Jenny Plague-Bringer: (Jenny Pox #4) (21 page)

They were quiet for a minute, holding each other.  Then Seth asked, “So...can we
open presents now?”

“Yes, please!”  Jenny dropped to her knees by the tree, looking over the bright packages
and ribbons.

“Me first,” Seth said, joining her and picking up a present, which he handed to her.
“By which I mean you first.”

Jenny smiled as she tore it open.  The cardboard box inside held a wide selection
of DVDs, all of her favorite holiday movies, from the old stop-motion
Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer
that she had watched on TV every year, to the
Muppet Christmas Carol
, all the way to
Scrooged
with Bill Murray. 

“Awesome!” Jenny said. “I missed seeing these last year.”  Their first Christmas in
Paris had caught them almost by surprise, and they’d done little to remind themselves
of home.

“And I remembered you saying that.” Seth tapped the side of his head. “Thoughtful. 
Good listener.  Yep.”

“Here, open this.” Jenny handed him the biggest package with his name on it. 

Seth ripped it apart, revealing a box full of plain socks.

“Remember how you complained about wanting more socks last Christmas?” Jenny asked.

“Did I?”

“See if there’s anything else in there.”

Seth moved the socks aside and found the new Kindle Fire hidden underneath. “Oh, cool!”

“Now you can read any book you want, anytime you want,” Jenny told him.

“This is the one that plays movies, too, right?”

“I guess.”

“That makes me want to give you this one next.” Seth passed her a small box wrapped
in satiny red paper.

“Looks sexy.” Jenny unwrapped it—it
was
sexy, a very revealing piece of lingerie held together by thin, lacy black straps.
“Ooh, a dominatrix outfit!”

“It is not!”

“Just add leather,” Jenny said. “And I’ll need handcuffs.”

“I even got the size right this time.  I checked your underwear drawer first.”

“And how long did you spend in there?”

“Ha, ha.  Why don’t you try it on?”

“I’m sure you’d like that,” Jenny snickered.

“No, seriously.” Seth leaned back on his elbow and eyed her.

“Mariella’s going to be here soon.”

“Just a quick look.” Seth winked.

Jenny felt a growing sense of panic.  She could stave him off for now, but there was
no way she could wear this without Seth seeing her swollen belly.  It was hard enough
keeping concealed in heavy sweaters around him, turning off the lights before she
took off her clothes, and remembering to lock the door when she showered. 

“I’ll help.” Seth reached for her very oversized red sweater, and she pulled away
from him.  He jumped at her, seized her, and playfully wrestled her down, then he
climbed on top of her, his weight pushing her whole body against the floor.

“Careful!” Jenny shouted. “I’m pregnant!”

“You’re what?” His eyes flew wide open, and he rolled off her and sat up. “What did
you say?”

The phone in the apartment chimed, the special sound it made when a visitor downstairs
wanted to be admitted to their apartment.

“Jenny?” he asked. “Did you just say—”

“I win!” Jenny jumped to her feet and scampered to the door, where she flicked on
the tiny video screen.  Mariella, dressed in thick layers with a hat, scarf, and gloves,
appeared in black and white, and Jenny buzzed her in. “Looks like your girlfriend’s
here.”

“Why do you keep saying that?” Seth followed her to the door. “She’s not my girlfriend. 
I’ve never done anything with her.”

“You will.”

“What do you mean?”

Jenny sighed and shook her head.  It all fit together now.  Jenny and Seth’s baby
would die, the strain would ruin their relationship, and he would end up with Mariella. 
If Mariella was really seeing herself and Seth together in the future, then that would
probably be the way it happened.

If Jenny and Seth weren’t going to break up, then Mariella’s vision could only mean
that Jenny would die, which didn’t exactly fill her with hope for a better tomorrow.

“Jenny...” Seth hesitated. “Did you just say you were pregnant?”

“We’ll talk about it later.”

“So you are?”

“No.  Maybe.”

