"Told him I didn't ask for a proposal, that we were just having fun. That was after he brought me the whole of Paris."
Carrie continued to stare at her in shock and envy. She had to work for everything from the guy she hooked up with, and it was beginning to look as if his interest was waning. On top of that, he was an A-class jerk.
"You've always been lucky."
Melanie stared at her in shock and then burst out laughing. "Lucky? I broke his heart and ended up breaking mine in the process."
She pushed away the plate, propped her elbows on the cracked linoleum. Paris was like a dream, a figment of her imagination. She had taken pictures and would probably spend the rest of her life staring at them and remembering.
"It was magical." She whispered raggedly. "He made it so. He took me everywhere, crammed two weeks' worth of activities into two days. He treated me like a queen, and I repaid him by breaking his heart."
Carrie reached out to touch her arm briefly. "Are you certain it's over?"
"He hasn't called and even if he did, I have to tell him the truth. It's better this way."
She thought she was all cried out, but she was wrong.
"I never should have started it in the first place. He doesn't deserve any of it."
"I want to say you got things out of it, expensive things from what you just said, but I can see that it's not worth it."
"I'm sending them back."
"Honey, isn't that a bit extreme?" Carrie protested.
"No." She shook her head. Picking up the cup, she sipped. "I have nowhere to wear those clothes anyway and I wouldn't feel right wearing them."
"What if he called?"
Hope sprang unbidden inside her chest. "He won't."
"What if he does?" Carrie persisted. "From what you told me, the man is in love with you. He proposed. He's probably trying to cool off a little before trying again. What will you do if he calls?"
She looked down at her pie. "Tell him the truth." She eased out a breath. "He deserves to know. In the meantime, I have my life to live and a son to take care of."
"And a dead end job you hate." Her friend reminded her quietly.
"One that's convenient for now."
*****
Four weeks later she was staring at the pregnancy stick in abject horror and despair. He still hadn't called and the exhaustion she had chalked down to emotional upheaval had persisted and got worse. So much so that she could barely find the energy to get out of bed in the mornings.
David was practically preparing his own lunch to take to school and at nights, she could barely keep her eyes open.
She was also snapping at him and apologizing at intervals, leading him to ask if she was ill.
She did not go anywhere. The cleaning job was further sapping her strength, and she was thinking of letting it go. But she needed the money. The visit to the dentist with her son had taken a chunk out of her savings and she was still contemplating selling the painting to make up for the lack.
This morning, she had rushed to the bathroom and brought up the muffin she had forced herself to eat. Which had prompted her to stop at the pharmacy on her way home. Three sticks had said the same thing. She was pregnant.
Leaning back on the toilet seat, she closed her eyes wearily. Just what she needed, the damn icing on the cake. Her carelessness had resulted in another unwanted pregnancy. This time she was carrying a multi-billionaire's baby. One who had moved on.
She had seen him at several functions. The internet was filled with his activities and the fact that he was seeing Mallory Gaines, the stunning blonde actress of the popular sci-fi series. So much for love and marriage proposal.
Tucking the stick along with the others in the bag from the pharmacy, she rose a little unsteadily.
She was going to have to get a professional confirmation of course, but she already knew she was about six weeks pregnant. Wonderful, as if her life wasn't already a wreck.
