Now that it was out, Jacqueline couldn’t stop herself from talking. Trying to explain herself. As if that was something she had to do.
“My mother’s side of the family has… genetic problems… that make pregnancy difficult. Honestly, I never thought it would happen to me.” They’d never discussed having kids before. It felt like one of those topics that would open up so many other avenues of conversation that neither of them wanted to talk about, either. “I think I’m going to keep it.”
Vincent was guzzling champagne like it was water. His face was tinging itself pink. “Okay.”
Their server came to ask if they needed anything and if they were ready to order. Vincent pointed to his empty champagne glass. When the server returned to fill the glass, he asked if they could please leave the bottle on the table. Then he pointed to something on the menu.Jacqueline did the same, her attention diverted away from food at the moment.
“I only just found out about it. The pregnancy. I think it would be great if the baby had both its parents, but if that’s too sudden a commitment for you, I get it. You don’t have to make a decision about it right now if you don’t want to. I just don’t want you to feel like I’m forcing you into anything. If you don’t think you can be a good father, I won’t grudge you that.”
She had her doubts about being a mother herself. At the very least, though, she would be better than her own was.
Vincent poured another glass of champagne, the pour was sloppy dribbled down the side of the glass. He couldn’t lift it off the table without spilling. He leaned down and sipped from the rim. “Okay.”
She felt a spike of annoyance. Was he even listening to her? “You seem to be taking this well.”
“Sorry, I am, yeah it’s just-” Vincent groaned and held his face in his hands. He almost sounded embarrassed. “I put a ring in the bottle.”
“What?”
“The champagne bottle, there’s a ring at the bottom.” He looked at her from between his fingers. Behind his hands she could see his face was vibrant red. “I was going to propose.”
“Oh.” It was her turn to be shocked. “Okay.”
“I’m going to get the ring out and then I’m going to give it to you.” He was finally able to lift his glass and sipped from it with determination. “I’m sorry this isn’t going the way I planned.”
“This isn’t really going the way I planned, either.” Jacqueline shrugged. She didn’t realize how anxious she was about how he would react. Now that he’d explained himself, she was relieved. “I don’t think you need to drink the whole bottle, do you? Couldn’t you just pour it out in the parking lot or something?”
“That’s a waste of money, Jacqueline. Sorry, but I’m going to get a little drunker than either of us would like. You’re driving us back.”
She rolled her eyes. “Like I would let you drive.”
The rest of the dinner progressed smoothly from there. The food arrived and was delicious. While they were eating, Vincent was able to empty the bottle and successfully fished the ring out from the glass it was bobbing in. He laughed triumphantly, holding it out to her. It glinted beautifully in the candlelight. She took it and slipped it onto her finger. It was cold and sticky from the drying champagne.
When they were finished with the food, Vincent paid for them both. Jacqueline helped him out to the car, letting him lean on her for support as he walked. He mumbled apologies to her over and over since he was forcing her to help him out. How embarrassing of him. She just laughed.
“You’re not much of a drinker are you?” She helped him into the passenger seat.
He shook his head and then pressed it down onto the dashboard. “My head’s spinning.”
“You can sleep it off at my place.” Jacqueline offered. “Just promise you won’t throw up anywhere but the bathroom.”
“I’ll try not to.” There was a long bout of silence after that led her to think he was sleeping, but then he groaned and she was worried he wouldn’t be keeping his promise after all.
“Do you need me to pull over?”
“No. I’m fine. I just- my plan -I worked really hard on it.”
Ah. His proposal. Jacqueline patted his shoulder sympathetically. “I’m sorry, Vincent. I know this wasn’t how you expected it to go, but you got the results you wanted, right? What matters now is that we’re engaged.”
He mumbled so quietly she wasn’t sure if he was talking to her or himself. “Right, we are engaged now. That’s what I wanted. That’s all I wanted.”
There was no way in hell he could kill a pregnant woman.
How had things gotten this bad? This out of hand? He groaned. He felt like absolute shit. And he’d still proposed to her.
What was he supposed to do now?
Marry her? Have a baby together?
“Vincent, are you awake? Can you stand?” Jacqueline’s hands were cold on the side of his face. “Wow, you’re pretty flushed!”
She was laughing at him. The sound made his nausea worse, and he tried to push her hands off him. “Stop it.”
He hated how whiny his voice sounded.
“Sorry.” Jacqueline moved her hands away from his face and instead used them to hoist him up and out of the car. The air was so humid he could feel the heat layering itself over him. “I’m going to take you up to my place now, okay?”
He couldn’t nod. His head was numb. Speaking was just as bad, it felt like he was fumbling with his tongue. “Kay.”
Jacqueline would want to get married before she started showing. She’d said she had no problems being a single mother, but he knew better. She was too proud for that. Now that it wasn’t something she absolutely had to do, she wouldn’t want people thinking they were only getting married for the baby.
So the wedding would happen soon. He wouldn’t be able to drag out their engagement like he’d planned.
Initially he thought she would say yes out of shock and pity. Poor Vincent didn’t know she was trying to break up with him. He thought everything was great. He was in love and wanted to marry her.
Later when she would rebuild the courage to dump him, he would reveal that he thought she would say no and he actually proposed because he didn’t know what else to do. Jacqueline was all he had. He loved her so so much. He could never live with himself if he didn’t at least ask. But then she said yes and he was so glad, had never been happier in his life. Having her was his life’s true and only joy.
The guilt would keep her cemented to him until he killed her.
Then he, the distraught fiance, wouldn’t know what to do with himself. He would help the police any way he could. The case would go cold. Maybe he would get acclaim for being involved in such a horrible unsolved crime.
Or it would be solved, and he would go to jail. He would prove his mother right. Prove everyone who called him a monster right.
And that was fine, too, because then it would be over.It would all be over. The end.
That was supposed to be the end.
Now she was pregnant. With his baby.
…he’d always wanted to be a dad.
“Take your shoes off, we’re going to bed.” Said Jacqueline. When had they gotten to her apartment?
He took his shoes off clumsily, his fingers wanting to work as well as his mouth did. When he was just in his socks, she dragged him over to her bedroom. The bed was big enough for both of them to sleep comfortably. That, he believed, was the plan.
He flopped himself face down on it. Her pillows were soft. They smelled like her. Lilac. He didn’t like it.
“You should probably sleep on your side,” Jacqueline suggested. She added her weight to the bed, causing it to dip slightly, “what if you throw up or something?”
“I’m not going to do that.” He said into the pillow.
“Do what?” Her face was near his head on the other pillow. He could feel her breath against his ear. It tickled.
“Either.”
“Okay,” her body radiated heat and softness, “but I’ll be really mad if I wake up in the morning and find that you drowned in your vomit right next to me.”
He turned his face towards her, just so he could look at her. “Just mad?”
She laughed. “No, not just mad. I’d be pretty sad, too. I mean, we only just got engaged. I’d hate for you to die before I could tell anyone.”
“I’ll try not to die before then.”
Jacqueline smiled. “Good.”
He wondered when he would be able to kill her now. It would have to be after the baby was born. But how long after? He didn’t want to leave a newborn without a mother.
He didn’t want to leave any child without a mother.
“What happens now?”
He didn’t mean to say it out loud, but Jacqueline answered, anyway. “I think we should just sleep and figure it out in the morning. There’s a lot of planning we have to do now.”
“That’s true.”
Hearing that was almost comforting. If there was one thing Vincent Giallo could do, it was plan.
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