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.”

in question looked at them both and after a long moment without saying anything, mumbled something in Italian and left the office.

man,” she muttered inadvertently aloud.

the doctor

she already knew that firsthand. Timothy Giannato was a good man. Irritating and flirtatious, bringing out her temper and overwhelming her ideas, but he was certainly a good man. To be willing to

stranger to him. Timothy had no business giving her his help. More so to her who he knew was not someone easy to get along with or

always told her so.

make no one love you. You must

anything, because they will know

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

Troy was a vastly different man from Timothy, although there was no

hair on both sides of his head, a piercing, 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,

he said, clearing his throat, “is the

I don’t understand what the

its

like Timothy told you, I’m just coming in for a quick checkup, so you can tell me everything is okay,

you a pelvic sonogram to rule out any abnormalities. You look fine to 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, as she,

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

and wombs,”

he corrected

“I’m sorry.”

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

she didn’t know how the doctor had come to that conclusion, no one in their right mind seeing the

Let’s

wide and accentuating each word. “Timothy and I

doctor was looking at her with his curious eyes, as if he could see into her soul and take a personal

The father? Any illness?”

her mind and heart. The doctor had played with her thoughts and

possible? Two hours! no more. That was how long it had been since he had

She liked the Italian!

the father,” she said feeling

know about? Do you suffer from anything? Diabetes?

“Aside from my bipolar...”

her without laughing and began to

don’t write that,” she begged him,

“I see.”

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

“Don’t worry. It’s normal. You’re a new mom. It’s normal to be nervous. You’re going to do fine. Do you plan

she exclaimed in

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

not being young. Five hundred years ago women got pregnant at thirteen.”

families at thirteen and got pregnant immediately

the intention of leaving. “I’m not giving up my

to her looking worriedly at her.

ruin my life and future by

already got an admirer,” he gestured for her to sit down and looked at her with his

I’m not going to give it up. I won’t give my

agreed. “Now let’s get you weighed and

finished her checkup and left the office with the little white paper prescription

Timothy as soon

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

he told her as he shoved his hands in