Leave

"I can't. I just can't..." The anger in Roger's eyes changed to a deep sadness. I had never seen him this defeated before. Then, he looked away from me and started to walk out.

"Roger, wait!" I called after him but he didn't even look back.

"I just can't." With that, he left.

John was true to his word, at least. He gave Roger a raise and a copy of a video of me fucking him. John's face was conveniently edited out but you could clearly see me having passionate sex with a black man. To make it even more embarrassing, it was us having anal sex. This video was shown to a judge and we both agreed to me not getting anything in the divorce. Proceedings still took a few months, though. And as soon as the divorce was finalized, John married me quietly.

Roger had been living in a small apartment for months now. He still worked under John and was actually given the promised raise. Still, he avoided John when he could. And while John never mentioned Amber to him directly, John would always give him a sly grin whenever they did run across each other.

The breakroom was decorated for Christmas but Roger didn't feel like celebrating. Suddenly, John came in. "May I have your attention?" Everyone got quiet to see what he had to say. "I just wanted to remind everyone that my annual Christmas party is this weekend and you're all invited!" Everyone cheered. Everyone but Roger. Then, John walked over to the table where Roger sat alone and sat down. "How's my best PIT operator doing?"

Roger managed to swallow the vicious reply that would get him fired. "Just peachy."

"Good to hear! You're coming to the party, right?"

"I don't think I'll be able to--"

"You should definitely come. Trust me."

"...alright, I'll be there."

"Splendid! I'll see you there!"

Against his better judgement, Roger actually showed up at the Christmas party. He didn't bother dressing up as he didn't want to be there in the first place. But he knew John must have some reason for wanting him there. The party of course was at John's house. The house that Roger lived at only a few months ago. With Amber. She was the reason he didn't want to be here. And yet, he wanted to see her again so badly.

At the party were several of his coworkers along with some people he recognized as clients. There were tables out with various food on them and Inez was walking around serving champagne. There was no sign of John at first. But then, John and Amber came down the stairs together. John was dressed in a black tux and Amber was in a green dress with red accents looking festive. But it wasn't her dress that Roger was focused on. It was her large belly!

"Thank you all for coming!" John said when they got to the bottom of the stairs. "As some of you know, I got remarried earlier this year to the love of my life. My beloved Amber!"

One of Roger's coworkers started to say "Isn't that--" but was cut off as Amber spoke up.

"I'm so happy that you're here for this special moment! While you've probably already figured out, we wanted to announce today that we're having a baby!"

Everyone else cheered but Roger stood there stunned. But then, Inez tapped him on the shoulder. "Champagne? Or do you want something stronger, loser?"

"A toast to my beautiful wife and our child!" John said as he held up a glass. Everyone cheered and drank. Then, John went into the crowd to talk to people. Roger found himself in front of Amber before he realized he had moved.

"Hey," he said awkwardly.

"Hey," she replied just as awkwardly.

"You look beautiful."

She blushed. "Thanks. I'm...glad you came. How have you--"

He couldn't hold it in any longer. "Is it his? Or is it..."

"I don't know. Let's go to the kitchen so we can talk privately." They walked to the kitchen where none of the guests were and then, she spoke quietly. "We realized I was pregnant a couple weeks after you left. So, the baby was conceived while you were still there. We won't know until the baby is born and we see if it comes out--"

"Black." They both turned to see John. "And even if it doesn't come out black, it will still be my child. Not yours." John walked between them and put an arm around Amber possessively. "Go ahead and enjoy the rest of the party. We do have a good reason to celebrate!"

"I-I think I'll head home," Roger said as he turned away with tears in his eyes. "I hope you're happy." And with that, Roger left and they never saw him again.