Grace smiled big, trying to convince not only Rose but herself that she’d be okay sitting in a Jacuzzi and not thinking about the first time she’d ever sat in one… in Sal’s backyard.

~*~

Sal stared into Melissa’s eyes as the image of her smiling face, lying on the pillow next to his went in and out of focus. “You’re not Grace.”

The smile vanished. “Is that her name?”

Sal thought he nodded but he couldn’t be sure. His entire body felt numb.

Her hand caressed his face. “It’s better this way, Sal. It wasn’t meant to be. Remember that.”

The ceiling fan above his bed came slowly into focus. The memory that had come to Sal in his sleep wasn’t a new one, but the last part was new. He blinked a few times, making sure he was wide awake. Some of the times before when he’d thought he’d woken he’d gone right back into the dream but it didn’t get longer. It only repeated itself.

The last part new of this dream didn’t feel like it was an element of the memory. It almost felt as if it was his self consciousness trying to force him to just accept it. Why would Melissa say that?

He showered and dressed, the dream on his mind the entire time. That night in Vegas would forever haunt him. He’d most likely never recover from it.

The text came just as Sal pulled up to the restaurant. He stared at it with mixed emotions.

I lost the baby. It happened yesterday, so there’s no need now for me to try to prove anything to you. It’s done. I hope you’re happy. I know your pathetic girlfriend will be.

Of course even after all the trouble Melissa had caused she’d have the nerve to try and make him feel guilty, then top it off with an insult. He still wasn’t sure he believed she was ever pregnant but at least now this part of his nightmare was over.

He walked through the motions of opening up the restaurant in the same mechanical way he’d done everything since Grace had left. As much as he wanted to believe that somehow things would go back to the way they once were before she walked into his life. That he could go back to be being fired up about expanding his family’s business. Deep inside he knew it just couldn’t. There would forever be a void in his life. A huge part of him was gone now.

Sofia rushed in the kitchen where Sal made his final walk-through before opening the front doors. “Romero is on his way. He said he has some stuff on Melissa. He hasn’t had any luck with the surveillance tapes but—”

“She’s not pregnant anymore, Sof.”

Sofia’s usual big eyes got even bigger. “She’s not?”

“She lost it yesterday.”

His sister’s expression went blank before turning into disgust. “I doubt she was ever pregnant.”

“Well, it doesn’t matter now. Does it?” He walked past her and out of the kitchen.

Sofia followed him. “Yes, it does. Because if we can prove she never was then maybe we can prove nothing even happened that night. Think about it. If she’d lie about something this big then—”

“Sweetheart, I appreciate what your trying to do here. But I’m almost certain something did happen. I may not remember all the details but I remember being in bed with her.” He stopped to unlock the front door and turned back to her. “It’s not all clear but the parts I remember are pretty damning.”

She glared at him arms crossed, then looked over his shoulder with a smirk. Sal turned to see Romero standing on the outside of the glass door, grinning.

“It’s open,” Sofia said.

Romero pushed the door open and walked in. “You have my burrito ready?”

“No,” Sofia said, a hopeful smile spreading across her face. “But we’ll get it started for you. First I want the scoop.”

Sal began walking back towards the bar area, less enthused about what possible information Romero had. It’s not that he didn’t wish more than any of them that this whole situation could somehow be remedied but neither of them had heard or seen Grace the day she found out. Nothing short of a miracle would fix this. The facts still were, he’d been in bed with Melissa and one of the most vivid memories were of her unzipping his pants. It didn’t get any worse than that.

“All right,” Romero started. “So this Melissa bitch is a real whack job and is full of shit about a couple of things.”

“I knew it!” Sofia almost jumped.

“According to all her medical insurance records she hasn’t even made an appointment to see a doctor for any reason in months.”

Romero finally had Sal’s attention. “And this information is as of when?”

“I ran that report last night.”

“So yesterday, she wasn’t in the hospital at all?” Sal felt his insides heat. All this time he’d been so guilt ridden, he hadn’t actually allowed himself to seriously consider that Melissa might actually have faked the pregnancy. If she had, she’d done it for one reason and one reason alone.

“Nah, that report is in real time. Why? Did she say she was?”

Both Romero and Sofia stared at him as he nodded but said nothing, still taking in what Romero had just dropped on him.

“If she’d been in the hospital yesterday it would’ve showed up. Besides I’ve been tracking a few of her credit cards. The girl is a shopper. She was at the courthouse most of yesterday, bought lunch there and a shit load of coffee all day. Then she headed to the mall and dropped some serious loot on clothes and shoes. Which brings me to the next thing she’s full of shit about.” Romero took a seat at the bar.