The Proposal

The living room was unnaturally quiet. Kate, Laura, John, and Tony sat in silence, each person occupied their own thoughts.

After Kate ran inside the house following her shocking announcement, her parents followed her dazedly like two people in a trance. Tony had also joined them, although none of them officially invited him in. He’d simply assumed that Kate might need some moral support from him when her parents finally got over their shock.

Eventually, Kate broke the silence in the room.

“I’m so sorry about this, Mom, Dad,” she said softly. “I know you’re disappointed in me right now, I’m disappointed in myself too. Please, don’t be mad.”

Laura looked at Kate as if she was seeing her daughter for the first time.

“Is that all you have to say?” She asked crossly. “That’s it? You’re sorry and you don’t want us to be mad? What on earth were you thinking, Kate? Do you even realize what you’ve done?”

“It’s Kevin, isn’t it?” John asked Kate.

“Yes,” Kate replied.

“Does he know about it?” John asked.

“Yes,” Kate answered.

“And?” Laura asked impatiently.

Kate sighed and said, “And he doesn’t want it.”

“Excuse me?” Said John. “What do you mean he doesn’t want it?”

“He said he doesn’t want a baby,” Kate clarified. “He’s leaving for his MBA in a few days and he doesn’t want to be responsible for a baby.”

“You have got to be kidding!” Laura snarled. “He’s not going anywhere. He’s going to take responsibility for this and do right by you. He’s not getting off that easily.”

“Please, calm down, honey. Don’t get so worked up over this,” John advised his wife calmly.

Laura switched her blazing gaze to him and asked, “Do you realize what this means? We are about to be disgraced! Our daughter has gotten herself knocked up by that irresponsible airhead, and you’re telling me not to get worked up? Do you realize what a scandal this is already?”

“I understand that honey, trust me, I do,” John assured her. He looked at Kate and asked, “When precisely is Kevin leaving for his program?”

“I don’t know,” she answered. “It doesn’t matter. He doesn’t want the baby and we can’t force him to want it.”

“Oh, yes, we can!” Laura said forcefully. “If he’s man enough to get you pregnant, then he’s man enough to marry you and be a father to his child.”

“Mom!” Kate protested.

“What?” Laura fired back. “What were you expecting? That we would let him get away with putting you in the family way and turning you into a single mother? No way. He will marry you whether he likes it or not.”

“But I don’t want to marry him,” Kate argued. “This isn’t the eighteen hundreds when women were forced to marry against their will. I’m not going to marry Kevin just because he got me pregnant.”

“So, what’s your plan?” Laura asked Kate angrily. “Do you think your father and I will let you live under our roof and raise a baby born out of wedlock? Have you forgotten who we are? Do you realize the kind of damage this would do to our reputation in this town? Do you also realize that your father could lose his position in the church and we would become gossip fodder in this community for decades to come? Is that what you want? Answer me, Kate. Is that what you want?”

“Honey, please,” John appealed to Laura calmly.

Tony slowly lifted his right hand as if he were in a classroom, asking the teacher’s permission to speak.

“May I say something?” Tony asked tentatively.

Everyone looked at him as if they didn’t realize he’d been there with them all along. Nobody responded to Tony’s request, so he lowered his hand and proceeded to speak anyway.

“I think I might have a solution to this problem,” he said.

“Well, I’m sure we’d all love to hear it,” Laura said impatiently. She wasn’t in the mood for any kind of dramatic suspense right now.

“I will marry Kate,” Tony declared.

Kate gasped, Laura’s eyes widened, and John frowned.

“I beg your pardon?” said John with narrowed eyes. “Who are you again?”

“I am Anthony DaCosta, a businessman from Chicago,” Tony explained. “I assure you, I am a very responsible man and I have the capacity to take care of your daughter and her unborn baby.”

“How dare you!” Kate lashed out at Tony. “Is this your idea of helping me? Did I even ask for your help? And why are you still here? Get out! This is a family conversation and you are intruding.”

Tony immediately rose to his feet, and so did Laura.

“Did you mean what you just said or were you just saying it?” Laura asked him.

“Mom, it doesn’t matter if he meant it or not. He needs to leave now,” Kate said angrily.

“I meant what I said,” Tony said in response to Laura’s question.

“I agree with Kate,” said John. “It doesn’t matter whether you meant what you said or not, Mr DaCosta. My daughter will not marry you. Thank you for stopping by. Enjoy the rest of your day.”

Tony acknowledged his dismissal with a curt nod to John. He then faced Kate and said, “I sincerely apologize if my words offended you. That was not my intention.”

Tony inclined his head politely at Laura before striding out of the house like a dignified military officer. Once he was gone, Laura faced her husband with blazing eyes.

“Why did you kick him out?” She asked him in an accusatory tone.

“Why not?” John demanded. “Don’t tell me you were seriously considering his proposal. We don’t even know the man.”

“We would if you’d given us the chance to get to know him,” said Laura.

John’s frown deepened. “Are you being serious?” He asked Laura.

“Yes,” she answered unrepentantly.

“Mom, please, stop,” Kate begged her mother.

