I’d thought about contacting Sean, but he didn’t want to be with me before, so why would anything have changed. I didn’t want him to feel trapped. It was better to just keep going the way I was.
As I sat in my house, pitying myself by eating ice cream straight from the carton, I got a call from my mom. I took a deep breath and answered it.
“Hello?”
“Chloe! I’ve heard talk around town that you’re pregnant, and the dad isn’t anywhere in the picture?” Just like my mom not to beat around the bush.
“Hi, mom.” I already wanted to withdraw from this conversation, but I couldn’t just hang up on my mother. “I’m sorry you have to deal with all those rumors. I know you hate people gossiping about our family.”
The trauma from my father’s death still felt fresh. It was maybe the most challenging time in my life. But, what I was worried about was that another scandal was on the horizon.
“Oh, Chloe, I’m not worried about that. This is nothing like before.” My mother sighed, and her voice softened. “Your father’s death came with a lot of other baggage. He had been keeping a lot hidden from the two of us, and it almost destroyed our lives. All I’m worried about is your happiness. You are the most important thing to me. You know that, right?”
“Yeah, mom,” I responded, my voice cracking. “I do.”
“So, are you pregnant?”
I couldn’t lie, and I didn’t want to. “I am, and it’s Sean Falls’.” I held my breath after admitting the truth. It was quiet for a moment before my mom responded.
“Sean seems like a nice young man. I mean, if he’s still the way he was when he used to come over to tutor you.” He was a nice young man. It hurt thinking about what a nice young man he was. “It was obvious he was in love with you. He was like a puppy,” my mom chuckled, remembering. “If that boy makes you happy, it makes me happy too.”
I was blown away by my mother’s acceptance. I just wasn’t expecting her to be so okay with… really of it. The shock was doubled by her saying Sean had loved me. It wasn’t the first time I had heard that, but hearing it again gave me hope that maybe Sean still had some feelings for me. Perhaps we could build a future together.
However, there was still a chance he didn’t want to be with me, and I had learned my lesson. I wasn’t going to be overly cocky, but I was going to try one more time before completely giving up. If I didn’t owe it to myself, I owed it to the baby.
I said goodbye to my mother and took a quick shower. I had to ignore how huge I felt, or else I’d end up wasting more time. I finished up and headed over to Lucy’s. If anyone could help me, it was Sean’s grandmother.
The old woman opened up her door and immediately eyed my belly. She put on a comforting smile.
“Come on in, baby.”
I followed Lucy inside. She made us some tea and sat down across from me. She looked me straight in the eye and told it to me frankly.
“Look, if you’re going to win over Sean, you gotta do it soon. My grandson is stubborn. More so than he would ever admit. But I think there’s still love there. He was happy when he saw you, and I could tell when it was over because he sulked. And let me tell you, that boy knows how to sulk.”
I had to smile. Lucy was cheering me even though nothing had really been done yet. Plus, she was giving me more hope.
She took my hands into hers.
“Persevere, honey. I have a good feeling that this could all work.”
“I will. I’m going to go talk to Sean, but I need your help.”
“Whatever you need.”
Lucy, along with my mother’s encouragement, had me feeling pretty confident. I got Sean’s address from Lucy and headed into New York. It was a long drive, and it was evening by the time I arrived.
New York was cold, so I had an oversized coat on to hide the baby bump. I didn’t want Sean to feel like I was using my pregnancy to convince him. Instead, I wanted to see where he stood on me and me alone.
Lucy told me Sean was in the penthouse of a fancy building. It was a very tall skyscraper. It must have been incredible living so high up. He had really built a life for himself.
I got into the building and had to talk to a doorman. I told him I was there to see Sean Falls, but he refused to let me go up because I wasn’t on the list. There was nothing I could do to convince him. So I went back outside and sat on the sidewalk.