The Free Pass

Chapter 6

Mallory

The month between my doctor visits flew by. I had finals for first semester, and I used them to take my mind of the fact that I was pregnant and unsure of my future. Who knew that studying could be such a great distraction.

I lived with two good friends, Kris and Vera, in an apartment off campus. I had not told them about my situation. They knew I'd hooked up with someone at the music festival. They didn't know who. It was important that they not know about Shawn until later. One thing Andrew had emphasized over Thanksgiving was that this information had to be tightly controlled until they decided when and how to release it.

It wasn't hard to keep the pregnancy a secret. I pretty much looked like I had a period belly or food baby, only I had it all the time. No one would notice it unless they saw me naked, and no one was seeing me naked these days. The only thing that was hard to explain was my sudden lack of interest in alcohol. Prior to this, I used to drink every weekend. Now I had to find excuses for why I'd stopped. I started faking migraine headaches to stay in on the weekends. I also claimed to have essays and projects that didn't actually exist.

When my finals were done, I headed home to spend almost four weeks with my folks. I dreaded it, mainly because my dad was perpetually pissed off. He wanted me married, but I'd managed to convince him that Shawn and I needed time to get to know each other.

I'd given Shawn the next appointment time and true to his word, he flew in to accompany me. The appointment was a quick one. I actually felt bad that he'd traveled all that way for a 20 minute check-up.

We went to lunch, just like last time but waited to start the discussion about our future until our food was in front of us. Up until that point, we'd talked about the weather, the holidays, and various inconsequential things.

"Have you thought any more about what we're going to do after the baby is born?" I asked after getting up the nerve to move on to a more serious topic.

"I've been giving it a lot of thought, actually." He paused and took a deep breath. "I was wondering if you'd want to move to Toronto."

This was not what I was expecting to hear. I so wasn't prepared for what he was suggesting that I just stared at him at first.

"I-I don't know. The thought of moving to a big city in another country and getting an apartment on my own is scary."

"Yeah. That would be," Shawn said as he nodded his head, "but what if you moved in with me? I have plenty of space. You and the baby could have the guest room."

"We hardly know each other," I said.

"True. None of the alternatives are acceptable, though. The baby has to be with you. Unless you are both with me, I'm not going to see my baby very much. Plus, you are going to need help, Mallory."

While I understood his points, his proposition still felt premature to me. We'd talked a couple times in the last month, and he was good about texting me almost every day to see how I was feeling, but living together was a huge step.

"When do you go back to school?" he asked me.

"Mid-January."

He took a bite of his Italian sub and chewed it. "Want to come to Toronto for a week?"

"When?"

"After Christmas. I'll fly you up. You can stay with me. I'll show you around Toronto, and you can see if you like the city."

The eager look on his face, coupled with his charming grin, convinced me that he really wanted to me to do this.

I felt my heartbeat quicken, and I flushed. Most of the time our relationship was slightly strained, for obvious reasons. Sometimes, however, I felt what I'd felt the day we'd met. Attraction. Chemistry. Who knows what it was, but it did something to me. When he smiled at me, I really felt it.