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

intense man,” she muttered

man,” the doctor

a good man. To be willing to pay for a medical consultation and stay to make sure she wasn’t

was a stranger to him. Timothy had no business giving her his help. More so to

mother always told her so.

you. You must think everything through

even if I say anything, because they will know I

same willingness to put up with

Troy was a vastly different man from Timothy, although there was

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 was just another man.

“is the

understand what the point

the baby and its development; I

she told him in confusion. “Just like Timothy told you, I’m just coming in for a quick checkup, so you can tell me everything is okay, because I felt a pain a while ago

sonogram to rule out any abnormalities. You look fine to me, to be

it a little spasm,” it pissed her off that he minimized her pain, as she, and only

over twenty children in less than three

wombs,”

corrected her,

“I’m sorry.”

doctor said smiling and shaking his head back and forth slowly as he wrote

seeing the two of them, would think that someone like her would be with such a rich and attractive guy,

me. It’s none of my business. Let’s get back

accentuating each word. “Timothy and I are not

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

The father? Any

and heart. The doctor had played with her thoughts and now she couldn’t get something out of her head: she was starting

no more. That was how long it had been since he had arrived at Doyle’s coffee

She liked the Italian!

anything about the father,” she said

know about? Do you suffer from

“Aside from my bipolar...”

without laughing

that,” she begged

“I see.”

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

the doctor interrupted, smiling. “Don’t worry. It’s normal. You’re a new mom. It’s normal

she exclaimed in

I have to ask to someone who

not young. Twenty-two is not being young. Five hundred years ago women got pregnant at thirteen.”

at thirteen and got pregnant

of leaving. “I’m not giving up my son, I’m not giving him away, I’m having him and I’m sick of people constantly asking me this, I’m an adult!”

called out to her looking worriedly

thinking I’m going to ruin

admirer,”

going to give it up. I won’t give

get you weighed and go get

left the office with the little white paper

as soon as he saw her leave.

all this Timothy, you don’t have to stay. You’ve lost

isn’t going to fall apart because I missed a meeting,” he told her as he shoved his