Melinda Curtis - A Memory Away

“I’m pregnant. Baby can sleep anywhere.” Her smile had a you-should-believe-me quality that Duffy found hard to believe. She hadn’t looked comfortable sitting on the couch. How would she sleep on it?

“If my mother hears I let you sleep on the couch, I’ll never hear the end of it.”

Jess hesitated, and then asked in a soft voice, “You’re going to tell her about me?”

“Yes.” He hadn’t thought about it until then, but his parents would want to know. Or at the very least, they should be told. He’d held up on telling them about Jess because he wasn’t sure of her agenda in tracking him down. He was still hesitant about the money, but... “My mom’s going to spoil that kid rotten.”

“Do you think so?” Jessica’s whisper was pockmarked with wonder, thready with hope.

Her reaction made him put on a show of confidence. “Please.” Duffy rolled his eyes for effect. “She points out babies to me like other parents point out good job opportunities.” That much was the truth.

Head bowed, Jess rested her palm on her stomach. “Did you hear that, Baby? Grandparents are in your future.”

For the first time, Duffy understood Jess. She had no parents. She couldn’t remember her baby’s father. She didn’t want to let her child down as her mother had done. What to him was a casual mention of his mother’s involvement was the promise of a special gift to her: family.

He hoped he hadn’t misspoken. He hoped his mother would be excited about the news.

“I’m taking this pillow from the bed for me,” Duffy said carefully. “Don’t get any ideas.”

She blinked at him. But it wasn’t the I’m-remembering-something dazed look he’d seen her get every once in a while. Jess stared at him as if seeing him for the first time. As Duffy, not Greg’s mirror image.

That look registered something deep inside him, something that warmed and eased, something he’d kept locked away and refused to name. A feeling he immediately dismissed.

Because Duffy had sworn off taking on any more responsibility, be it community, friends or family.

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