“Maybe?” He gaped at her. “Did you take a test?”

“I...um...” Jenny saw Mariella arrive through the door lens and opened up before Mariella
had a chance to ring the bell. “
Bon jour!  Joyeux Noël!”

“
Joyeux Noël!”
Mariella replied with a bright smile.  Her green eyes seemed to glow, helped along
by her matching dress, which she wore under her usual dark coat.  She carried bright
packages and an embroidered shopping bag into the apartment, and Seth quickly took
them from her arms.  Mariella leaned in to kiss Jenny’s cheek in the typical French
greeting, and Jenny automatically pulled back and covered her mouth, shaking her head. 
It indicated that she was refraining, not to be rude, but because she was sick and
contagious.

Seth had no trouble accepting Mariella’s kisses.  He put the glittering wrapped packages
on a side table, but Mariella reclaimed the shopping bag.

“Oh, no, you didn’t have to bring presents,” Jenny said.  She spoke in English, since
it was pretty obvious that Seth didn’t know much French, while Mariella was fluent
in English. “We didn’t...”

“It’s nothing, I promise,” Mariella said.  She held open the shopping bag, revealing
three different bottles of red wine. “I did not know what you liked best.”

“Oh, that’s too much!” Jenny laughed.

Seth was giving Jenny a very serious look over Mariella’s head.  He gestured toward
the bedroom, clearly wanting to talk privately about whether she was pregnant or not. 
That was the subject Jenny wanted to avoid most, at the moment, so she took Mariella’s
arm and led her into the kitchen instead.

“How can I help here?” Mariella asked, looking around at the multiple dishes in progress.

“You don’t have to.” Jenny set the wine bottles on the counter.  She opened a Pinot
noir and poured two glasses.

“Please, it does not feel like Christmas if I’m not a kitchen slave for at least part
of the day,” Mariella said. “You forgot to pour a third glass.  I’ll do it.”

“No, I’m not drinking right now,” Jenny said.

“Even on Christmas?” Mariella looked at Jenny’s ridiculously baggy sweater, which
reached almost to her knees. “Are you pregnant?”

“Sh!” Jenny said, and Mariella’s eyes widened.

“He does not know?” Mariella whispered.

“You’ve been in my house for thirty seconds and you’re figuring out all this?  In
five minutes you’ll be telling me my own darkest secrets.”

Mariella laughed. “How dark can they be?”

“You might be surprised.” 

“You can have a glass with us,” Mariella said. “In Italy, women still drink a glass
with dinner, and all is well.  And we are very good at having babies.  We’ve been
doing it for thousands of years.”

Jenny laughed.

“Do Alsatian women stop drinking wine altogether?” Mariella asked. “I thought only
American women did that.”

“I’m just being cautious.”

“Be less so.” Mariella poured a third glass, giving her a cheerful smile. “It’s good
for the heart.”

“Red wine, or being less cautious?” Jenny asked.

“Both!”

They were laughing again when they rejoined Seth in the living room.

“Should you be drinking wine?” Seth asked when Jenny handed him a glass.

“Why shouldn’t I?” Jenny asked him, but Seth just answered with a frustrated shrug
and glanced at Mariella, not sure whether the other girl should know or not.

“You’re Americans, aren’t you?” Mariella asked.

“Stop doing that!  Seth, I can’t hide anything from her.” Jenny took a long sip of
wine.

“We should open our presents.” Mariella carried her gifts to the couch and set them
on the coffee table.

“No, really, we didn’t get you anything,” Jenny said. “I’ll go shopping tomorrow,
anyway.” 

“There is no need,” Mariella said. “Unless you are inviting me to shop with you. 
The Christmas villages remain open another week.”

“Maybe,” Jenny said, giving her a genuine smile.  She had to remind herself not to
trust this girl too much.

Seth was already ripping open his small package. “Whoa!” he said.

“What is it?” Jenny asked.

