Chapter Three: Problems with Being Pregnant
"Oh Endora…look at the lovely sight we have to see here!" Tabitha Lenox exclaimed to her daughter, staring down into the blue bowl that held sight of all things in Harmony. Quickly, not wanting to miss a single second of the misery and drama, she crossed the room over to Endora's playpen and snatched her up, settled her on her hip, and then scurried back across the room, allowing her daughter to join in on the fun. "There's Fox Crane, watching the lovely Theresita Lopez-Fitzgerald—his best friend and former lover—get hit on by his OTHER best friend, Dylan Banning. He doesn't look too pleased with it, does he?"
Endora babbled incoherently, pointing a chubby hand down towards the bowl, where the image of Fox's face, which was screwed up in concentration and deep thought, swam. Next to him was a sullen-looking Whitney, who was not too pleased by Fox ignoring her.
"And, my little witchling, we have Whitney Russell, Fox's lady love, who is clearly thinking that her Foxy is spending a bit too much time contemplating on the likes of Theresita. Do you know why she's so peeved, darling?" When Endora didn't answer, except to utter a little fiendish giggle, Tabitha continued, "She's so upset over it because she's counting on Fox being the 'father' of the baby inside her! Chad Harris' baby." Endora didn't appear to be too moved by the news. "Oh you know, her half-brother!"
Letting out little baby noises, Endora clapped her dimpled hands together, amusement glowing in her bright blue eyes. She was just as pleased with this information as Tabitha was.
Cackling, Tabitha shifted her daughter from her left hip to her right. "The boys in the basement will be very happy about this," she said proudly, as Endora began playing with one of the many gaudy necklaces that hung around her neck. Lowering her voice to a hushed whisper, though the two of them were the only ones in the house, she added, "If you ask me, darling, Fox looks a bit jealous, don't you think?" Pausing there momentarily, she glanced back down into the bowl. "Jealous indeed, my little demonita…"
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Laying a comforting hand on Fox's forearm, Whitney warned quietly, keeping her voice to a gentle tone, as not to be overheard, "Don't ruin this for Theresa."
Fox jerked out of whatever daydream he had previously been in, and turned to face his girlfriend, a flash of something that could only be described as a guilty look flashing across his brown eyes. "Wasn't planning on it."
Not believing him for a second, Whitney rolled her eyes, her mouth set down in an angry scowl. "I'm sure." She shifted a bit on the Lopez-Fitzgerald's floral print sofa, which sat in their homey, wonderfully cozy house, before continuing, "Theresa needs to find a man who treats her as marvelously as you treat me, and maybe Dylan is him, ok? You have to give him a chance with her, he's your best friend."
"Theresa's my best friend too," Fox argued, reaching a hand up and rubbing the back of his neck nervously. He cast a backwards glance over his shoulder, making sure that Theresa hadn't finished getting ready and was eavesdropping on them. "I know Dylan. And I know what he's going to do. He's going to get her to fall in love with him, and then he's going to dump her so fast your head will spin. You'll look like that girl in 'The Exorcist.' Now tell me, do you really want that to happen to Theresa?"
"No," was Whitney's immediate response. She very slowly withdrew her hand. "But you should at least give Dylan the benefit of the doubt. Maybe he's truly ready to settle down, and—"
"And he's going to do so with a woman he only spent an hour with?" Giving a cynical snort, Fox's meaning was clear: dream on.
"It could happen!"
"But it won't."
Sighing, Whitney leaned back against the couch, wondering why Theresa was taking so long to get ready. Then her wondering turned to Fox, and why he was so obsessed with Theresa not dating Dylan. There was really no reason why he should be so upset about it, was there? Unless…
'He can't still have feelings for Theresa,' she reassured herself, feeling silly that that odd thought had even occurred to her. 'He's in love with ME. And he always will be. He'll love me and our baby forever—even if the baby is Chad's. But Fox doesn't have to know that. He only cares about Theresa in a friendly way, there's no way she could ever come between us.'
She missed Chad. Missed him as her lover, her confidant, her best friend. She missed the security she felt when she was around him. With him, there was no second-guessing herself. With Chad, she never had to wonder what he was thinking, she always just KNEW. But then it turned out that it wasn't her love for him that made her know him so deeply—it was the fact that they were SIBLINGS. Of course, by then it was too late, and she was already pregnant with Chad Jr.
Mindlessly, she placed her hands on her stomach, cradling the spot just beneath her navel. She was almost a month pregnant by this time, not that Fox had to know that. She'd just tell him she was only a couple weeks along. That would make everything so less complex.
Just then, Pilar burst in through the front door carrying numerous grocery bags, snapping Whitney out of her sorrow filled thoughts, making her jump slightly. Immediately on spotting her, Fox leapt up off the couch, and helped her with her parcels.
"Gracias, Fox, gracias," Pilar murmured as he carried them into the kitchen. Then, turning her sights to Whitney, a smile lit up over her features, canceling out the worry lines that had formed around her forehead and crowfeet at her eyes, making her look beautiful and joyous. "Whitney, how are you? It's so lovely to see you again."
