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.”

moment without saying anything, mumbled something in Italian and

she muttered

a good man,” the doctor

her temper and overwhelming her ideas, but he was certainly a good

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

mother always told her

one love you. You must think everything through

anything, because they will know I don’t mean it in a

to put up with slights from the

from Timothy, although there was no

a piercing, curious look, blue eyes, and a slightly broad nose. His chin had a little stripe down

throat, “is the father involved with the pregnancy?”

understand what the point

the baby and its development; I

like Timothy told you, I’m just coming in for a quick checkup, so you

me, to be honest. To me, you’re just finishing the first trimester and that’s why you got that little spasm.”

pissed her off that he minimized her pain,

quite a bit about babies and pregnant women. I’ve delivered over twenty children in less than three years. I

and wombs,” she said.

he corrected

“I’m sorry.”

can see why Timothy is with you,” the doctor said smiling and shaking his head back and forth slowly as he wrote in his

had come to that conclusion, no one in their right mind seeing the two of them, would think that someone like her would be with

business. Let’s get back to what concerns me.”

wide and accentuating each word. “Timothy

curious eyes, as if he could see into her soul and take a personal

The father? Any illness?”

feeling that was beginning to take over her mind and heart. The doctor had played with her thoughts and now she couldn’t get something out of her head: she was starting to like

that be possible? Two hours! no more. That was how long it had

She liked the Italian!

about the father,” she

any illnesses I should know about? Do you

“Aside from my bipolar...”

doctor looked at her without laughing and began to

write that,” she begged him, laughing. “It’s a joke.”

“I see.”

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

a new mom. It’s normal to be

she exclaimed in

I have to ask to someone who is as young as you are and

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

married by agreement between families at thirteen and got pregnant immediately

giving up my son, I’m not giving him

Troy called out to her looking worriedly at her.

of people thinking I’m going to ruin my life and future

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,

but even so I’m not going to give it up. I won’t

“Now let’s get you weighed and go get an

left the office with the little white paper prescription signed and

soon as

and I’ll be right out. Thanks for all this Timothy, you don’t have to stay. You’ve lost your meeting because

a meeting,” he told her as he shoved his hands in his pockets. “Let’s