Page 39 of His Bittersweet Regret

“There is still no need to kick Mommy in the bladder,” I scolded my enormous belly, playfully. “Once you get out of there, and I’m ready, I guess it will be time for Mommy to date and go explore her options too,” I told my son. “I wish you never had to know a time when Mommy dated someone who isn’t your daddy. It’s not what I ever pictured for you, or me either, but this is the hand we’ve been dealt.”

If I thought my son would argue, tell me I was stupid, or that I should wait for his father to pull his head completely out of his ass, I would most likely be waiting a good long while. My son settled back down as soon as my bladder was emptied. The couch was unforgiving as usual when I sat back down on it, and still there was no point in lying down again. I couldn’t sleep after my brain tricked me into thinking Marsh was with me again. Stupid brain. Stupid memories. Stupid body. Stupid man. Why did I have to react to it?

The sun tried to stream in through the window of my shoebox sized apartment, but I had put thick, light blocking drapes up. Not that I necessarily wanted to block out all the light, but living where I did made me nervous. Most of the people that lived in the complex were wonderful and had introduced themselves. There was a single mother with two kids living on the floor above me who gave me a little pep talk about being strong enough to handle things on my own.

She also warned me about a few of the men in the area who tended to be pushy and intimidating. That was the part that scared me. There was no one who would come to my rescue if something happened. Bethany and her mom would, in a heartbeat, but they both worked a lot. The chances of one of them dropping in on any given day to check on me were not the greatest.

I slowly sat up on the couch, stretched some of the kinks out, and then took my time standing up too. I had been getting dizzy when I stood too quickly, but it was also awkward trying to get my pregnant belly to cooperate with the rest of my body. It felt like I had to do a damn backbend just to get up off the couch, and that sucked, especially first thing in the morning.

Once I peed, showered, brushed my teeth, and got ready for my day, I realized there was nothing else to do except to wait an hour until my appointment. There was no way I was walking again. I’d already beaten myself up enough about having to spare the expense for a cab, yet again, but I just couldn’t do it. Besides, Joe Marquette had become my regular Uber driver, and he always managed to make me laugh before we got to our destination.

“What’s on the agenda today?” Joe asked with a bright smile on his face as I got into his car. He was actually the only local Uber driver we had. The local taxi company was a bit too unreliable to keep calling on them, and that was how I met Joe.

“Doctor’s appointment. I have to do them weekly now.”

“That means you’re really close, and probably plenty miserable,” he surmised.

“And how would you know that, Joe?”

“I have two nieces, and my sister was miserable with both in the last month, and ready to just get it all over with.”

I chuckled. “I think that’s probably the case for any woman who has their bladder and ribs beaten on all day long.” I squirmed in the seat, trying to get comfortable and finding nothing helped.

“You have anyone going with you?” It was cute that Joe worried about me so much. He was only about five or six years older than me, but he seemed more worldly and wise.

“The baby’s uncle is supposed to meet me there.”

“The uncle and not the father?” He asked with a questioning look in the rearview mirror.

“The father is absent. For about five minutes, I thought he wanted to be involved, but then he dropped off the face of the earth again. His younger brother is about to turn eighteen, and when he found out I was pregnant, he stepped up and made sure if I didn’t have anyone else with me that he would be there. He’s super excited to meet his nephew.”

“He sounds like an awesome kid.”

“He is. A lot like his brother used to be, if I’m being honest. I just hope he doesn’t change the same way.”

“Damn,” Joe hummed as he shook his head. “Do you mind if I ask who the father is?”

I shrugged my shoulders, knowing it didn’t really make a difference in our small town. Most people already knew. “Marshall Kennedy.”

“No fucking way!” He nearly shouted. “You’re telling me Jimmy Kennedy’s brother is the one who left you, even though you’re pregnant with his kid?”

“You know Jimmy?”

“Yeah, we grew up together and used to be good friends, even started out college together until I couldn’t afford it anymore. We don’t stay in touch as much, since he’s been overseas, but I guess that’s to be expected.”

“Yeah, but he should be home soon. Maybe you’ll find that friendship again.”

“Opal, for what it’s worth, I’m sorry this happened to you. I just can’t imagine anyone in that family dropping the ball like this.”

“It’s a bit of a long story,” I admitted.

“Nah. Doesn’t matter what the story is. You’re pregnant with Marsh’s kid. He should be by your side through this, even if the two of you aren’t together anymore.”

I swiped at a tear that trailed down my cheek. “The last time I saw him, about three weeks ago, I told him to stay away from me. He took me at my word.”

Joe made a sound of disagreement and continued to shake his head. Then, as he pulled up to the curb in front of the doctor’s office, he huffed out what sounded like a chuckle. “Well, I’ll be damned. Looks like someone did not listen to you after all.”

I glanced up in surprise, to see that Marsh was standing there waiting for me, instead of his brother. I pulled out my phone and shot a message off to Ryker.

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