The Italian's proposal

The consultation passed without her noticing.

She had only gone to the first appointment at her parents’ house without them noticing her visit to the doctor.

She had started taking the prenatal pills as she read about the symptoms and stages of pregnancy on the internet.

When she confessed this to Dr. Troy, his eyes widened wildly, and he wanted to jump off the nearest bridge.

“Poor baby!” he exclaimed.

That alone made Melody feel like the vilest of mothers.

“I don’t have health insurance. I didn’t know what else to do,” she defended herself. She felt it was the only thing left for her to do.

Timothy was sitting in a chair next to her. He gave the impression of being uncomfortable, but he hadn’t wanted to leave when she proposed.

“I’ll stay and check in with the doctor,” he had told her.

She trusted the angels that he would not judge her, as the OB/GYN was doing.

“I’m not saying you’re a bad person.”

“You’ve made that quite clear,” she attacked him.

“Not intended Ma’am...Miss,” the man scratched his head and continued, “Melody.”

“No. I’m not married either. Is that bad too? I thought we were in the twenty-first century, where women can be single mothers. How old are you? Thirty? You have an uncanny knack for bringing out my temper.”

“That’s a lot,” she heard Timothy mutter.

She let out a snort and raised her eyes to the ceiling.

“Let’s get on with it,” the doctor said after a few seconds of awkward silence.

She answered every question the doctor asked, about dates of last period and when she had last had sex. This question made her cough and Melody could see Timothy smile.

“What?” she asked him, crossing her arms. “Do you want to be beaten by a pregnant woman?”

“I didn’t say anything,” Timothy defended himself by mimicking her arms-crossed gesture.

“You seem to be amused by when was the last time, I had sex, do you also want to know where I did it and what positions I did it too?”

Melody’s eyes were twinkling and her nose, though small, was flaring with the air coming out. She was angry and it showed right away.

“Let’s focus,” the doctor said interrupting Melody and Timothy’s staring exchange.

“What else do you want to know?” she needed to get that over with to get the hell out of there and avoid further embarrassment, at least for the day.

She had this incredible knack for falling over, dropping things on herself, hot, cold, temperature-wise. She was a real spectacle of a clumsy person.

Since she was a little girl, she had always had clumsy feet and hands. Everything slipped, especially when she was distracted.

“Do you know if the father has any degenerative family diseases or special conditions?”

Melody felt Timothy’s eyes on her again, and she felt judged again.

“Timothy,” she heard the doctor address him for the first time since they greeted each other as they entered the office. “Would you be so kind as to leave us for a moment? I think there are things that it’s better for Melody to feel more relaxed.”

long moment without saying anything, mumbled something in Italian and left

intense man,” she

man,” the doctor

certainly a good man.

so to her who he knew was not someone easy to get along with or to be liked.

always told

one love you. You must think everything through

because they will know I don’t mean it in

mood or the same willingness to put up with slights from the people we love,” her mother

vastly different man from Timothy, although there was no other man

curious look, blue eyes, and a slightly broad nose. His chin had a little stripe down the middle, the kind that is striking to female eyes, but at that moment, to Melody,

his throat, “is the

I don’t understand what

the baby and its development;

in for a quick

me, to be honest. To me, you’re just

excuse me, but don’t call it a little spasm,” it pissed her off that he minimized her pain, as

Melody, but I also know quite a bit about babies and pregnant women. I’ve delivered over twenty children in less than three

and wombs,” she

corrected her,

“I’m sorry.”

smiling and shaking his head back and forth slowly as he wrote in his notebook.

in their right mind seeing the two

Let’s

accentuating each word. “Timothy

her with his curious eyes, as if he could see into her soul and

father?

doctor had played with her thoughts

more. That was how long it had been since he

She liked the Italian!

don’t know anything about the father,” she said feeling

any illnesses I should know about? Do you suffer from

“Aside from my bipolar...”

looked at her without laughing and

begged

“I see.”

nervous,” she excused herself. “I talk a lot when I’m nervous. Well normally I talk a lot, but

a new mom. It’s normal to be nervous. You’re going to do fine.

course!” she exclaimed in

I have to ask to someone

not young. Twenty-two is not being young. Five hundred years

and got pregnant immediately to consummate their marriage and

not giving up my son, I’m not giving him away, I’m having him and I’m sick of people

her looking worriedly

to ruin my life

independent if you’re going to do it alone. You’ve already got an admirer,” he gestured for her to sit down and looked at her with his eyebrows knocked down, giving an expression of true innocence.

give it up. I won’t give my

fine,” he agreed. “Now let’s get you weighed and go

with the little white paper prescription signed and stamped

questioned Timothy as soon as he saw her

I’ll be right out. Thanks for all this Timothy, you don’t

apart because I missed a meeting,” he told her as