by Jamie Knight
If that was my baby she was carrying in her belly, it could explain why she had disappeared. Maybe she had overheard one of my many offhand comments about being a bachelor and not wanting kids, etc. I could understand why she would feel hesitant to tell me about a pregnancy.
But it suddenly seemed different, with her. If that was my baby, of course I wanted it. And of course I wanted Molly – and Kelly.
I still wasn’t sure what was going on.
But I was determined to find and claim my child - and Molly.
Chapter 10
Molly
Finally, I said to myself, as I turned to look at the clock above the counter.
My shift was up and I could go home. This restaurant was better than the last few I’d worked in, but it still wasn’t any picnic. Not that any of them ever were.
I was looking forward to going home and spending time with Kelly; I had really missed her all day. My pregnancy seemed to be making everything much slower and more difficult for me.
However, it was a good thing I was already experienced in pregnancy and knew my way around most of the problems I was about to experience. I tried Kate’s approach of finding the silver lining in things. At least I knew what to expect this time around.
I wanted to wave goodbye to my co-workers but when I turned around, I noticed a familiar, handsome, black-haired man walking in through the entrance.
Steve?
My heart nearly stopped. I could not believe that he had found me here, and he had a big smile on his face that matched the cheerfulness of the even bigger bouquet of flowers he held in his hands.
He was walking straight at me and every step seemed to make me feel faint.
“Hi, Molly,” he said, “it’s really nice to see you.”
He handed me the flowers, and I took them, still feeling very weird. I was lost for words and I simply couldn’t understand why Steve had come all this way.
If he was a player, why was he insisting so much on being with me after we had already slept together?
“I’d like to apologize for pissing you off,” he said, as though reading the expression on my face. “I realize that I did something wrong; it’s just that I don’t know exactly what made you disappear.”
I opened my mouth to stammer something, but I simply could not find the words. I was still in a state of shock that Steve could find me with such ease. I actually wanted to ask him how he had found me, but he continued speaking as gently as he could.
“Could we please go to the bar next door for a drink?” He asked timidly. “I’d really like it if we could talk.”
I wondered if he didn’t notice my baby bump, which was still a bit subtle at this stage of my pregnancy, but definitely there, or if this was some kind of a test to see if I really was pregnant.
“Look,” I said, finally finding my voice, “I can’t right now.”
“Your shift seems to be over,” he said, gesturing at my half-removed uniform. “Please. I won’t take up too much of your time. All I want to do is talk and apologize for anything wrong that I may have done.”
I sighed loudly. I didn’t want to reject him outright, but over the past few days, I’d been feeling really good with myself and past the problem of dealing with him. I still could not get over the fact that he had managed to find me.
“I can’t right now,” I said again, twisting my face and knowing very well that as much as I was free, I was really resentful about everything that had happened with Steve and I wasn’t in the mood to talk about it.
“Come on, Molly,” said Dana, one of the waitresses I work with.
I was surprised that she was just standing still next to a table with a customer, but all her attention was focused on me. For the first time, I noticed that almost everybody in the restaurant, including the customers, were staring at me.
“Give him a chance,” one of the customers spoke up, “he’s quite apologetic. He even brought flowers.”
“Yeah,” piped up Grace, another waitress, “Clearly he’s really sorry. At least hear him out.”
I could not believe that my co-workers were suddenly ganging up on me. Steve had a big smile on his face; he was reveling in the attention but it was clear that he certainly hadn’t expected my co-workers to offer him a hand.
I felt that the only way to get rid of Steve was to sit down with him for a drink.
“Alright,” I said grudgingly.
“Thanks a lot, Molly,” he said, taking my hand, “it means a lot to me. We can pop into the bar next door.”
I nodded.
I followed him out of the restaurant, through the front door, amid gazes from all over the place. I knew my co-workers were secretly happy for me because I had been quite moody over the past few weeks.
But I was sure they were also happy because I had been refusing to talk about the father of my baby until Steve walked into the restaurant. My tough demeanor was now gone but I also felt that a sense of my privacy had disappeared, as well.
Once we had made our way to the noisy place next door, we took seats on the side furthest away from the bar, where we would have a chance to speak with minimal interruption. Steve was trying his best to maintain a smile on his face, even though I could see that he was not entirely comfortable with the state of things between us.
“I’d like to apologize once more for whatever I did,” he said, “I didn’t mean to make you mad in any way.”
“You did nothing wrong, Steve,” I said, trying not to meet his red-hot gaze.
“Look, I haven’t been able to get you off my mind,” he said, with a dreamy look on his face. “I think I’ve completely fallen for you.”
I couldn’t help but smile – just a bit, though. His words might have been music to my ears a couple of months back, but now my lingering thoughts that he was just a player who was using me still would not disappear. I couldn’t be entirely sure about him or his character.
“Just tell me how you found out where I work,” I said, for once looking him in the eye with a steely gaze.
