FINDING Home ~ Chapter 1 Excerpt
Jessica Wilson Arnold decided her plan was ridiculous seconds after she conceived it. Grown women with great lives had no reason to resort to lies.
The more she tried to talk herself out of it, however, the more the scheme took shape. If she could squeeze two or three solid months out of this fantastical fabrication, a life that was already amazing would morph into grand, and she and Keith could do whatever they wanted.
It would be risky, but she had already come up with an explanation that would leave few people asking questions or making demands; and with time, this situation eventually would be forgotten. That meant for now, she was pregnant, kind of…with goals and dreams that might not ever be birthed if she faced another setback.
Jessica made peace with that reasoning while wrapping up lunch with Sage Bennett at a salad bar in downtown Indianapolis, where they had stopped after their meeting with the Bravo TV executives to celebrate Jessica’s coup. Not many people got one shot - let alone two – at hosting a talk show on a national TV network. Both women agreed it was a big deal.
But right now, so was the “news” Jessica had just shared with Sage, to explain her recent weight gain. She might be moving on to Bravo, but in the meantime she had to keep Sage’s viewers at a local news station happy.
“Now it all makes sense!” Sage said, beaming. “You’ve been hosting weekly segments on WNVX for three years – looking as toned and fabulous as ever. I should have known when I saw you growing puffy that you and Keith had decided to start a family. Congratulations, Jess!”
Jessica forced a smile. She no longer had an appetite, but she reached for the last slice of bread resting on the plate in the center of the table and slid a piece of it between her lips, hoping she could change the subject without having to create more details on the spot. She would if she had to, though, because Sage’s reaction confirmed why the lie had been necessary: local TV viewers were noticing the twenty pounds she had packed on, and since Jessica’s five-minute segments focused on how to stay in shape in order to succeed in all areas of life, they clearly expected her to look the part.
She swallowed the morsel of bread and took a sip of her strawberry-infused water before pursuing the answer she simultaneously wanted and dreaded.
“So you’ve been hearing from viewers…about me? Guess my black slacks and dresses aren’t doing the trick, huh?”
Jessica sat back in her chair, oblivious to the noisy lunchtime crowd around them and willed herself to stay calm.
Sage shrugged.
“Not a lot, but yes…viewers have been occasionally leaving comments when we post links to your weekly segments on the station’s website. Nothing derogatory, or we’d remove it. But you know how fickle people are…”
Sage’s voice trailed off, and Jessica recalled the recent reactions she’d been receiving from local residents who saw her on air every Thursday, then found her motivational speaking website or met her at an event. They weren’t rude, but they weren’t kind either. The comments were sure to be more prevalent when she took her TV segments onto the national stage in a few months and morphed the programming into an hour-long weekly talk show. Viewers of the pilot episodes for Bravo TV were going to be ruthless, and maybe even the network executives, too. That meant for now, the only way around the devastating truth was to tell an equally devastating lie.
Sage polished off the last of her grilled chicken Caesar salad and grinned.
“Well, tell me more! How long have you known, and when are you due? What did Keith say?”
Before Jessica could respond, Sage’s eyes grew wide, and more questions tumbled forth. “Oooh, when are you going to tell the Bravo execs?? Why didn’t you tell them today, when you discussed terms of the deal?
“I mean, it’s one thing for us to announce the news on our channel; you’re on once a week as a community professional. It’s another to launch a brand new cable show with a different look than you had when they hired you – just keeping it real. But you know what? A baby is always good news. They’ll understand and find a way to film your segments before you deliver.”
Jessica nodded and feigned calm, even as her heart pounded. She was thirty-four years old, but the foolishness she had just created made her feel like a teenager trying to wiggle out of punishment for missing curfew. The more she said, the deeper a hole she dug. But she couldn’t stop now; Sage was right – her career hinged on how she handled this, and the truth would do nothing but cause one or both of her opportunities to implode.
She quickly estimated when a baby would arrive if she were about six weeks along.
“The doctor says I’m due around October.”
Sage nodded, and Jessica recognized the glow in the producer’s eyes. An idea was brewing.
“You know what…. Why don’t you let me help you tell our viewers and also your new Bravo TV producers? We’ll send one of the station’s anchors to your house to interview you, maybe in the room that will be your nursery? Then we can show your ultrasound on air…and the countdown for Baby Arnold can be woven into your weekly segments on staying in shape and taking good emotional care, especially when you’re pregnant. What do you think?”
Jessica parted her lips to dismiss the idea, but her brief hesitation gave Sage room to keep going.
“Better yet, maybe we should just send a cameraman over and let you decide on the flow of the story. Maybe you can interview your OB/GYN about preparing for and enjoying pregnancy….”
Jessica raised her hand, both to quell the panic rising in her spirit and to quiet Sage.
“Can’t do all of that, just yet. Keith and I haven’t told our families, or closest friends,” she lied, already worrying how she was going to explain all of this to her husband.
Still, she couldn’t talk Sage out of filming a segment in her home, which would include Jessica revealing her pregnancy to viewers by showing the first ultrasound of the baby.
“This is going to be exciting for viewers,” Sage said and sat back in her chair, nodding to herself.
It was clear to Jessica that her boss and friend was already calculating ratings, and there would be no way to get around the plan she was pulling together. “Former University of Indiana basketball star about to become a dad with superstar motivational speaker wife. Great stuff.”
Jessica’s thoughts raced. It seemed impossible to wiggle her way out of moving forward with Sage’s plan, but executing it would be an impossible feat, too. Where on earth was she going to get an ultrasound? How was she going to get Keith to go along with this lie, and ultimately, how could she make this fake pregnancy go away, without causing a stir and adding to her mounting deceit?