Getting up off the couch as well, Whitney walked the few steps over to Pilar and engulfed her in a quick hug. "I'm good Pilar, and you?"
Always optimistic, Pilar answered, "Good, good. Have you seen my Theresita around?"
Fox stuck his head around the open doorway. "She's upstairs. Do pickles go in the pantry or the refrigerator?"
Tsking at him, Pilar quickly said, "Fox, you don't have to unload my groceries, I will do that." After a brief pause, she asked, "Is Little Ethan with Theresita?"
"No, she's trading with Julian for tomorrow night instead," Whitney explained, trailing the older woman as she walked into the kitchen. "She's going out with a friend of Fox's tonight."
Pilar stopped in mid step and whirled around. "Theresita is going on a date?"
"With Dylan Banning, my friend from boarding school," Fox supplied, still holding the pickles in question, clearly wondering where they went. "You met him, Pilar, the summer I brought him home when I was ten?"
"Was he the little black haired boy with the buck teeth?" she questioned, comprehension dawning over her face, as she gently took the jar from Fox and stored it away in the cupboard. "Who loved pancakes? I cooked them for you two every meal for a week."
Fox grinned reminiscently and collapsed in a kitchen chair. "Yeah. He's in town, and he wasted no time in asking out Theresa." At that, the smile slid right back off his face.
"Which Fox and I couldn't be any happier about," Whitney added quickly, shooting him a disapproving look, as she unloaded various foodstuffs from a paper bag, handing them to Pilar one by one, who was organizing them neatly in her pantry. "Theresa needs to date again, get her mind off Ethan."
"If that's at all possible…" Fox muttered under his breath, toying with the plastic yellow napkin holder in the middle of the table, that at the moment, was void of any napkins.
Neither woman heard him, or if they did, they merely ignored him.
"I agree," Pilar announced, setting a large package of napkins down next to Fox. "Theresita hasn't dated a man since Ethan, and it's been ages since they—"
"There was me," Fox interrupted her, ripping open the plastic that bonded the napkins together. "Theresa and I dated, remember?"
Turning to look at him, Pilar smiled apologetically. "Sorry, of course I remember. But Theresita needs someone to help her get over Ethan, someone who will treat her like she deserves. She's been through so much already, I don't know how much more she can handle." The doorbell rang shrilly just then, and Pilar excused herself to answer it, leaving Fox in a state of shock.
"What did she mean by that?" he demanded of Whitney, who was leaning against the pantry, her hands cradling over her stomach again. "Does she think I didn't treat Theresa good enough or something?"
"Oh honey, don't give it a second thought. I'm sure she just meant that she hopes Dylan and Theresa have a good time tonight—which I do too."
Though skeptical, Fox didn't say anything, as he arranged the blue flowered napkins in the napkin holder.
Whitney sighed at the look of brooding on his face, but at hearing Theresa's laugh, changed courses immediately. "That's Theresa. Lets go say goodbye to her, shall we?" Offering him her hand, she raised her eyebrows hopefully.
Nodding slowly, Fox accepted her hand, and the two of them walked into the living room, where sure enough, Theresa stood, talking to her mother and Dylan.
"I love your dress!" Whitney exclaimed to her best friend, twirling her finger in the air, an indication that she wanted Theresa to spin.
Doing just that, Theresa laughed, the dark red silk fabric of her dress fanning out around her tanned knees. She looked absolutely stunning in the short, formfitting dress, matching satin heels, and even a little red flower pinned to her softly curling hair.
Dylan obviously thought so too. He couldn't keep his eyes off her. Which Fox noticed, of course.
Leaning over, Theresa gave her mother a kiss on the cheek. "I'll see you when I get home, ok mama?"
Pilar nodded, her eyes holding a look of longing. To her, looking at Theresa was just like looking at herself twenty years ago. So young, so happy, so full of life. Such a romantic. And Dylan…with his black hair and gray eyes, he could easily pass as Martin. Swallowing the sudden lump that had appeared in her throat, she remembered to give her motherly advice. "Have fun, you two, and Theresita, don't stay out too late, ok?"
Theresa smiled in return. "Yes, mama." Turning her sparkling brown eyes to Fox and Whitney, she asked, "I'll see you guys later?"
"Definitely," was Whitney's reply, quickly giving her a squeeze. "Call me tomorrow, ok?"
"Ok. Bye Fox," she added, before Dylan ushered her out the door. She waved briefly at them over her shoulder, before the door was snapped shut behind her.
Then there was silence in the Lopez-Fitzgerald home.
Finally, Pilar offered, "They make a lovely couple, Dylan and my Theresita, don't you think?"
"They do," Whitney agreed. She smiled up at Fox, expecting him to at least put on a show for Pilar's sake and add that he also agreed, but found him, yet again, staring at the door, in a world of his own. With a sigh, she wondered what on earth was on that mind of his, and what she was going to have to do to get him to pay attention to her. After all, she was pregnant with his child.
Well…not really, but he didn't have to know that, did he?
No, he did not.