Tales of the City 04 - Babycakes

that I’m perfectly capable of handling this gig on my own, but she’s determined to be a martyr.” He bussed her on the cheek. “Aren’t you, darling?” His head spun toward Simon again. “I know this stalwart soul. I’ve seen him on television. You’re that runaway lieutenant, aren’t you?”
“More or less,” was the less than cordial reply.
“Well, you’ve just taken our little city by storm, haven’t you?”
Simon answered with a faint, glacial smile.
Father Paddy turned back to Mary Ann. “There’s coffee and doughnuts if you need the rush, and … oh … is Matthew our cameraman today?”
“Yeah.”
“Marvelous. Tell him to stay away from my underside, will you?”
“What?”
“Don’t let him shoot from below, darling. I’m all chins, and it frightens the little children. All right?”
“O.K.”
“You’re an angel,” said the priest, merging with his flock again.
Mary Ann glanced cautiously at Simon. “I guess I should have warned you about him.”
He didn’t respond.
“Is something the matter?” she asked.
He pulled a leaf off a bush and fiddled with it. “You set this up, didn’t you?”
“Set what up?”
“This morning. You got yourself assigned to this … gig, as he calls it, so that you and I could be together.”
“Well … it worked out that way, I guess. But I certainly didn’t plan it.”
He frowned at her.
“Anyway,” she added, “what if I had? Would that be so terrible?”
“How long ago? Two weeks? Three? I’ve been inked into your little agenda for quite some time now.”
As she stared at him, she felt her throat go dry.
“Tell me if I’ve missed the mark,” he added.
“Well, I was certainly … pleased … when I realized we’d be able to get together … if that’s what you mean. What’s the big deal? I certainly had no way of knowing that Theresa would invite Brian to Hillsborough for the weekend.”
“Both of you.”
“What?”
“She invited both of you.”
“So?”
“So … Brian suggested taking me in your place, but you vetoed the idea.”
“That isn’t so,” she said.
He shrugged. “That’s what he told me.”
“Well …” She wanted to throttle Brian. “O.K., then … I’m a desperate woman. You forced it out of me. I confess. Til stop at nothing until I’ve got you in my clutches. C’mon, Simon … what is it you want from me?”
“I want you to tell me you planned this.”
She threw up her hands. “O.K. Fine. Easy enough. I planned this.”
“You planned this at least two weeks ago, knowing this would be the eve of my departure.”
“Simon, what the hell are you getting at?”
“I think you know.”
“I don’t have the slightest idea what …”
“You and Brian are trying to have a baby. I know that already.”
That stopped her cold for a moment. “From Brian, I suppose?”
“Yes.”
“Well … what if we are?” It wasn’t much, but it was all she could muster.
“Then … that means you’re off the pill.”
She felt the blood pounding in her temples. The moment took on an ominous quality as a woman in harlequin glasses began to play “He Is Risen” on a portable electric organ behind the cross. Mary Ann scanned the crowd in search of her cameraman, then turned back to Simon. “This is easily the most bizarre conversation I have ever …”
“You never said a word about contraception, Mary Ann. Not a word. Don’t you think that’s a little strange for a woman who’s trying …”
“I think you don’t know shit about romance, Simon. That’s what I think. What did you expect me to do? Ask you if you had a rubber or something? I can’t believe we’re even discussing this!”
He gave her a distant, weary smile. “Such indignation. My-my.”
“Well, what the hell do you …? Look, I have to find my cameraman.”
He caught her arm. “No.”
“What?”
“I have something else to tell you.”
“What?”
“Your friend Connie … the one who was looking for you.”
“Yeah?”
“She left a message for you.”
Please, God, she thought. Don’t let Connie drive the final nail. “She said to tell you to be sure to watch Channel Nine yesterday at two o’clock.”
She nodded. “So?”
“Well … you weren’t at home, so I watched it for you, considerate fellow that I am. Any idea what you missed?”
“Simon, the service is starting in exactly …”
“C’mon … give us a guess.”
“Frankly, I really don’t care what that asinine woman …”
“It was a chat show, Mary Ann. Three housewives