Page 51 of Mia Amata

“I’m pregnant with another man’s baby, who turned out to be cheating with me. I let him use me for almost five years. I’m not exactly a great catch. You can take me home. We can be friends. I won’t hold it against you.”

“Stop, Mia. Please, sit down.” He took my hand, pulling me down on the blanket next to him. “I don’t regret meeting you or spending time with you. I am upset that some pig used you like that and took advantage of you. For some reason, I am drawn to you. I want to protect you. I know we just met. I really want us to spend more time together.” I looked at him, he was so sincere that I was finding it hard not to believe him.

“You do? Why would you want to spend time with a woman pregnant with another man’s baby?” I asked. “Seriously Jacob, I come with a lot of baggage that you don’t need in your life.”

He thought for a minute before answering, looking at my hand as he stroked my fingers. “My last relationship was with a woman that I thought I was in love with. I imagined spending the rest of my life with her. She lived in the city; we were about as different as two people could be. There were all sorts of signs there, she always came to my place, claiming it was nice to get out of the city.”

“One day, I was driving to the city on business when I saw her. She was with another man. I followed them into a restaurant where I confronted them. That man turned out to be her husband, the father of their child. I ended up breaking up their marriage. He wouldn’t forgive her for cheating.” He looked away.

“What did she do?” I asked.

“She tried to contact me, saying she was never in love with him, and wanted to make things work for us, but I couldn’t trust her. It was much easier letting go of her than I thought it would be had I really been in love with her.”

“I’m sorry Jacob,” I said softly. “It still had to hurt.”

“Hurt my pride,” he said smiling. “See, I had been taken in by someone too. My point is almost everybody has baggage. What I feel for you is different.”

“Different how?”

Again, he was quiet for a few moments before he answered. “The moment I saw you with Lucky sleeping in your arms, on the path I just knew. Mia Amata, I love you. I have never felt this way before—ever. When we are apart, I feel like I can’t breathe. When I am with you—I am so happy, I want to be with you every moment I can. As far as the baby, he…”

I interrupted, “She.”

“Oh, is it a girl?”

I smiled, “It hasn’t been proven by ultrasound yet, I just know that the baby is a girl.”

He smiled back. “OK, then. That baby girl is a part of you. If you allow me to, I know I can love her too.”

I sat there in silence again, taking in everything he said. If he was lying to me, he was really good at it. I was still confused, but there was something in me that was telling me I wanted this man in my life.

“Mia Amata?” I looked at him. “Will you let me be a part of your life, and your baby’s life?”

“I think I would like that,” I replied, “but you have to be patient with me Jacob. Having been recently hurt, trust and love may not come as easily for me as they seem to have for you.”

“We can take things as slow as you need,” He leaned over, kissing me so tenderly and gently. When the kiss ended, he moved around, sat behind me, and took me into his arms. I leaned back against him. We sat like that talking about ourselves, getting to know each other.

Eventually, he shifted positions, pulling me into his lap. He pulled me tighter to him. I snuggled up to him, feeling warm and safe, for the first time in years. I nuzzled my face into his neck, reaching up to put my arm around his neck. After a little while, he lay me down on the blanket and pulled back a little and then started to kiss me.

Pulling his head back, he looked at me, his eyes partially closed. He stroked my face, kissed me again, then lay his head down beside me. I curled up to him. I could hear his heartbeat, and it seemed to be pounding really hard, just like mine.

I must have dozed off for a little bit in the warmth of his arms. “Mia,” he said gently rubbing my arm. Opening my eyes, “Yes?” I asked sleepily.

“It’s getting late, we should go.”

Rolling onto my back, I looked up at him. “Do we have to?”

He laughed, kissed me, and then sat up. “Yes, we do.”

I groaned, sitting up too. We packed up our picnic things, heading back down the path by the stream to the boat. By the time we made it back to his truck, it was 5:00. He took me around to the passenger side, opening and shutting the door for me. I buckled up as he slid behind the steering wheel. When we started to move, his hand found mine. We talked about the coming week and our jobs. He asked when he could see me again.

“When will you have time?” I asked.

“Tomorrow night,” he said, smiling. “If that is OK.”

“I think that would be OK,” I said. “I’ll make you supper.”

“You don’t need to go to a lot of trouble for me.”

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