He shrugged.
“Your friend, Kate, told me everything. I remembered you mentioned she worked at the Hinton CPA offices, and so I headed over there, found her and I was able to get her to tell me where to find you. But don’t be mad at her, because I kept insisting.”
What? Kate? I thought to myself.
I expected her to be the last person to give information about me to anyone. I was equally surprised that Steve had gone through all the trouble of tracking her down, just to have this chance to chat with me.
The bar was quite packed and there seemed to be a stream of revelers coming in through the door. The music was anted up slightly, and the place suddenly became much more livelier. Many people were on their feet dancing to the music, but I was not in a partying mood at all, so I was just annoyed by it all.
“By the way,” said Steve, “they’re taking a long time to come get our drink order. Do they not like us? Or is it because of the sudden increase of people in the bar?”
I nodded. “That’s probably it. I was also wondering why it was taking so long.”
However, inwardly, I was glad that we were being ignored. It was a good thing because there was no way I was going to be able to drink with my pregnancy being a factor. I was really hoping that Steve hadn’t noticed.
“I can’t believe Kate would just tell you where to find me,” I said.
“Don’t blame her,” replied Steve, “I’m actually good at getting what I want, and so when I spoke nicely to her, and kept insisting, she yielded.”
I knew that Kate had my best interests in mind. She never would have agreed to let Steve in on where to find me if she thought it would be a bad thing. She had always pushed me to tell him about the baby, and she’d told me I might end up being pleasantly surprised at his reaction.
So, I guessed I shouldn’t have been so surprised that she had given in and told him. I was just thinking that maybe she would have given me a heads up first.
Steve still had a big smile on his face, and the thoughts of him being a player suddenly rushed back to me. This was exactly what I feared the most about him.
“I guess the reason why I disappeared is because of what you’ve just said,” I informed him, “that you’ve very good at getting what you want.”
“I didn’t mean that in a bad way,” said Steve, changing the smile on his face and trying to look sad.
It was charming but I didn’t want to fall for it.
“I felt as though you used me,” I continued. “It was quite humiliating when your friend approached us in the restaurant and you said you’re with me because it’s getting HR off your back.”
“No,” said Steve, shaking his head. “That was just a stupid joke.”
“It’s hard for me to believe that,” I said.
“Look, I was only kidding,” said Steve, “and really, that’s not why I was out with you. I usually do what I want to do, and I would have continued being a player; it’s just that you’re very different and I want to be with you, Molly.”
“Really?”
I knew there was still doubt in my voice.
Steve reached across the table and took my hand. He was staring me in the eyes and right then I realized just how special that moment was. There was clamor happening around us, somebody bumped into our table and the music was very loud, but there was something very settling about being with Steve in the midst of it all.
“I want to settle down with you,” he said, his voice almost a whisper.
There was a lot of sincerity in his eyes and he was trying his best to remain calm. His grip on my hand was a little tight but it didn’t hurt.
“Are you really serious?” I asked him. “Why would you change your comfortable lifestyle to be with me?”
“Because I want to be with you, and all that that entails. I feel like nothing can stop us,” said Steve, still staring straight at me.
I felt like my mouth was going to dry up, and didn’t know what to say. I was not sure how to respond to Steve, because there were so many things I was withholding, but now I was feeling confused as I looked at his innocent face.
Finally, the bartender came to our table, just as we were staring at each other deeply. It was about time, but then I remembered why I couldn’t have a drink.
Steve looked relieved as he ordered a mai tai and a whiskey sour. The mai tai was my favorite alcoholic drink, which he had remembered from when we had gone out together.
“Look, I can’t have that,” I said, slowly and audibly.
The bartender turned to look at me, puzzled.
“It’s okay,” Steve said. “I’ll drive you home if you’d like.”
“No, you don’t get it,” I said, realizing that I was finally going to have to reveal my little secret.
Or more like my big secret.
“What’s the matter?” Steve asked.
The bartender was still standing right there, waiting to take our drink order.
“You see, Steve,” I said, lifting my eyes to meet his gaze, “I’m pregnant.”
Chapter 11
Steve
I couldn’t believe what I’d just heard.
Yes, I’d had my suspicions that Molly was pregnant, but it was still surprising to have them confirmed.
Mostly, though, I felt surprised about how elated I was feeling.
I was burning up inside, happy that Molly was genuinely pregnant.
I knew my life was about to change completely now. And there was no way Molly was getting away from me this time.
I got to my feet and rounded the small table to give Molly a hug. I could tell that she was surprised but she hugged me back, as well. I could barely notice that the bar had become overcrowded and that there was a lot of tumult around us.
The bartender was surprisingly patient with us. I guessed he had heard what Molly had said and he, too, seemed surprised. This was not the best place to have the type of conversation we were having, but he just gave me a long, hard look until I got my senses back.
“Why don’t you bring us two mocktails instead?” I said slowly, and he nodded.
