Chapter 2 - thanks for the feedback - hope you like this next chapter!
Beth was still sat on the floor about 20 minutes later when Ruby and Annie arrived back with the kids. "Beth!" Cried Annie, "Are you okay?!"
Beth looked up and sighed, she could feel the tiredness aching throughout her whole body. "Yeaaah" she said. "I'm just tired".
"Girl what you doin' on the floor?!" cried Ruby.
"Oh, watch out", said Beth, "there's broken glass"
"I'm on it" said Annie. "Kids stay back, okay".
Ruby crouched beside Beth and spoke in a low voice so as not to alarm the kids "You okay? Do I need to get you to a hospital?"
"No…" said Beth. All the crying had exhausted her and the shock of seeing Rio made her feel strangely numb. Ruby threw a concerned glance over at Annie who shrugged her shoulders and continued clearing up the mess.
"Shall I help you up?", offered Ruby, in a voice one might use on someone in a psych-ward.
"Yes please" said Beth emphatically. "I tried a couple of times but then I just… gave up. I figured you'd be back soon." With an almighty heave, Ruby pulled her up.
Beth hissed and yelped "OW my ass has gone numb!"
Ruby chuckled, "how long you been sat there for?!"
Beth shrugged "I dunno, half an hour maybe"
"And just what in the name of pickles were you doin', girl?!" said Ruby, rolling her eyes.
Beth drifted off and thought of Rio, the intensity of his gaze, the familiar way he touched her hair... she looked at Ruby and opened her mouth to answer, but hesitated. No one would believe her. The crazy pregnant lady made it up, that's what they'll say...
"Umm..." she began, "I went to open a jar of pickles and I dropped it... and it was just… too much, you know" Beth said tearfully.
Ruby nodded solemnly. She remembered her own pregnancies only too well.
"So..." Beth continued... "I saw one of the pickles had rolled off and it didn't have any crap on it, so I bent down, picked it up, and... ate it". As she told the story she saw Annie's and Ruby's faces contorting with disgust. All the best lies have a grain of truth in them, she thought. "So, I just... sat there, feeling sorry for myself... and I couldn't get up"
Ruby gave her shoulders a squeeze. "Aw, honey..." she said, "we've all been there... remember when Stan threw out those egg rolls and I fished them out the trash and shoved them down my cakehole?" Beth chuckled, nodding. Annie made a puking gesture.
"Come on honey you get up to bed and have a nap. You look exhausted, girl" said Ruby in a decisive tone.
"But I -", began Beth in protest.
"No arguments, pickle lady" said Annie firmly, "we'll order some pizza or something... "
Beth waddled up the stairs, secretly relieved. She was tired and wanted to be alone. She climbed onto the bed and drifted off into an intense dream about Rio. Except this time, it wasn't a nightmare.
Three days went by and she'd heard nothing from Rio. She'd convinced herself she'd actually imagined it. Maybe I had a mini-stroke and didn't realise it? she thought. Then she made herself cry googling mini-strokes.
The days rolled on and she kept herself busy, working on the business whilst grabbing as many pregnancy naps as possible.
They'd started several smaller businesses following an intense period of laundering, to keep a low profile. One of which was a very wholesome-looking deluxe gift basket company, and they were selling like literal hotcakes.
Turns out they were a perfect gift for employees, grandmas, your neighbor, the postman… everyone loved them. They bought the goods with Beth's counterfeit bills with a small team of pickers working on them. It was a slower turnaround than the Costco scam but much lower risk. She was on target to start running the business 100% legitimately over the next 6 months or so.
Beth had banned herself from google but had managed to narrow it down to either a mini-stroke, or a psychotic break. She'd convinced herself Rio wasn't real, yet still felt on edge, half expecting him to turn up. She kept seeing him out of the corner of her eye, at the grocery store or the gas station. But it was never Rio. She felt a mixture of relief and disappointment.
