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Lily and Jason arise from the mini-altar and quickly dress.
“I’m sorry,” Jason says. “I got carried away.”
“I was caught off guard, that’s all.”
“I thought you knew I, uh, wanted to...”
“To take things up a notch?”
“Well, yes.”
Lily shrugs. “I didn’t. Sorry.”
“I guess I misread your cues...” He pauses. “We’ve been hanging out a lot in the past year, and you’ve...”
“I just like to socialize a lot. You’re not an exclusive.”
“Who is these days?” He stops and touches her shoulder. “Look, I’ve applied for a procreation license.”
“No way!”
“It’s true. My application was approved.”
“Wow. I don’t know what to say.”
“My contraceptive has been turned off for over a month now...I’m producing the real deal now and looking for potential partners...”
“Oh, no, I don’t like where this is headed.”
“Just hear me out. We have a lot in common. We’re dynamite together, and our children would be beautiful and smart.”
“Oh, Jason...”
“I know for a fact you’ve been doing some headhunting...”
“Who told you that?”
“Never mind. I have my sources...The point is, we’re not getting any younger, and it’s time to think about creating the next generation.”
“I have been thinking about the future, but I’m not quite ready...”
“Lily, honey, I’m not looking for an exclusive partnership–I would like to create children with at least two other women–so you’d be free to do whatever you’d like. Have one baby with me, that’s all.”
“Look, Jason. I love what we have now, but I don’t want to have a baby with you. When I have children, it will be with one man.”
“You mean you want an exclusive relationship?”
“Don’t be silly. I love my male friends too much. But when I settle down to have children, I want just one partner to help me raise them, under one roof, someone who will be there when they need school clothes or are sick. I don’t need a pathological impregnator who has women and kids scattered all over the country.”
“Wow, I sure had you figured wrong.”
“I’m no prude, but when it comes to creating a family, it’s one man for me. Of course, we’ll have our separate social lives...”
“I guess I see things differently. I earn good money, so supporting several children with different mothers is not a problem. You see, Lily, I want to create this great legacy, beautiful and smart children from all parts of the country and with accomplished women like you. Also, I have to consider genetics...”
“Genetics? What do you mean?”
“Well, you’re lovely and all, and I have carefully vetted your medical and DNA profile, but what if something goes wrong?”
“Wrong? What do you mean?”
“If you have a gene that goes awry. I don’t want place all my genetic hopes on one line...”
“Oh, Jason. We have so much fun together, but our outlooks are so different.”
“I can see that.”
“You go start your families, and we’ll see how things shake out for us. But no more surprises during Coffee Break.”
“Fair enough.”
Lily checks her watch. “It’s back to work.”
Jason opens the cubicle door and takes the bill from the slot. “It’s on me today.”
“Jason! You know our policy.”
“Yeah, Dutch Treat, but I feel guilty about putting you on the spot.”
“Well, okay, this one time, but I’ll leave the tip.”
“Good deal. I’ll walk you back to your office. I want to hear about your plans for the Judge.”
“Not much to tell. I ordered nothing but the best, and I’ll be scrimping for the next few months.”
“That’s harsh. I haven’t done a Business Lunch in months. It’s too nerve-wracking.”
“When you meet with those potential Mommies, you’d better be putting your best foot forward.”
Jason raises his eyebrow. “A few times with me, they’ll be begging for more.”
It was true. Of all her friends, Jason was the most fun to be around; when he was away on a business trip, she missed their Coffee Breaks, although she had plenty of guys from the factory from which she could choose, depending on her mood.
“So why the big deal? Do you even know this guy?”
“Never met him until I landed in his court.”
“Making that proposition was risky. He could have taken it the wrong way.”
“I knew he’d accept the deal.”
“That’s my Lily, always confident.”
“In this world, you have to be. Besides, men like me, I like them. It’s not complicated figuring out what you guys want, but...”
“Tell me, Lil.”
“I’m really nervous about this Business Lunch.”
“Why?”
Lily doesn’t want to go into the specifics with Jason. “Well, you know, the formality of it. I can think of 101 things that can go wrong.”
“If you hired good attendants, they’ll keep you on track.”
“They’re supposedly two of the best.”
“Well, then. You’ll be fine.”
“He’s a judge who holds a lot of power.”
“You’ve made a deal. He’s forbidden to use anything that happens behind those closed doors against you.”
“Yes, that’s the law. But you know how things can really work.”
“You’ll just turn on that awesome Lily charm, and he’ll melt like ice in on a steamy July day.
“Thanks, Jason.” They stood outside her office. “Oh, here I am. Time to get back to work.”
“Same time tomorrow?”
“Sure.”
For now, she’s relieved to get back to work and away from Jason.
What a sneak, trying to get her primed to bear his child. She had thought about asking him about going off script for their Coffee Breaks, but now she’s glad she hadn’t gotten around to it.
Still, she would like to go off script sometime, but with someone she could trust completely if something went awry.
Savia!
Perfect.
Corpus Delicious is copyright 2009 -present (Jennifer Semple Siegel), and may not be reposted or republished without permission from the author.
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