Chapter 6: Percy

“Are you crazy?” Laura blurted out just as quickly as I suggested we should marry.

That surprised me. I thought she would be thrilled to know I was ready to step up.

“Why not? We are good together.”

“Percy, answer me this: would you have proposed to me if I weren’t pregnant?”

“No, I wouldn’t have, it would have been too soon,” I reluctantly admitted.

“There’s your answer.”

“Well, you being pregnant with my child changed everything.”

Laura disagreed again. She could be really stubborn.

“We shouldn’t get married solely because I’m pregnant. I mean, if this wasn’t the plan before then, why is it now? You said it yourself. It would have been too soon.

“We’ve been together for around six months. Why would my pregnancy change that? Marriage is about the union of two people who love each other, and nothing else should impact on this decision,” she explained.

“Laura, we aren’t exactly strangers to each other. I like you, I like you a lot. I could easily see myself falling in love with you.”

“I like you too, Percy. You’re a great guy. You said you could fall for me.”

I nodded.

“Let me ask you this, do you love me? Please, be honest”

“Love is a very loaded word, Laura. Maybe I’m not completely there yet. All I know is that I like and I care for you, and I want to be there for you and our baby.”

“You can do that without us getting married. I’ve seen what happens to friends when they divorce, and it wouldn’t have been nearly as messy if that slip of paper was not involved and they could have just walked away,” she explained.

“We have a child in common; do you really think I would be able to just walk away? The slip of paper can be a nuisance, but it can also be an advantage. Marriage can help a couple’s mind stay focused on commitment.”

I closed the distance between us, and my eyes met hers. “Laura, are you afraid to make a permanent connection?”

“I am not!”

“Oh yeah? Prove it to me.” I tipped her chin to meet mine. “Marry me.”

Laura caught a deep breath and held it. “What is your rush to get married? Usually, it’s us, girls, who want to get married.”

“Because my parents weren’t married,” I confessed.

“Why weren’t they married?” Laura asked me curiously.

“They believed in free love and all that crap. Children were the last thing in their minds. They were together for some years. Then, my father left to travel around the world in search of his inner self, or some hippie crap like that. I was four years old and my brother Tom was two when he left. I have some vague memories of him.”

“I’m sorry Percy. I didn’t know that. What happened to your mother?”

“My mother was a wild girl, always on a high. One day, she forgot to pick me up at school. When I called her cell phone no one picked up, so I called Carol, my grandmother (my mother’s mom). When my mother picked up the phone, I knew something was wrong. My mother was supposed to be on her way to pick me up, not at Grandma’s house one hour away. An overwhelming sadness hit me because I realized she was leaving us too.”

I made a pause trying to collect myself. Laura held my hand and squeezed it gently.

“Ever since I knew her, my mother went from needing a little self-reflecting vacation to needing to try every guru, drug, or self-help group. She explained to me she needed a break from her ‘normal’ life and time to reflect and meditate about her goals in life. More hippie/new age crap. I started to cry inside because I was losing her too.”

Laura hugged me tight.

“My grandmother came to pick me and took me and my brother to her house. I was ten years old. My mother never returned. I never knew if she is dead or alive. Eventually, my grandma got custody of us. She raised us the best she could.”

I looked at her in the eyes.

“Do you understand now why I want to marry you? I don’t want our baby to grow up without a father. I want to be there for my son.”