Seth held up a stainless steel Cartier watch with a black dial. “Look, Jenny.  Now
I can be one of those guys who wears a watch.”

Jenny tried not to look shocked, but she knew the watch must have cost hundreds, if
not thousands of dollars.  She wanted to insist that Seth give it back, but there
was not a polite way to do it.

“Please, it’s too nice,” Jenny said.

“Don’t be silly.  Now for yours.” Mariella tapped another gift, and Jenny reluctantly
sank to the settee and unwrapped it.  Then she stared at what lay inside.

It was some kind of charm bracelet, made of gold with sapphires in the individual
little charms, which included a heart-shaped lock, a miniscule rocking horse, an owl,
a coin with the face of Victor Emmanuel III, the final king of Italy, and other tiny,
glittering objects.

“Oh, no,” Jenny breathed.  She could tell it was unspeakably expensive. “You shouldn’t
give me this.”

“It’s nothing,” Mariella said. “Just put it on.  I think sapphires would look beautiful
on you.”

“I love sapphires,” Jenny whispered.

“Then try it on.  Or let me.” She reached for the glove on Jenny’s left hand and tugged
it off, her fingers protected by her own soft kidskin glove.

“Careful!” Jenny pulled back. “It’s too dangerous for you to touch me.”

“Then you had better put it on yourself.” Mariella reached for her hand again.

“Okay, I give up.” Jenny slid the bracelet onto her wrist.  The gold was smooth and
bright against her skin.

“Do you like it at all?” Mariella asked.

“I love it,” Jenny admitted. “But why did you...when did you even go shopping?  The
shops must have been closed by the time you left here last night.”

Mariella laughed. “Don’t trouble yourself too much.  I stole the watch from my brother
six months ago, because he was being mean.  And the charm bracelet...I must have been
eight or nine when I stole it from my sister.  Swiping from my siblings has always
been my favorite way to shop.  Youngest child syndrome.  With eight older brothers
and sisters, there’s always plenty of tempting loot around.”

Jenny breathed a sigh of relief. “So these were just things you already had.  You
didn’t go spend a fortune on us.”

“Are you disappointed?” Mariella asked.

“No, now I’m definitely keeping the bracelet.”

Mariella laughed and emptied the bottle of Pinot into their glasses.  She gave Jenny
a thoughtful look.

“I know we got off to a...how would you say it?  An awkward start,” Mariella said,
with a brief side glance at Seth. “But I wanted to show you how important this is
to me, knowing the both of you.  I’ve never met anyone like us before.  I hope you
don’t hate me already.”

“Why would we hate you?” Seth asked, but Mariella just kept looking at Jenny, her
green eyes hopeful, her lips twitching nervously.

“I don’t hate you,” Jenny said. “But I’m sure you understand, I’m still pretty bothered
by what you said.”

“What she said about what?” Seth looked back and forth between them. “What am I missing?”

Jenny and Mariella held each other’s gaze.  Jenny didn’t exactly want to tell Seth
what Mariella had said, about seeing herself and Seth together in the future, or Mariella’s
sweaty, hot dreams about Seth.  She could only imagine the expression on Seth’s face
if they told him about that.  As if they were sharing the same thoughts, she and Mariella
burst into laughter at the same time.

“What’s so funny?  Jenny?” Seth asked, looking frustrated now.  He drank down his
entire glass of wine, then held it like a microphone. “Hello, can anybody hear me? 
Is this thing on?” 

“You had a bad vision about Seth, too,” Jenny said. “A man who was hunting him.  Can
you see anything else about that today?”

“I can try.” Mariella pulled her gloves off and reached for Seth’s hands.

“So, me getting attacked or killed, that was the funny thing?” Seth asked. “That’s
what you were laughing about?”

“Quiet, Seth, let her concentrate,” Jenny said.

Mariella gazed into Seth’s eyes, holding his hands tight.  He kept glancing away,
looking uncomfortable.

“I can see him,” Mariella said. “He comes and takes Seth to a dark place.”