“Listen to me, John. Mr DaCosta could be the solution to this problem,” Laura continued as if she hadn’t heard Kate’s plea. “The man has connections to the mayor and I heard he’s buying that rundown mall in Sundance to convert it into some sort of fancy food market.”

“Laura, I don’t care if the man is connected to the president or he’s as rich as Bernard Arnault. He’s not marrying my daughter and that’s final!” John declared.

“You know what, I need to go upstairs and lie down,” Kate said as she gingerly rose to her feet.

“You’re not going anywhere,” Laura informed her. “You will sit down and come up with a solution to this problem you’ve created for this family. Since Mr DaCosta is not good enough for you to marry, tell us now how you plan on fixing this mess.”

“Mom, do you realize what you’re saying?” Kate asked Laura incredulously. “We literally don’t know that man. He could be a serial killer or a human trafficker. Do you expect me to just run off with him because you think he’s rich?”

“And let’s not forget the obvious fact that the man is the same age as us or maybe older,” John added, siding with Kate. “He could even be married with kids and grandkids.”

“He wouldn’t ask to marry Kate if he were married,” Laura reasoned.

“But he didn’t ask to marry me,” Kate corrected her mother. “He simply declared it as if he was doing me a favor.”

“Because he was,” said Laura.

“She will not marry him,” John insisted firmly.

Laura threw up her hands in surrender and said, “Fine. I give up. But, I’d like to hear what you two have in mind. Go on, tell me. I’m listening.”

Kate and her father looked at each other, and then back at Laura.

“We don’t have to decide anything right now,” said John. “Let’s just take some time to think about this and figure out what to do.”

Laura nodded slowly and asked Kate, “Who else knows about this?”

“Darlene,” Kate answered and John groaned as if he was in pain.

Laura cackled humorlessly and said, “Great. It’s only a matter of days before the entire town gets wind of this. Now, imagine what would happen once Lady Ann and the church board hear about it. We might as well start packing our stuff to leave this town right away. I will not remain here and be chewed out by these people who thrive on scandals.”

“Stop being melodramatic, Laura. It can’t be that bad,” John said unconvincingly while looking very worried.

“We’ll see about that, won’t we?” Laura said and sat heavily on the chair behind her.

Kate was heartbroken as she watched her parents envision how miserable their lives would be in the coming days once her pregnancy became public knowledge. She couldn’t bear seeing them like this, knowing that she was the source of their pain.

She silently walked out of the living room and went upstairs to her bedroom. There was a lot on the line but not enough time to find a sensible solution.

Getting back together with Kevin was a very repulsive option, but it was better than marrying an old man from Chicago. Worse still, the thought of raising a child alone terrified her.

Maybe she could move to the neighboring town of Prime Valley where her brother, Chris, lived with his wife, Rita, and their adorable toddler daughter, Nina.

“No,” Kate mumbled to herself even as the thought formed in her mind.

Hiding at her brother’s place would never work. She would be discovered within a week. Besides, Chris and Rita were practically newlyweds. She couldn’t crowd their home with her presence without having a reasonable exit plan first.

Kate’s mind went back to her first option; Kevin. She needed to come up with some sort of arrangement with him. She shouldn’t be the only one to face the backlash for something they both did. He must share in the blame.

Kate picked up her phone from the bedside table where she’d left it and dialed Darlene’s number. She answered on the third ring.

“Hello, Darlene,” Kate said with as much enthusiasm as she could muster.

“Hello, Kate,” Darlene responded coolly. She didn’t sound like her usual chirpy self.

“Um, I know Kevin told you about the baby,” Kate started cautiously.

“You mean your baby?” Darlene clarified. “Yes, he told me. What about it?”

Darlene’s hostile tone threw Kate off.

“What do you mean?” Kate demanded. “It’s not just my baby, it’s our baby. Mine and Kevin’s.”

“I’m going to stop you right there, Kate,” Darlene cut in sharply. “You know I’ve always liked you and treated you like a daughter. Not just because of Kevin, but because you seemed like a really good girl. However, I will not allow you to get in Kevin’s way as he takes positive steps to build a great future for himself. I simply cannot let you do that.”

“I can’t believe you’re saying this, Darlene,” Kate said in disbelief. “Are you fine with Kevin just going away and living his life, while I’m left alone here to deal with this issue?”

“Yes, Kate. I’m fine with that,” Darlene replied promptly. “My son has a bright future ahead of him and he doesn’t deserve to be dragged down by you or anyone else in this town. I don’t want to hear about this pregnancy talk again, OK? I will do you a favor by not repeating this to anyone else, but let this be the last time we have this conversation.”

“Darlene…” Kate gasped in astonishment.

“And one more thing,” Darlene added coldly. “Your services are no longer required in my pastry shop. Your final check will be in the mail by Tuesday at the latest.”

“But Darlene –“

“Stop it, Kate,” Darlene cut her off quickly. “Don’t make this more difficult than it already is. I don’t want any trouble for me or Kevin. As I said before, let’s not have this conversation again, please.”

And with that, Darlene ended the call, leaving Kate utterly speechless.