“We have a strawberry daquiri style one,” he said, as if trying to be helpful. “And a virgin pina colada.”
“Great. We’ll take one of each,” I informed him.
He picked up the drink menus and disappeared into the crowd and I was hoping that he wasn’t going to take forever to return.
I’d never had such a frilly drink in my life, but I needed something to quench my thirst, and that would have to do.
Molly was still just staring at me, silently.
“I have a confession to make,” I said, still gauging Molly’s expression. “I thought you looked quite different from the last time we met; I suspected you might be pregnant.”
“Really?” Molly asked.
She raised her eyebrows a little.
“Yeah,” I nodded, “I was actually hoping that if you were pregnant, that it was mine, because even though I have never really wanted kids, I suddenly find myself wanting to raise a family with you.”
Molly could only smile. I was sure she was having a hard time believing that I really wanted kids with her. I knew she thought of me as a player and I didn’t want her to disappear from me once again. I had every intention of being with her on a permanent basis.
“You know what,” said Molly, “let’s see how this goes because my daughter can be a real handful.”
“I’m ready for the challenge,” I said, with a smile on my face, but I knew very well it was not a joke.
I never had the opportunity to raise a child, but I saw some of the difficulties my colleagues endured in the process of doing it and it scared me.
The waiter eventually returned with two mocktails and served us. We made a big deal about pretending to fight over the daquiri, although it was obvious neither of us really cared which one we had – without alcohol in them, they were just a disappointing mix of calories and sugar.
We gulped our drinks down very quickly because I had a sudden urge to leave the restaurant. I was happy that I was going to be a dad and better yet, I was going to have Molly by my side.
Molly then invited me back to her place. She said that she wanted me to familiarize myself with her daughter first. I was only too happy to accept. We drove down to her block and I was surprised at the apartment building that we pulled up to.
I had never lived in such a small place before, with so many people close to me. It was a surprising experience, being with Molly in such a place, because I had no intention of letting her live here any longer.
Molly led me through a small entrance and into a tightly squeezed apartment. Once she shut the door behind us, I immediately noticed Kate seated at the far end of the den, watching television.
When we entered, Kate looked up at us and smiled. I couldn’t help but notice the enticing aroma of something beefy that was cooking in the kitchen. The walls were strewn with pictures and old-looking photographs that gave the entire place a homely feel. There were lots of the three of them together.
Kate got to her feet and walked over to give me a hug.
“Welcome,” she said. “I guess your stalker-ish mission turned out okay.”
“I guess it did,” I told her with a grin.
“All thanks to you,” Molly said, laughing.
“You’re welcome!” Kate pronounced.
“I can’t believe you didn’t at least tell me that you’d told him where I worked.”
“Well,” Kate shrugged, “I figured your mind would be dead set against it then. I wanted it to be a surprise.”
“It certainly was a surprise,” Molly confirmed.
“A lot of things were a surprise today! But that’s okay, because I happen to like surprises. Where’s Kelly?” I asked, looking around.
“She’s probably asleep,” said Molly, sounding disappointed. “It’s past her bed time but I thought she might still be up waiting for me.�
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“Yeah, sorry,” Kate said. “She was too cranky. I had to put that crazy little monkey to bed.”
“It’s okay,” I said. “I’m sure I’ll meet her soon.”
“Yeah, thanks for putting her to bed. Sorry you had to deal with her night time craziness. We won’t interrupt you any further, Kate,” said Molly. “We’ll get out of your hair and you can go back to watching your movie.”
“I know what that’s code for,” Kate shot back.
We all laughed, and Kate went back into the living room to keep watching the show.
Molly took my hand and led me to her small room. It was quite cramped, just like her living room, because the bed took up most of the space. She apologized for the mess, but I dismissed it, saying that it was okay.
“However,” I said, “I’d like to get you out of this dump.”
Molly turned around to give me a stern look.
“You’re calling my home a dump?”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean that in a bad way,” I said, smiling wryly, “I just want you and my child living somewhere nice. And Kelly too, of course. And I’ll help out Kate, too.”
“Really?” She asked.
I nodded vigorously.
“Really.”
She walked over to me and planted a kiss on my mouth. It was a passionate one and it made my body feel very comfortable and relaxed. I found myself slowly dropping onto her bed, but I was sitting on a pile of clothes.
We kissed for a bit as the noise from the next room floated in. It seemed as though Kate was watching a horror movie, because there was a lot of screaming. However, I was glad there was some noise because I didn’t want the sounds from the bedroom to be audible.
I started taking off Molly’s top and she momentarily stopped kissing me so that she could undo her buttons. Then she slid her bra off, revealing her spectacular breasts. My, she was beautiful, and even more so now that she had a beautiful bump on her belly.
“I thought you looked gorgeous before, and now I was thinking that the reason you look even better than I remember must be because I was missing you so much,” I told her. “But I also think pregnancy has something to do with it.”