The Announcement

“What did you just say?” Kevin asked in a stage whisper.

He looked like a deer caught in headlight with wide eyes and a gaping mouth. Kate hadn’t expected him to jump for joy after revealing her pregnancy to him, but she hadn’t expected this sort of dramatic reaction either.

“You heard me, Kevin. I said I’m pregnant,” she announced firmly.

“You can’t be!” Kevin snapped, having recovered from his initial shock.

“We used protection every time,” he continued heatedly. “How on earth did you get pregnant?”

“The condom broke the last time, remember?” Kate lashed out at him.

Kevin ran his long fingers through his hair and started pacing back across his living room like a caged tiger. Kate watched him silently as he strode from one end of the room to the other.

She’d always found Kevin very attractive with his boy-band looks and devil-may-care personality. As a teenager, Kate fantasized about dating a bad boy and Kevin was the fulfilment of that fantasy.

Her family didn’t like him but they tolerated him because of his mother, Darlene, who happened to be Kate’s boss at the town’s only pastry shop. Kevin is Darlene’s only child and they moved to Sommerville three years ago after his father died.

Kate and Kevin struck a friendship early last year when his mother practically dragged him to church during the annual Thanksgiving service. They’d hung out a couple of times before kickstarting their relationship after four months of friendship.

It was around that time Kate started working at Darlene’s pastry shop as a pastry chef. It was her second real job since she graduated from college.

Right now, Kevin was wearing a Colorado State University sweatshirt over a pair of faded blue jeans. His living room in the small apartment he’d lived in for the past two years since he moved out of his mom’s house, didn’t give him much space to walk off his frustration as he’d liked.

Kevin suddenly stopped pacing and pinned Kate with his icy blue eyes that were filled with fury right now.

“How could you do this to me?” He demanded angrily.

“Excuse me?” Kate responded with confusion. “What are you talking about?”

“Why are you trying to ruin my life?” Kevin continued. “What made you think getting pregnant was a good idea?”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Kevin. I didn’t do this by myself. You got me pregnant.”

“No, I didn’t!” He denied it quickly.

“What?” Kate gasped in surprise.

“That’s right, Kate. I didn’t do this,” Kevin insisted. “You did this to yourself, and I’m not going to let you turn my world upside down with your lies.”

“Do you think I’m making this up?” Kate asked him in frustration. “I took a home kit test yesterday and it was positive. I knew I was pregnant even before I took the test, but I was hoping I was wrong. Well, I wasn’t.”

“Who else knows about this?” Kevin asked her.

“Nobody,” Kate replied.

“Good. Keep it that way,” said Kevin. “I’m sure you’re smart enough to figure out a way to get rid of it discreetly.”

Kate’s eyes widened with surprise. “Kevin! Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”

“Did I stutter?” He retorted unblinkingly. “I said get rid of that thing and let’s go on with our lives separately. I’m not about to be tied down in this stupid town with a pastor’s daughter.”

“What did you just say to me?” Kate asked in a low voice.

“You heard me,” Kevin answered unapologetically. “I have big dreams, Kate. Dreams that are too big to be lived out here. Do you think I’m satisfied with just being a junior engineer in that crap company in Sundance? I want more than that and I’m already on my way to making that happen.”

Kate knew Kevin was an ambitious young man, and she knew he hated his job even though he was doing well at it and earning a reasonable income. He’d always hinted at wanting to travel abroad to work as an expatriate, but he’d never told her just how he was going to achieve that.

“What have you been up to, Kevin?” Kate asked him outright.

“I’m glad you asked,” he said gleefully. “I’m leaving town in a few days to start my MBA program in Michigan and I’m going to be there for at least two years.”

Kate bolted to her feet in astonishment. “You’re going away for two years?” She asked him.

“Yes,” he answered smugly. “I’m getting out of here permanently.”

Kate felt as if she’d been punched in the gut. Was Kevin being serious right now or was he joking?

“When were you going to tell me about this?” Kate asked him in a daze.

“Honestly, I wasn’t going to,” Kevin admitted unapologetically. “I’m not very good at breaking up with ladies. There’s always lots of crying involved, not from me though. So, I wanted my mom to tell you after I’d left.”

Kate was speechless. How did she end up falling in love with this guy? Why did she ever think this spineless excuse of a man was a worthy partner for her?

“Well,” Kevin continued casually. “You’ve just made it easy for me. So, there you have it, Kate. We’re done. End of story.”

“What about the baby?” Kate asked desperately.

“What baby?” Kevin asked irritably.

“The baby in my belly right now,” Kate answered agitatedly. “Our baby. What about it?”

“I’ve already told you what to do with it,” he barked impatiently. “If this was your little trick to get me to marry you, then I’m sorry to inform you that you’ve failed woefully. I’m not interested.”

