Free Cart Before The Horse by Bernadette Marie

His eyes narrowed, but his
     
    demeanor was still soft. He was still listening. “I figured they’d
    get to know you and I was sure they’d like you. You’re
a nice guy.”
    “Thanks. My mother thanks you too.”
    She rubbed her hands on her pants. She was worried he’d hate her forever, and he was cracking jokes. “I thought once they liked you, I could tell them about the baby and then say we broke up. They’d understand because they know I’m difficult to live with.”
    “For being such a smart person, you sure sell yourself short.” He shook his head. “Why didn’t you just tell them about the baby?”
    Her mouth dropped open and regret balled in the pit of her stomach. “I couldn’t. I couldn’t bear to see my mother’s disappointment. She was shocked enough that I’d met a man and that he’d even considered marrying me.”
    Gabe wiped a tear from her cheek and then turned to the table and picked up the ring box. He looked at the ring and his shoulders dropped as he turned back to her. She’d waited her whole life to get that ring, and now here was the man given that responsibility and he’d been forced into it. She waited for him to close the box, hand it to her, and ask her to leave.
    “When your father gave me this, he said it was your great-grandmother’s wish that you have it as your engagement ring. And he knew it isn’t exactly your style, so I have permission to buy you a very gaudy diamond for your wedding ring.”
    She reached for the box. “I feel so stupid. I’ll take it back to him and explain.”
    “You’ll do nothing of the sort.” He took out the ring and set the box back on the table, then turned back to her. “You’ll wear it.”
    Gabe slid the ring on her finger.
    Her hand shook. “I can’t do this. It’s like I’m lying to my great-grandmother now.”
    “Let’s call it a promise ring, then. I promise to take care of
     
    you and our baby if you’ll make me macaroni and cheese for dinner every few weeks.”
    That made her laugh again. She wiped away her tears. “What will you tell people?”
    He shrugged his shoulders. “That you’re an amazing person that I get to spend my life with. That’s no less the truth.”
    Disappointment actually shook her. A small part of her had hoped he’d ask her to marry him. “Holly, we’ll be sharing our lives no matter what. Marriage isn’t everything.” He reached for her hand and gave it a squeeze. “I didn’t tell your father about the baby. He didn’t ask, though it felt like he knew there was something else.”
    She nodded.
    “Tell them I gave you the ring. I won’t tell them that we’re not getting married.”
    She swallowed back the sting of regret. “Thank you, Gabe. You’re making this much easier than it should be.”
    “I like my macaroni and cheese really cheesy,” he said with a wink as he sat back down at the table.
     
    Holly lay in bed and held her hand out in front of her. The ring caught the lights from the city that filtered through her window. What a special surprise it had been. Had her father always planned that?
    She wondered if the uneasy feeling she’d had all day was the guilt of lying to her parents or her pregnancy. Either way she was both joyous and remorseful, and she didn’t know how to untangle the feelings.
    She rolled over, tucked her hands under her head, and looked out the window at the city. So many people. Gabe lived only a few blocks away and had for years. How many times had they crossed paths along the way? She eaten at Maguire’s in the past few years. Had he been there? Was she so focused on herself that she hadn’t noticed him?
    She closed her eyes and tried to force sleep to take over her
     
    body, but his face kept creeping into her mind.
    They were going to share their lives no matter what, she reminded herself. It didn’t seem so bad. The prospect of it made her even a little giddy. Would her son be Gabriel Maguire Junior? Or was Gabe a junior? She’d never