A week later, she received a large bouquet of lilies. Her favourite flower. Could it be Dean? she thought, puzzled. But the little envelope didn't say Beth. It said Elizabeth.
Beth felt faint, this isn't happening, she thought. She sat down. Staring at the card. Afraid to open it. Finally, after what felt like an age, she did. She felt the baby kick as she lifted the card out and wondered cynically whether the baby knew it was from her daddy.
The card read: Elizabeth. We need to talk. Go to Wally's convenient store at 11pm tomorrow night. Ask to speak with the manager about a complaint. See you soon.
She took a deep breath. So, I'm not crazy, she thought. But she wasn't so sure sanity was the better option here.
She managed to persuade Dean to switch days with her, so she could have the evening to herself. She spent about an hour trying on one unflattering pregnancy outfit after another. Every one of them made her feel like a beached whale.
Finally, she picked a blue one that at least worked with her eyes. What am I doing?! Why do I even care? She knew the answer to that of course. Damn I could do with a glass of wine right about now, she thought. She settled for some pickles and antacid tablets instead.
She did her hair and make-up. Then she thought, fuck it, I don't want him thinking I've made an effort just for him! She proceeded to wash her face and tousle her hair in a spontaneous act of rebellion.
Ten minutes later she redid her hair and make-up, hating herself for it.
The time seemed to drag. All she wanted to do was to get this over with.
Finally, it was time to leave. She made her way to the convenience store and entered, but couldn't escape the feeling of mounting trepidation. What am I doing?!, she thought. What if this was a trap?! She figured she didn't have much choice. She couldn't hide from Rio. If he wanted to hurt her, he'd find a way.
She wondered not for the first time, if she should have told the others she was meeting him. For some reason, she didn't want to. She didn't want to worry them of course, but suspected the real reason was that they would have tried to stop her. She didn't want to be stopped. She wanted to see him again.
Things were never straight forward between her and Rio, she thought. She wanted to see him but was equally terrified of the prospect. I suppose that's what makes it so exciting.
She approached the checkout desk. Here goes nothing, she thought. The dude behind the counter sat flicking through a girly mag, grinning like a creep. She cleared her throat to get his attention and gave him a sickly-sweet smile.
He almost jumped out of his skin and stashed the magazine behind the counter. "Good evening", Beth said in her most polite voice, "I need to speak with your manager – about a complaint".
The guy nodded, understanding dawning. "Come this way", he said. He opened the counter and let her through. After a few comical moments of him trying to navigate himself around her swollen belly, he led the way through the cool storage area to a smaller room in the back.
Almost invisible to the eye, there was another door at the back, painted the same colour - and flush with the wall. He opened it with an old-fashioned key and it pulled inwards with a audible creak, revealing some dingy-looking stairs.
Jesus Christ where is this guy taking me?! Plus, I am not built for stairs right now! She clung to the railing, scared of falling and took easily three times longer than the clerk, who stood waiting patiently at the bottom.
Luckily, it was only two flights of stairs, but in her condition that was more than enough. They arrived downstairs onto a narrow corridor, which led off into a large room to the right, and to the left branched off into 3-4 smaller rooms.
People were milling about, busy working away. She couldn't work out exactly what they were working on but yeah, it looked suspicious alright - like it had Rio's fingerprints all over it. Just how big was this place anyway?! she thought.
They walked past the rooms and finally arrived at a small office at the end of the corridor. The clerk gave the door a little knock and she heard Rio's voice beckoning them to come in. The door opened and there he was, sat at a table over a laptop, armed with a glass of bourbon.
Beth took in the scene before her. Rio at his desk, with that cocky grin of his, behind him, a large cabinet. To the right was a large combination safe. Rio was watching her, watching her scan the room, his eyes dancing with mischief. The clerk ushered Beth through the door.
"Elizabeth" Rio said, grinning like a crocodile, "how nice to see you again, you look positively radiant". Beth felt very uncomfortable and flustered. "Please…" he said, "sit down" he motioned to a chair opposite him.