Chapter 11: Percy

The first days I was in shock. I felt numb. I had a great girlfriend. I treated her with love and affection, was always there for her, cared for her. Then she told me she was pregnant, and I started to imagine a future together as a family.

And then all of the sudden I was alone again. I had no girlfriend and I had lost a baby.

It was nerve-wracking.

However, my pain didn’t enter anyone’s mind. Even when I told Joe and Amanda what had happened the first words that came of their mouths were “Poor Laura.” My brother, Tom and Grandma said something along those lines too.

Amanda tried to reach Laura but her calls went straight to voicemail.

So I gave Laura distance and time. Grandma said that if our love was real it will find a way. So I continued with my life, without her.

Days turned into weeks. And weeks turned into months. I didn’t hear anything from Laura. Not even a text saying ‘I miss you’. I almost texted her a dozen times, but I keep waiting for her to take the first step. Every day I thought about calling her but decided it was better to give her space.

Three months later, I started feeling she had moved on with her life and wrote me off along with the whole experience. I hadn’t been with anyone since she left. Should I move on too? Should I keep waiting for her?

The truth was I felt lonely, very lonely. It was really weird. I’d been single for a long time and I had never felt alone. Now, I felt this sad emptiness without her.

Then, one day, while I was going through my morning routine, my phone rang.

“Hello?”

“Hello, am I talking with Percy?” a woman’s voice asked.

“Yes, Percy Wittmore speaking. Who’s calling, please?”

“You don’t know me, Percy. I’m Molly Carter. I’m Laura’s aunt.”

That piece of information obviously caught my attention. My heart started racing.

“What can I do for you, Mrs. Carter?”

“It’s Ms. Carter, but please, call me Molly.”

“You have my full attention, Molly.”

“Look, Percy, I’m not sure how much you know about Laura’s situation ... about what happened to her...”

“Let me tell you what I know. She got pregnant with my baby. We were talking about our options, I offered her to marry me. Then she had a miscarriage. I visited her at the hospital, and she told me she needed time for herself, and disappeared from the face of the Earth. Is Laura okay?”

“Yes, Percy, Laura is okay, at least physically. She has been living with me. We are in a small town called Middletown. My sister Joan, Laura’s mother, and I grew up here.”

I’d have never imagined Laura’s mother was born in a small town. I got the impression that Nadine and Molly Carter were very different from each other. Molly sounded like a down-to-earth person, talking with her felt like a breath of fresh air.

“How is Laura really doing, Molly?”

“I won’t lie to you, Percy. She’s not good. She has been depressed since she came here.”

“How did you find me? Did she ask you to call me?”

“Oh, no! She doesn’t know I’m calling you. But she talks a lot about you.”

“She does?”

“Oh yes! One day, while she was resting I went through her contacts list and found your name, God forbid me. Please, Percy, don’t think I’m the kind of woman who likes to pry into other people’s business, but Laura has been feeling so low and miserable, so depressed ... I don’t know what else to do...”