Cinderella Man

Aubrey fiddled with her thumbs. What had she done? Was it the right thing to do? Would she regret it?

No. Once she looks into the eyes of her baby, there will be no regret.

She sighed heavily. What about everything else that was associated with a baby? Another mouth to feed, a fortune for diapers, healthcare, daycare – and all the other responsibilities. She was way in over her head.

She placed her hand over her still tiny stomach. It had been two months since she left Shady Records, a total of about ten weeks since she conceived. It wasn't that noticeable but with her tight shirt, you could definitely tell it was growing. Aubrey rubbed her stomach in a gentle, circular motion, her eyes scanning everything the baby isle had to offer. Ten different brands of diapers, numerous little baby food cans in a variety of flavors, bottles, bibs, and so on.

‘What about law school?’ It was the rational voice in her head nagging her about the decision she had made.

She had it planned out. She had an interview at a local law firm in the morning as an assistant. If she got the job, it would comfortably pay for all the baby necessities and daycare- allowing her to finish her law degree. See, it was perfect.

She sighed again. It was far from perfect. She was a single mother. The one thing she never thought she would be – she was. A single, unwed mother.

This was not what she had planned for herself. No, she was supposed to finish law school, marry a doctor, and ten years down the road have a child or two.

Aubrey shook her head, tossing out all the depressing thoughts. She had to think positive. After all, she was ‘grown’ enough to have sex, now she had to deal with the consequences.

‘You need to tell him. He’s the father. He deserves to know.’

Aubrey groaned, in turn catching a couple of glances from random customers. She smiled slightly, as if to say “I’m not crazy, I promise.”

Maybe Marshall did deserve to know that she kept the baby. But she couldn’t tell him, at least not now. She had to wrap her head around the fact that she would be a mother before she could let another person in to play the father role.

Besides, he probably wouldn’t care anyway. He would probably think she was after child support and demand a paternity test. She was not going to take that embarrassment, becoming the center of his raps.

With yet another sigh, Aubrey marched to the front of the store, towards the checkout lines. She got in line, her eyes scanning the various magazines. All the headlines were uninteresting, so Aubrey turned her attention towards the customer in front of her. It was an elderly woman, wrinkles and grey hair adorning her features.

The woman’s light blue eyes caught Aubrey’s, and she smiled. Her smile grew wider when she noticed Aubrey’s stomach. “Congratulations, young lady.” She beamed, “How far along are you?”

Aubrey hated talking about her pregnancy. It felt so… uncomfortable. She could not grasp the fact that she was pregnant. It felt completely awkward to talk about it. “About ten weeks,” she replied nonchalantly, hoping the woman would drop the subject.

“Well, children bring the greatest happiness. Oh my,” Aubrey followed the woman’s eyes. They were staring at her right hand. “You’re not married?”

Aubrey shook her head slightly, avoiding the woman’s eyes.

“My dear… I know it is not my place to say, but you know you have options, my child. There are wonderful families out there that would love to adopt a child.”

Aubrey cleared her throat, forcing a smile. ‘Old lady, shut up and get your damn groceries before I pop a cap in your ass.’

Aubrey giggled at her subconscious. Marshall had really grown on her. All the times she spent listening to his conversations while he was on the phone had really had a negative effect on her.

Aubrey spoke through clenched teeth, “I had a donor. You know, women independence and all.”

….

Aubrey had paid for her groceries at left the store with no causalities, although she had been really close to strangling the old woman. She was never one for fights, but having the spawn of Satan growing inside of you was definitely pulling her to the dark side.

She giggled at her thoughts as she placed the bags in the trunk of her car.

She missed him…kind of. Not really.

No, she definitely missed him. But she couldn’t face him. She needed more time to cope with her situation. She needed more time to grow up and become a mother before she added all the baby-daddy drama.

Aubrey’s thoughts were cut off at the sound of a familiar voice.

“Hailie, wait! You’ll tip the cart over.”

There was a little child’s giggle,” Look, daddy!”

Aubrey turned her head ever so slightly. Sure enough, there was Satan himself.

He ran after the little girl, who stood behind a cart with both feet on the edge, riding it down the small hill of the parking lot. Hailie…his daughter.

‘Shit,’ Aubrey cursed inwardly, shoving her groceries into her car faster.

“Don’t fall baby. Here, I got you.” Marshall gently picked up his daughter, placing her feet on solid ground. His car was right across from Aubrey’s.

Part of Aubrey wanted to run into his arms, the other part wanted to hide in her car. She closed the trunk as soon as she was done. She quickly walked around her car, got in, and locked the door – just to make sure he wouldn’t walk over randomly and open her door.

She wasn’t ready to face him. Not yet.