly to Eva, frowning.
“Jason! Hi! I just met Richard’s girlfriend. No one told me he got a new girlfriend. I’m starting to think no one in this family bothers to tell me anything anymore.”
Jason turns to me, but his nostrils flare. Is he angry at me? What’d I do? He turns back to Eva.
“What are you doing here?”
“I dropped by to bring you your favorite snack.”
She rummages through her pink bag and brings out a pack of Doritos. She tries to hand it to him, but he stares at her.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?”
Eva’s cheeks turn red, and she takes a step back, looking from Richard to me.
“Eva, don’t come over without first letting me know.”
“I just wanted to —”
“I said don’t show up without informing me first, unless it’s urgent. It's rude to show up unannounced. This should never happen again.” He takes the Doritos from her. “But thanks for the snack. Are you staying?”
“No. I just dropped to check on you and give you the snack.”
She sounds like she’s about to cry and turns quickly, walking out of the house.
She isn’t Jason’s girlfriend, then?
Jason walks over to me and takes my hand.
“Are you okay?”
I sniffle.
“Come with me.”
Taking my arms, he leads me up the stairs and into his room. Jason is holding my arms and leading me into his room? When I step into his room, my eyes go wide.
A startling realization dawns upon me as I behold the expanse of his room, taking note of its grandeur and sheer scale. A mammoth L-shaped sofa, gleaming in hues of gold, commands my attention, while a gargantuan television screen, dwarfing its counterpart in the living room below, looms in the background. An intricate and elaborate chandelier, suspended from the lofty ceiling, serves as the pièce de résistance, elevating this space to a level of opulence and sophistication surpassing even that of the downstairs living room.
Jason leads me to the sofa and pulls the ottoman to sit on it. He sits facing me and studies me quietly. For the first time, I peer into his hazel-brown eyes up close. He takes my hands.
“What did she say to you?”