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That was a little mean of me, but it was payback for being gone so long, wasn’t it? I really did miss her and the fun we used to have together. It would be nice to see her again, in real life, not on a screen.
The next morning, I woke up early to find Ginger had done as she’d promised. I had an address in a part of the city I wasn’t familiar with. I’d heard about it, though, and knew it was a rough neighborhood. I decided to wear black jeans and a loose black t-shirt with a pair of black boots.
When I finally found the building number, I looked at the place with confusion. It wasn’t an apartment, it was a grocery store. What the hell was this?
I walked into the place, noted how tiny it was, but wandered around the four aisles inside trying to figure out what was going on. Maybe it was a front?
A huge man walked in, said hello to the lone cashier, an older Asian woman, then headed straight to me. “What are you doing here?”
I looked at the giant with dark brown hair and eyes that reminded me of the water in blue swimming pools, crystal clear but with a blue tint to them. He was also scary as fuck with his hair tied behind his head and a beard on his face that any lumberjack from the late 1800s would be proud of. He was a giant and that frown was terrifying.
“Excuse me?” I asked, backing away a few steps to get some space between us.
“I know who you are. What are you doing here?” he asked, not revealing anything more about who he was or why he was confronting me.
“I’m looking for someone, if you must know. If you know who I am, then you must know why I’m here?” It was the only logical conclusion I could come up with. A fuzzy memory was starting to emerge, of this giant sitting next to Brian, and it all clicked. “Is he here?”
“No. What do you want?”
“I have to tell him something,” I said, holding my chin up and facing him with more bravery than I felt. “I’m not telling you so don’t even ask. I want to talk to him for five minutes, face to face, and I’ll never come here again. That’s the deal.”
“Listen, lady, you aren’t making any deals here. He doesn’t want you here, so go home.” The glare intensified, but I wasn’t backing down, even if I could feel a tremor in my knees.
“Fuck off. He’s a grown man, he can see me for five minutes. If he can’t face me for that long, he’s a bigger pussy than I thought he was,” I spit the words out at him, angry but determined. It might be stupid to insult his boss, because I assumed now that he was one of Brian’s ‘associates’, but I didn’t give a fuck. I wanted to talk to the man himself.
“I’ll see her, Johnny,” I heard Brian’s voice before I saw him, but even that nearly made my heart stand still.
I didn’t have time to relive the memories I’d relived a million times already, though. If I wavered even a little now, I’d cry, and I’d hate myself for that. I could blame my emotional turmoil on the pregnancy hormones, but I knew I’d let myself get too close to Brian way too quickly. It had been a huge mistake I wouldn’t repeat.
Once I had my heart under control again, I turned around.
“What the fuck, Mandy?” he asked angrily. “Why are you here?”
Before I could answer he grabbed my arm to drag me to a door I hadn’t noticed before, and into a tiny office that contained a desk, a desk chair, and a sofa. Nothing else. Not even a filing cabinet. Weird, but okay.
“I have to tell you something,” I said and frowned when he sank down into his chair, a look of horror on his face.
“Damnit. The condom split. How could I forget about that?” He slapped himself on the forehead and looked up at me. “You’re pregnant, right?”
“Well, um, yes. I am.” I felt deflated now, as if all the wind had been sucked out of my sails and I was just hanging limply without a breeze.
“Fuck, Mandy. I’m sorry. I should have checked with you on that. Fuck!” He banged a fist against his desk and I stepped back. He looked up at me with a guilty look and sat back in his seat. “Sit down, I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“It’s alright,” I said, sinking down to the couch. “I’m not here to make demands, if that’s what you think…,”
“No, I don’t think that, and even if you were, you have the right to. I’m just angry at myself for not considering the possibilities. Fate has a way of fucking us over, doesn’t it?” He looked over at me now, obviously miserable, but I wasn’t sure if it was the news of the baby, or life in general, he was talking about.
“I guess. Listen, I’m not here to beg you to be a part of my life, I just wanted you to know that I’m pregnant and keeping the baby. If you want to be a part of its life, that’s fine. We’ll work something out. If not, I’ll walk away and never come back.” I rushed out the words I’d practiced over and over again on the way here. I wanted him to know I wasn’t trying to weasel my way back into his life.
“You’re fucking joking right?” He actually laughed. “Do you think I’d ever let you out of my sight again, knowing you are about to have my kid?”
He stood up and I sat back, a little worried that he’d lost his mind. He was…happyabout this? I’d expected anger, accusations, maybe resignation, but not happiness.
“Mandy,” he said as he sank down to his knees and took my hands in his. Warmth sparked between us, and I inhaled sharply, my eyes on his. “The stupidest thing I ever did was let you walk away from me at the airport. I’m never going to let that happen again. Baby, or not. You’re mine, Mandy, and I should have never let you go.”
Warmth bloomed all over my body, warming me up for this first time since that last time we were together. Along with that warmth, hope blossomed into life. Hope that maybe, I could have a happily ever after, after all?
