Pregnant Without a Cause

Chapter Eight, Episode 24

Late that night...

Jock was running tape again. Not really tape, of course. Just an expression. And it was late, of course. Not anexpression. A fact.

He punched up Michelle and Edouard. "This's the tete-a-tay from this afternoon."

At least he had the new digital mixer now. It had just been set up in his suite the day before, in the dinette area, a hard-won hardware upgrade from the studio. The room was almost dark, per usual when looking at tape.

"Any good?" she said. Donna had been at thrift stores today with Rhonda and Ashlee, the mother-daughtershopaholics, so she did not know what had happened at Michelle and Edouard's session.

"They were pretty wooden at first, but then..." Jock started the replay. She sat behind him, looking over his shoulder from one of the tall barstools, which had been moved to the niche between the end of the kitchen counter and the start of the couch. The bar itself was now stacked with files and boxes of equipment.

Michelle sets her fork down. She reaches across the small table and grips Edouard's hands in hers. "I know it's hard to understand, but you don't get to judge me. Especially not tonight."

"What's she talking about?" said Donna from above him. "I don't know." Jock held up a finger. "But watch."

Edouard pulls his hands free. "I don't know what to say, but we've got to get together now. We've got to find a way." His voice shakes with emotion.

Michelle glances off camera for a moment, then refocuses on Edouard, her eyes dark bullets of intensity. "Let's slow down. Don't move too fast."

"Too fast!" Edouard hisses. Red rims his eyes. "You've gone through this whole time alone, kept me out, shut me out, and now you tell me to slow down?"

Michelle is swiveling from Edouard, looking off camera to Jock, into the camera. "We need to cut."

Jock paused the replay.

Donna said, "She looks absolutely panicked." "Yeah." He pressed Play. "Wedidn't stop."

Michelle turns back to Edouard. "None of this is your fault. I accept the responsibility."

Edouard seems to choke. "Responsibility!"

In a rage he stands up and charges out of frame. The camera follows him, weaving through the kitchen, whereEdouard shoulders aside the sound man and a boy standing

there watching, out the door, where sunlight washes out the image.

Jock switched to the replay of Camera Two.

Michelle sits, staring straight ahead, furious. She gets up, and walks out of the room.

"And cut." Jock leaned back. "What's it mean?"

"It means, if they keep this up, we have two more finalists. Is it their relationship? The daughter's baby?" He shrugged. "A button was pushed there. I'd like to find that button. That was a heck of a moment."

"Yes, it was."

"Now we only have two hundred thirty-seven more moments to get through before we call it a night."

Donna stared at the last frozen image of Michelle. "Are her boobs bigger?"

"Might look that way. Leigh helped dress her. Maybe they gave her a little extra something." Jock twisted around and grabbed his notepad off the bar. "So tell me about Rhonda and Ashlee."