Kate could hardly believe her ears. She felt so stupid and humiliated at the same time. How was she going to face her family with this news?

Not only was she pregnant out of wedlock, but the man responsible for it was literally cutting her loose and leaving her to face the music alone. She was doomed!

Kate took a deep breath and said, “Kevin, I know you’re overwhelmed by this situation right now, but we can make it work. We just have to sit down and figure out what to do.”

Kevin chuckled humorlessly while looking at Kate with an expression of disgust.

“I was right, wasn’t I?” He asked her.

“Right about what?” Kate asked calmly.

“You were hoping I’d marry you once you got pregnant,” he answered. “You’ve been dropping hints about it all year since your brother got married last year to that Hispanic chick. I see your family has a thing for biracial babies, huh?”

“Stop it, Kevin. You don’t have to insult my family,” she cautioned him.

“I’m not insulting them, I’m just stating the obvious,” Kevin said with a shrug. “You know what, you can keep the baby if you want, but don’t think for one second that I’ll send you my hard-earned money for you to buy diapers and baby food. I’m not interested in being a father at 25. You want a baby? Then have it. But please, leave me out of that equation.”

“You can’t do this to me, Kevin,” Kate pleaded. “You can’t just abandon me here with a baby. Do you realize how this would look for my parents? It would be a scandal.”

“No, it won’t,” Kevin assured her confidently. “Come on, Kate. Do you know what year it is? Nobody cares about women having babies out of wedlock anymore. It’s no big deal, OK?”

“It is a big deal in Sommerville,” Kate reminded him.

“Then move out of town,” Kevin suggested casually. “Don’t you have an aunt in Atlanta? The one who taught you how to bake cookies and cakes. Go to her. You can work there and take care of yourself and your baby.”

“Kevin, it is our baby, not just mine,” Kate reminded him. “Why are you being so callous?”

Kevin glanced at his wristwatch, looked back at Kate, and said, “You need to leave now. I’m expecting a guest and she’ll be here any minute.”

“She?” Kate asked dazedly.

“Yes, she,” Kevin confirmed. “Don’t bother asking me who it is. You don’t know her.”

“Kevin…” Kate whispered.

He ignored her and walked over to the front door. He opened it and made a sweeping motion with his other hand, indicating that he wanted her to leave.

Kate could not still believe that this was actually happening. Kevin had not only denied being responsible for her pregnancy but was kicking her out of his house.

“Didn’t you ever love me?” Kate asked him, hanging on to a tiny spark of hope that she could sway Kevin’s heart.

He chuckled and asked, “Do I look like the kind of man who falls in love with a small-town girl like you?”

Kate flinched as if she’d been slapped. This wasn’t the Kevin she loved. The Kevin she’d dreamed of marrying someday and having a brood of babies with wouldn’t speak to her in this manner. This man here was an impostor, not her Kevin.

“If you had any dignity at all, you would leave right now,” Kevin told her frankly. “I’ve done you a favor by being honest with you. Wouldn’t it be worse if I pretended to care about you and your baby, and then disappeared without giving you a heads-up?”

“Listen, one day, you’re going to look back on this day and thank me for doing this. You’ll see,” Kevin assured her.

Kate didn’t know what else to say. Kevin’s mind was made up. He wasn’t going to accept the baby and he wanted her out of his life right now.

She could feel tears stinging the back of her eyes, but she willed herself not to cry. Kevin didn’t deserve her tears. She was a fool to have thought he had a single noble bone in his body. He was still a child and a child couldn’t be the father of her baby.

Kate picked up her purse from the chair she’d been sitting on and she walked purposefully toward the front door where Kevin was standing with a smirk on his face.

When she got to where he stood, she paused and looked him dead in the eye and said, “Thank you for reminding me that I deserve better. And yes, you were right. I’m going to look back on this day and remember it as the day I rescued my baby from being labeled as the child of a spineless coward called Kevin Wyatt. Goodbye, Kevin. I hope the rest of your life sucks.”

She walked away before Kevin could recover from his astonishment and come up with a witty response to her scalding speech. He loved having the last word, but not this time.

Kate got into her car and hit the road immediately. The tears she’d held at bay finally broke free and ran down her face. She had no idea what she was going to do next, but she knew for sure that she wasn’t going to get rid of her baby.

What was she going to do now? How would she break this news to her parents? Gosh! Her mother would be devastated. And her father? He would be crushed. He was her biggest cheerleader and always thought highly of her. He would be so disappointed in her once he finds out about this.

“What have you done to yourself?” Kate asked herself aloud through her flood of tears. “What the heck have I done to myself?”

She wished she could turn back the hand of time and erase the day she made the mistake of giving herself to Kevin. She’d wanted to remain a virgin until she got married, but the first time Kevin kissed her, that childish plan had flown out the window.

Now, here she was, paying the price for her choices. How was she going to take care of a baby on her own?