The kid performed beautifully. I watched as he slammed into her, making her drop her phone. When she bent over to pick it up, the kid stopped her and insisted on retrieving it for her, deftly slipping his hand into her right pocket in the process. She had no idea what he’d done. Then he sped off around the corner to where I and his fifty bucks were waiting.
While Sammy was at work that day, I treated myself to an hour in her apartment.
I searched through her dresser drawers and even her air vents, where I knew some people liked to hide their most precious secrets. Rifling through piles of unopened mail on her kitchen table, I noticed envelopes addressed to “SavannahMitchell.”So that’s Plain Jane’s real name. The bartender must have been calling her “Savvy,” not Sammy.I found a box of memories on the top shelf of her closet, but it was mostly pictures of her as a baby with a man I assumed was her father, along with old birthday cards and pictures.
I found a small framed photo of Savvy and a man with their arms around each other in the drawer of her nightstand. Why wasn’t it on display? Was he an ex? Or a current boyfriend that she wanted to hide from Max?
The thought nagged at me. Was Plain Jane cheating on Max the same way he was cheating on Madison? Then, an even more alarming thought—what if Savannah’s baby wasn’t really Max’s baby, but she just wanted him to believe it was?
Other than that photo, I didn’t find much in Plain Jane’s apartment that interested me—until I went into the kitchen.
There, stuck to the door of the refrigerator with a magnet, was an ultrasound printout.
My throat twisted, my stomach churned. Tears sprang into my eyes. It looked just like my first ultrasound had looked—a happy, healthy little peanut, resting inside its mommy’s safe and secure womb. Only, mine had turned out not to be so safe and secure. Mine had betrayed me and had let my baby die.
I couldn’t take my eyes off the picture. Why should she get the chance I had been denied? Would Max decide to be with her? Would they become a family? The family we could have been?
Jealous rage burned beneath my skin, growing into a ball and rising up into my throat, threatening to burst out of me.
It wasn’t fair.
I snatched the printout off the refrigerator door and shoved it into the pocket of my hoodie.
She didn’t deserve it.
I walked the streets for an hour, crying behind my sunglasses. After a while I started to calm down, but then reality hit—I had just stolen someone’s keys and broken into her home.What the hell was I thinking?
I was pretty sure I’d put everything back the way it had been before I got there—well, except the ultrasound. She wasn’t getting that back. But I knew I should probably find a way to return her keys so hopefully she would never suspect someone had been in her apartment.
There was an electronic key card on her key ring. At closer look, I noticed a small photo of her on the back, with her employment information: SAVANNAH MITCHELL, THE BLACKWELL AGENCY.
I took the keys to the lobby of the office building I’d watched her walk into many times, and told one of the guards that I’d found them outside. He said he would return them to her.
Phew. Now that’s over with.
That night, as I lay in bed, not sleeping, I stared at the ultrasound of Baby Mitchell, tears flowing freely. My eyes pored over every inch of the picture, as if searching for any signs, visible to my naked eyes, that could possibly tell me what her baby had that mine hadn’t.
Suddenly, I knew what I had to do.
I had to meet Savannah Mitchell.
CHAPTER26
INEEDED TOFINDa way to connect with Savannah. And what could be better to bond over than impending motherhood?
The thought of faking a pregnancy gave me a sour feeling in the pit of my stomach. But it wasn’t really a lie—after all, Ihadbeen pregnant. In a sick kind of way, it kind of felt like my body was suspended in time; like I would forever be ten weeks pregnant with Max’s child. It was strangely comforting to think of my baby that way. He or she would always be a part of me. In the end, whether sick or not, deluded or not, I had to find out more about Savannah Mitchell and her relationship to Max and Madison. So, really, the fake pregnancy was a necessity.
I had to find a way to meet her organically. At first, I thought about staking out her obstetrician’s office, maybe bump into her in the parking lot, like we were both there for checkups on the same day. But I’d heard her telling her bartender friend that she’d just had her twelve-week checkup, so I knew she wouldn’t have one for at least another month. I couldn’t wait that long. And maybe it was better to meet her somewhere in public. Perhaps on a weekend errand?
The opportunity presented itself the following Sunday. As I lurked across the street from her fourplex, I saw Bartender Friendarrive—Ellie, if I recalled. About fifteen minutes later, the two women emerged from the building and took off on foot. I followed them to a farmer’s market in a large, open lot next to a multilevel parking garage.
Savannah looked happy and healthy, which only fueled the flames of my resentment even more. I followed her and her friend as they wandered the produce stands, nibbling on samples and adding fruits and veggies to their shopping bags. I eyed the piles of produce, thinking about how Old Jenna would have loved shopping for fresh fruits and veggies and cooking up something delicious, the way I used to with my dad. But ever since I’d lost my baby, the thought of eating repulsed me. I knew I was losing too much weight, but found it impossible to care. After all, who was I trying to nourish, to keep alive? Not my baby, not any longer. And my grief left me not caring about myself.
I was lingering at a stand just behind them when I heard Savannah say she needed to use the restroom. This was my chance. I turned and walked quickly around the perimeter of the market and into the parking garage behind it, where I knew the closest public restrooms were located, across from the elevator.
I stood behind a parked car and waited for Savannah. As she approached, I heard aping, and watched as she pulled her phone out of her pocket, then fumbled and dropped it. It bounced on the pavement and landed a few paces in front of her.Now!I popped out from behind the car, picked her phone up and forced a smile as I held it out for her. I was about to say hello when a wave of dizziness overcame me. I grabbed my stomach in shock. My arm shot out and reached for the wall to brace myself.I guess I really should eat something, no matter how disgusting the idea feels.
“Oh my God, are you okay?” Savannah asked. She darted forward and grabbed my elbow to help steady me.
