Rewrite the Stars

Chapter Five - Pregnancy Drama

"So, how was the date with Wyatt?" Layla asks me the next day as we meet for coffee at The Butter Stick Bakery.

"It was okay." I tell her as I nibble on my chocolate croissant.

"Details, girl, I need details." She say exasperated.

I look up at her. "There aren't any details. We went to dinner then he dropped me back home."

"Oh." She raises her eyebrows. "So you didn't bump into Benjamin and Cheryl there?" I begin to ask her how she knows, but she stops with a raise of her hand. "Melissa was there who told Ashley who told me."

"News does travel fast." I tell her.

"You forget that I work at the salon as well." I nod in approval. Layla works at the hairdressing salon in town. That's where all of the gossip begins." Do I have to bribe it out of you?" she asks. "Just spit it out already."
So I tell her. I tell her how the date started okay, but didn't end well. I tell her how we bumped into Benjamin and Cheryl. I tell her that Wyatt promised me a better date next time. However, I don't inform her that Benjamin came to my house later at night.

"That's it?" She looks unconvinced.

"Yes, that's it." I go back to nibbling my croissant.

"There were no late night visits?" She asks me innocently even though she looks like she already knows. I don't even ask her how on earth she knows, before she rattles out the information "Mrs. Montgomery saw you from her window then blabbed about it to Mrs. Smith who then told me." Layla send a cheeky grin my way.

I raise my hand in frustration. "These people need to be taught the meaning of privacy."

"It's too late for that, don't you think? She jokes. "Now, stop changing the subject and tell me. Is it true he came so late at night?"

I nod my head. "Yes." Then I divulge her in all the details. Everything that happened. I don't mind telling Layla all the details. I know not a word would come out of her. She was the only person beside my family to know that I went to Chicago and why I went there.

"So, you're not going to tell him?" She asks me.

"I can't, Layla. I just can't." Her eyes soften. "I don't want him to feel sorry for me. I don't want to hurt him."

"Oh honey, you won't." She assures me. "And Benjamin would never feel sorry for you or look at you differently."

"You don't know that." I tell her as I wrap my hands around my coffee cup. Layla doesn't say anything in return.

We part ways after we finish our breakfast. Layla makes her way to the salon while I just wander around town trying to look for a job. Along my walk, I come across a building that has a metal sign with Edward and partners engraved on it. I smile knowing that this is Benjamin's office.

I keep walking until I reach the local medical practice where I heard a couple of ladies at The Butter Stick saying something about a receptionist job. The bells above the door jingles when I open it.

"I'll be right there." Dr. Wilkinson yells.
A few moments later, a woman and her young boy appear from the examination room with the boy's arm in a cast and Dr. Wilkinson behind them. The boy's face is blotchy and streaked with tears. He breaks my heart.

"Call me immediately if the pain gets worse." Dr. Wilkinson orders.

"Okay, thank you Dr. Wilkinson." The woman grabs her little boy's hand and starts to leave when I stop her.

"Just a second." I rummage through my bag for a bonbon and hand it to the boy. "Here you go, champ!"

The boy smiles as he accepts it. "Thank you." His voice is so tiny.

"You're welcome." I ruffle his hair as him mom offers me a smile before she grabs his hand and walk out.

I turn my gaze to Dr. Wilkinson who is staring at me with a smile of his face.

"Hi" I wave at him meekly. "I'm Rosalinda Roberts. I'm here for the receptionist job."

"Oh yes, yes. Of course." He goes behind the receptionist desk and fumbles through the drawers then comes out with a form. "I'll just need you to fill out this form right here. Nothing out the ordinary." I nod my head as he hands me the form. "My old receptionist Lorelai is leaving town. Such a shame. She has been with me for about four years now. Maybe a little bit more."

I listen intently as I scan through the form. Just some personal information like my name, address, the usual. I fill it out before handing it back to him.

"Oh." He grabs his glasses from his pocket and puts them on before reading the form. He nods his head as he reads through it. A few seconds later, he looks up at me. "When can you start?"

I feel so giddy inside. "That easy?" I ask him with a smile that reaches my ears.

He has a small smile on his face. "I need someone, and you look like a good match for the job. So do you want it or not?"

"Of course I do!" I clear my throat. "Yes, of course. Shall I start tomorrow?"

"That would be great, but if you have some time right now I would like to teach you some of the basics." I nod. I had nothing else planned.

Dr. Wilkinson spends about an hour showing me where everything is and teaching me how to use the system. He shows me how to add appointments and how to prepare medical bills as well as some other minor tasks.

"Don't be late tomorrow. We open at nine sharp." He reminds me as I start to leave.

"I won't" I tell him over my shoulder as I head out of the practice.

I'm so excited and practically beaming as I leave the medical practice that I don't even notice that someone's there until I bump into them.

"Oh, I'm so sorry." I apologize as I look up at the person.

Cheryl stands in front of me with a hesitant smile on her face. "It's fine don't worry." She tells me as she looks around nervously. She doesn't look like the confident woman that I met at the restaurant yesterday.

"Are you okay?" I ask her.

She nods slowly. "I'm just really nervous." She tells me. "I might be pregnant." She whispers.

I gasp! She might be pregnant. Benjamin might be a Daddy. Cheryl might be pregnant with Benjamin's baby. It swirls in my head for a moment and I feel like I'm going to lose my balance, but I force myself to stay steady.

"Well, you should be happy!" I try to keep the façade of being excited for her.
She shrugs. "Benjamin might not want it. It wasn't planned."

"I'm sure Ben would be happy even if it wasn't." I assure her because I know he will. Benjamin loves kids.

"Probably." She concurs. "Thank you so much, Rosalinda, I really needed to talk to someone." She give me a brief hug before walking inside Dr. Wilkinson's practice leaving me standing in a daze.

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