Copyright© 2016 by Stacy Hawkins Adams All rights reserved; do not copy, reprint or republish without permission.
The more she tried to talk herself out of it, however, the more the scheme took shape. If she could squeeze two or three solid months out of this fantastical fabrication, a life that was already amazing would morph into grand, and she and Keith could do whatever they wanted.
It would be risky, but she had already come up with an explanation that would leave few people asking questions or making demands; and with time, this situation eventually would be forgotten. That meant for now, she was pregnant, kind of…with goals and dreams that might not ever be birthed if she faced another setback.
Jessica made peace with that reasoning while wrapping up lunch with Sage Bennett at a salad bar in downtown Indianapolis, where they had stopped after their meeting with the Bravo TV executives to celebrate Jessica’s coup. Not many people got one shot - let alone two – at hosting a talk show on a national TV network. Both women agreed it was a big deal.
But right now, so was the “news” Jessica had just shared with Sage, to explain her recent weight gain. She might be moving on to Bravo, but in the meantime she had to keep Sage’s viewers at a local news station happy.
“Now it all makes sense!” Sage said, beaming. “You’ve been hosting weekly segments on WNVX for three years – looking as toned and fabulous as ever. I should have known when I saw you growing puffy that you and Keith had decided to start a family. Congratulations, Jess!”
Jessica forced a smile. She no longer had an appetite, but she reached for the last slice of bread resting on the plate in the center of the table and slid a piece of it between her lips, hoping she could change the subject without having to create more details on the spot. She would if she had to, though, because Sage’s reaction confirmed why the lie had been necessary: local TV viewers were noticing the twenty pounds she had packed on, and since Jessica’s five-minute segments focused on how to stay in shape in order to succeed in all areas of life, they clearly expected her to look the part.
She swallowed the morsel of bread and took a sip of her strawberry-infused water before pursuing the answer she simultaneously wanted and dreaded.
“So you’ve been hearing from viewers…about me? Guess my black slacks and dresses aren’t doing the trick, huh?”
Jessica sat back in her chair, oblivious to the noisy lunchtime crowd around them and willed herself to stay calm.
Sage shrugged.
“Not a lot, but yes…viewers have been occasionally leaving comments when we post links to your weekly segments on the station’s website. Nothing derogatory, or we’d remove it. But you know how fickle people are…”
Sage’s voice trailed off, and Jessica recalled the recent reactions she’d been receiving from local residents who saw her on air every Thursday, then found her motivational speaking website or met her at an event. They weren’t rude, but they weren’t kind either. The comments were sure to be more prevalent when she took her TV segments onto the national stage in a few months and morphed the programming into an hour-long weekly talk show. Viewers of the pilot episodes for Bravo TV were going to be ruthless, and maybe even the network executives, too. That meant for now, the only way around the devastating truth was to tell an equally devastating lie.
Sage polished off the last of her grilled chicken Caesar salad and grinned.
“Well, tell me more! How long have you known, and when are you due? What did Keith say?”
Before Jessica could respond, Sage’s eyes grew wide, and more questions tumbled forth. “Oooh, when are you going to tell the Bravo execs?? Why didn’t you tell them today, when you discussed terms of the deal?
“I mean, it’s one thing for us to announce the news on our channel; you’re on once a week as a community professional. It’s another to launch a brand new cable show with a different look than you had when they hired you – just keeping it real. But you know what? A baby is always good news. They’ll understand and find a way to film your segments before you deliver.”
Jessica nodded and feigned calm, even as her heart pounded. She was thirty-four years old, but the foolishness she had just created made her feel like a teenager trying to wiggle out of punishment for missing curfew. The more she said, the deeper a hole she dug. But she couldn’t stop now; Sage was right – her career hinged on how she handled this, and the truth would do nothing but cause one or both of her opportunities to implode.
She quickly estimated when a baby would arrive if she were about six weeks along.
“The doctor says I’m due around October.”
Sage nodded, and Jessica recognized the glow in the producer’s eyes. An idea was brewing.
“You know what…. Why don’t you let me help you tell our viewers and also your new Bravo TV producers? We’ll send one of the station’s anchors to your house to interview you, maybe in the room that will be your nursery? Then we can show your ultrasound on air…and the countdown for Baby Arnold can be woven into your weekly segments on staying in shape and taking good emotional care, especially when you’re pregnant. What do you think?”
Jessica parted her lips to dismiss the idea, but her brief hesitation gave Sage room to keep going.
“Better yet, maybe we should just send a cameraman over and let you decide on the flow of the story. Maybe you can interview your OB/GYN about preparing for and enjoying pregnancy….”
Jessica raised her hand, both to quell the panic rising in her spirit and to quiet Sage.
“Can’t do all of that, just yet. Keith and I haven’t told our families, or closest friends,” she lied, already worrying how she was going to explain all of this to her husband.
Still, she couldn’t talk Sage out of filming a segment in her home, which would include Jessica revealing her pregnancy to viewers by showing the first ultrasound of the baby.
“This is going to be exciting for viewers,” Sage said and sat back in her chair, nodding to herself.
It was clear to Jessica that her boss and friend was already calculating ratings, and there would be no way to get around the plan she was pulling together. “Former University of Indiana basketball star about to become a dad with superstar motivational speaker wife. Great stuff.”
Jessica’s thoughts raced. It seemed impossible to wiggle her way out of moving forward with Sage’s plan, but executing it would be an impossible feat, too. Where on earth was she going to get an ultrasound? How was she going to get Keith to go along with this lie, and ultimately, how could she make this fake pregnancy go away, without causing a stir and adding to her mounting deceit?
Copyright© 2016 by Stacy Hawkins Adams All rights reserved; do not copy, reprint or republish without permission.