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“What? Stop. You’re joking!”
“Rachel, I swear. Turn on your TV. It doesn’t matter which channel—it’s on every one!”
I picked up the remote. What was she going on about? Why would there be a commercial about me on TV? I started flipping through channels. “I don’t see anything, Jan.”
“Be patient! You’ll see it soon. I think it’s playing every 15 minutes. That’s what they said on the news, anyway.”
My jaw dropped. “The news? What?” Had I fallen asleep singing to the baby, and now I was dreaming? I switched the channel to the local news and sat down, waiting to see if I heard something. Janice turned it on as well.
“How do you know it’s about me?” I asked.
She shushed me. “Here we go! Here’s the story!”
We were both silent as the newscaster began speaking. “Who is the mystery woman at the heart of a series of commercials flooding the airwaves? That’s the question on the minds of New Yorkers tonight, as a 15 second slot by a billionaire music executive takes the city—and internet—by storm. In the commercials, Chase Richards—best known in music circles for his behind the scenes work with multiple chart topping pop acts, his philanthropic interests, and his contributions to New York Broadway—reaches out to a woman who has stolen his heart. The commercial first began airing across all major networks this afternoon, and has captured the imagination of millions.”
My mouth slowly dropped open.
“In case you haven’t seen it—and who hasn’t by now?—here it is, for your enjoyment.”
Janice squealed over the phone as an image of the New York skyline appeared and a voice with a sexy English accent began to speak. “In a city of millions, our paths crossed.”
I knew that voice. Tears began to prick at the corners of my eyes.
Then the image of the entrance to the bar in which we’d met. “Your beautiful voice was silent for too long. I was blessed to hear you give your song life.”
Now the image of the theatre in which I’d sung. “And again, on stage, a private concert. I’ll never forget that moment.”
Then, Chase. He was standing in the middle of Central Park. “When I sat there, watching you,” he said, “I knew my heart was yours, forever.” He looked up at the camera. “But you never told me your last name, though we met multiple times. And you never gave me your phone number, though I kept asking for it. I can’t wait at that bar for another two weeks again, for you to walk in, Rachel. Please. Call me.”
Music began to play as the screen faded to black. It was the Beatles. Love is all you need. The words kept repeating over and over again.
The newscasters came back onscreen, the two female presenters sighing. “Sort of makes you wish your name was Rachel, doesn’t it?” one asked, dabbing at her eye with a tissue.
My mouth began to move, but no sound came out. I was speechless.
“Rach? You still there?”
I tried to say something. All I could get out was a garbled squeak.
“Can you believe it?” Janice asked. “I don’t know what happened between the two of you, but you need to get on that right away.”
“It... it must be some other Rachel,” I managed.
“Yeah right. Don’t try and deny it’s you. I saw the two of you together—you even told me you sang Karaoke for him!” She squealed again. “This is so exciting! My best friend is dating a billionaire!”
I smiled tightly. “We’re not dating, Janice. That’s exactly the problem.”
“Well he obviously wants you to.”
“I broke things off.”
There was disbelieving silence. Then: “Why the hell would you do that!”
“It’s complicated.”
“Obviously it’s not. He likes you so much he put out a commercial about his feelings on every single TV station in existence.”
I bit my lip, a small smile creeping to my lips. He had, hadn’t he? He must really like me. But I forced myself to be stern. “There are things he doesn’t know, Janice.”
“Are you talking about Dan?” she asked. “Screw Dan. Dan can take his cheating ass and shove my boot so far up-”
I laughed. “It’s not about Dan. At least, there’s more than that, too.”
“Then what, Rachel? I saw the look you gave each other, that night in the bar. You were meant to be together.”
“Janice, I’m pregnant,” I blurted.
Silence, from the other end of the line. Then: “To Dan?”
“Yes.”
“I see. Is he around?”
“No. He walked out two days ago. When I told him the news.”
“Want me to come over?”
“Is it okay if I just... have a bit of time to myself right now? I think I need to call Chase, tell him why I left.”
“I see. You weren’t kidding when you said it was complicated, were you?”
My laugh had a quaver to it. “Trust me to ruin things this bad, right?”
“Oh honey, you haven’t ruined anything. When love’s strong enough, it finds a way.”
“I really wish I could believe that.”
“You have to. Does Chase know?”
I shook my head, before remembering she couldn’t see me. “No. I didn’t want to tell him.”
“Don’t you think you should?” she asked quietly. “Whatever happens, he deserves to know.”
I closed my eyes. “You’re right, of course. It’s just, what if he hates me?”
“He won’t.”
Janice was confident, but I wasn’t so sure.
“Want me to come with you?” she asked.
I considered the offer briefly. “No. I can do this on my own. I’m learning how to be strong, now, Janice. For the baby.”
“Okay. Call me when it’s over?”
“Will do.”
I did a little more channel flipping once I was off the phone to Janice. Sure enough, I saw the commercial five more times before I was done. I couldn’t believe it, still. I placed my hands over my belly. “See that, baby? Well, I know you can’t see it,” I said. “But believe me, it’s amazing. I hope this can be an example to you, that there’s this kind of love out there. I’m just sorry it’s misplaced. But maybe one day, things will work out better for you.”
Once he knew what had happened, Chase would feel like a goof. Like I had tricked him. Sure, the media would forget all about this in time... but he wouldn’t forget how I’d betrayed him. And he wouldn’t want me once he knew about the baby. He didn’t want a baby.
A news channel mentioned my name again. “Who Is Rachel?” Why did people care so much about this? I guessed it was just one of those things which captured the imagination. There was romance to it—a Cinderella story, only with a commercial instead of a glass slipper.
I sighed. Well, I couldn’t leave him hanging. I had to go and see him. This had to end the right way—not with a phone call, but with a face-to-face discussion. I had to be as strong as I’d been when I faced Dan. And it would be good practice for being strong as a mother to this baby.
My heart was breaking, but it had to be done.