Chapter 10
“I’ve got it,” Michelle shouted, rushing pass her friend on the way through the hallway as she dashed back to her bedroom. “And there’s no absolutely no doubt that this is going to work.”
Carlita unconsciously tilted her head, and proceeded to stare at her friend just as if the girl had suddenly lost her mind. “What will work, Michelle?” she asked, as she began to follow her. “I thought you were upset because of what I said.”
Michelle displayed a medieval grin, and it reminded Carlita of the Cheshire cat in “Alice in Wonderland.”
“I was for a while,” she said, caressing her lower lip with the tip of her tongue. “But after thinking about your last statement, I concluded you were right. There are a lot of boys who consider me a Babe.”
Carlita nodded. “Okay. So what’s this unusually large grin all about? I’m sure you're scheming something.”
“I am ... I think I’ve come up with a sure-fire way to get José – permanently.”
“What do you mean permanently?” Carlita said, crossing her arms and giving her friend a forlorn glance.
Still smiling, Michelle rose from the side of the bed and slowly walked in front of the full-length mirror attached to her closet door.
Then after fluttering her arms for a few seconds like a human butterfly, she began to pose just as if someone imaginary was taking her wedding photo.
“I meant exactly what I just said, girl,” she eventually responded. “And there’s no doubt - the plan I've come up with is definitely going to work. All I am going to have to do is fool José into thinking that he got me pregnant, and then he’ll have no choice but to marry me in order to avoid disgracing himself and both our families.”
Carlita giggled for a couple of seconds, before beginning to shake her head. “Have you lost your pea-picking mind, Michelle? That scheme will never work. José is way too smart to fall for something that foolish. … Not to mention, we’re both only eighteen and still have our whole lives ahead of us. This definitely isn’t the time to get knocked up. Especially if it’s accomplished by using underhanded trickery. ... We still have college, dating and other exciting things to look forward to.”
Michelle’s smile quickly disappeared and after a moment, she grasped her chin with her right hand – as if in thought.
“Hmm. You might have a point, Carlita. I hadn’t considered all of that. I do want to go to college. … I was hoping to become an actress someday.”
“An actress?” Carlita said, almost laughing. “Girl, with the way I’ve seen you perform whenever you’re trying to hook a new boy – you’re already a professional.”
“Really?” Michelle smiled and winked one eye. “So you’re telling me I shouldn’t have any trouble tricking José.”
“Tricking José?” A puzzled look quickly flashed across Carlita’s face.
“Yes,” Michelle answered as she returned to her seat on the edge of the bed. “You didn’t really believe I wanted to get pregnant, did you?”
“Yes,” Carlita confirmed, giving her friend a slight nod. “Isn’t that what you said you wanted to do?”
Michelle briefly glanced at her friend and grinned. “True. That is exactly what I said. However, it isn’t truly what I meant. What I really want to do is to just get José believing he’s got me pregnant.”
A predominate frown soon transformed across Carlita’s lips and she, once again, folded her arms across her chest.
“Let me get this right, girlfriend. In reality, you don’t have the slightest intention of getting yourself pregnant. But you want José to somehow believe that’s exactly what he’s done. Right?”
“That’s right,” Michelle confirmed.
“And exactly how are you planning to accomplish this, unless you two do something stupid like renting a motel room and ….?
“Girl," Michelle said, loudly interrupting. "There is no way I’d ever consider doing anything like that. My dad would literally kill me if I even thought about lying with someone before I was married.”
Carlita smiled. “That’s exactly what I've been thinking. So how are you planning to convince José you’re pregnant with his child if you're never going to …”
Michelle displayed a mischievous grin. “It’ll be easy,” she said, picking up a three-quarters full glass of red wine she previously left on her desk after supper was completed. “Just one evening out, which involves a fair amount of drinking, should do it.”
Carlita unconsciously gasped. “You’re planning on getting José drunk? Isn’t that a little bit dangerous? What if he suddenly decides to rape you, Michelle? Or, is that what you’re actually hoping for, but don’t want to come out and admit it?”
Michelle briefly stared at her friend, and began to shake her head - while frowning. “Of course not, silly. I’ve already told you I have no intentions of sleeping with him. I just want him to think that he got drunk and forced himself upon me.”
Carlita grimaced. “Michelle. Are you nuts? Of the many hair-brain schemes I’ve seen you come up with before, this has to be the craziest. Why would you do such a thing to José? And what do you think is going to happen when he realizes you’re not really pregnant?”
Michelle remained silent for a moment as she contemplated her friend’s question.
“It doesn’t matter,” Michelle answered, while patting the bed cover in a manner that would invite her to take a seat beside her. “By the time José uncovers the truth, not only would he be in madly in love with me; we'll already be married.”
Carlita rolled her eyes in disbelief, and then slowly took a seat. “Girl, you do know you're playing with fire, don’t you?”
“Of course I do,” Michelle acknowledged. “But how else am I going to steal José away from Maria? The dang boy has a girl friend who’s over a thousand miles away and not expected to come back until a bit less than a year from now – yet, he’s still crazy about her.”
“What’s wrong with him?” she continued after pausing to catch her breath. “Doesn’t he realize he could get something a whole lot better than Maria, right here at home?”
Carlita’s face flushed light pink, and she fell backwards on the top of Michelle’s white, quilted bedcover – before releasing a full-out laugh.
“You are so silly sometimes,” Carlita told Michelle. “Of course José is in love with Maria. The two of them have been together since they were kids.”
Michelle deeply frowned. “True. But it shouldn't make that big of a difference.… Are you going to be willing to help me rope him in? Or do you believe he’s so infatuated with that … that … girl; it's beyond hope?”
Carlita paused as she deeply inhaled, and then proceeded to gaze at Michelle's sparkling ceiling. “Well,” she said. “We can try. But I doubt that we’ll succeed. What specifically do you have in mind?”
Michelle immediately turned to face her best friend, and her expression transformed into one of a four-year-old whose girlfriend had just handed her a lollipop.