AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I feel safe. Cared for.
We get out of the car and I take his hand. I didn’t plan to, but a swell of affection wells up inside me.
I may not like all the things he’s done, but I do like being with someone so willing to protect me. I like that feeling he talked about of always being on the winning team.
The screen door squeaks as it eases open. I grip Calvin’s hand a little tighter and paste on a smile.
Mom opens the door and steps out onto the small cement pad at the top of the few stairs. “Hallie,” she says.
“Mom,” I return, letting go of Calvin so I can run over and give her a hug.
“Oh, my goodness. You look so beautiful,” she says, squeezing me tight and rocking with me a little. She lets go and pulls back to smile at my face, but her smile dims when she sees my red-rimmed eyes. “Have you been crying?”
I wave her off with a smile. “Oh, no. It’s nothing. I’m a little extra emotional these days, that’s all.”
Her eyes widen.
Mine do, too.
I can’t believe I said that.
Her gaze flits to my stomach, then back to my face, uncertain. “Are you…?”
“Wow.” I laugh nervously and look back at Calvin. He’s at the bottom of the steps, about to come up. “Wow, I am… None of this is going the way I meant it to.”
“Hallie, are you pregnant?” Mom demands, looking from me to Calvin for an answer.
“Surprise,” I say weakly, placing a hand over my stomach.
Her shock only intensifies when she sees the enormous ring on my left hand.
“Oh, uh… surprise again,” I say, almost apologetically.
Slack-jawed, Mom stares at me, completely at a loss.
“So… can we come in?” I ask sheepishly.
___
After the catastrophic start to the visit, the rest goes as smooth as can be. Mom loves Calvin for every reason—he’s handsome and wealthy and gives off an excellent impression of a good guy.
It’s only in the moments when her back is turned and he shoots me a sinful look, or when she insists on me showing him my childhood bedroom and he slides his hand up my thigh, pushing me against the wall and kissing me the moment we’re alone… those are the moments the real him peeks out.
I like it, though.
It reminds me of his story about the flies and the toxic lake. Maybe he’s not the most traditional place in the world to seek refuge, but maybe he is the right one for me.
It will take time to know for sure, of course, but given we are apparently engaged and having a baby together, it seems like I’ll get plenty of it.
In the car on the way home, Calvin has to return a few work emails and one phone call since he took the day off to go meet my mom.
I get tired of fighting pirates and draw out the little pad of paper I always keep in my purse in case there’s an idea I need to sketch.
Since Calvin told me to cut my workload in half, I don’t have any pressing projects to work on right now. I’ll start a new one next week, but I’ll have plenty of time to finish it—as long as Calvin doesn’t haul me off to another country, anyway.
I don’t realize how long I’ve been sketching until we’re back in the city. I only have a pencil to work with so there’s no color in the drawing, but I dust off the page and look at my handiwork.
And adorable little fly buzzes across the page. I smile faintly.
