Free Songbird by Sydney Logan

on my way ou—”
    “I don’t care. Would you mind explaining to me why I just saw a visibly upset and very nauseated Callie Franklin at the coffee shop?”
    “You saw her?”
    “Yes, I saw her—looking positively pale and reading a baby book. It was easy to connect the dots. When I asked if she had plenty of support, she told me a particularly horrifying story about a man who told her he doesn’t want to be part of her child’s life. Then, she told me she couldn’t talk to me anymore and that I needed to speak to my son.”
    I swallow nervously but keep my mouth shut.
    “I’m assuming by the way you couldn’t keep your eyes off her at the benefit that Owen isn’t the one I should be talking to.”
    Embarrassed and ashamed, I bow my head and stare at my feet.
    “Callie’s pregnant.”
    “I know that !”
    “The baby’s mine.”
    A deathly silence hangs in the air. Finally, Mom reaches out her hand. Out of complete desperation, I take it and let her pull me to the couch.
    “Devin, did you really tell her you wanted nothing to do with your child?”
    “Not in those exact words, no, but . . .”
    My mother holds my hand while I spill my guts. I leave out the more graphic details of the wedding weekend, but when I’m finished, my mom knows everything I know about Callie Franklin. She listens intently and doesn’t interrupt . . . that is, until I tell her I haven’t been able to get Callie out of my mind.
    “You have feelings for her,” she says softly. I detect a hint of amazement in her voice. “I could tell at the benefit that you were completely smitten.”
    “It doesn’t matter if I do. I’ve completely screwed it up.”
    “Then you’re just going to have to fix it.”
    “I don’t know how.”
    “You apologize, for starters,” she says. “You tell her you’re an idiot—”
    “Wow, don’t hold anything back there, Mom.”
    “Well, you acted like an idiot.”
    I nod. “I did. You’re right.”
    “Tell her you are going to be a father to this child and that she can rely on you for anything for the rest of your lives.”
    I chuckle nervously. “The rest of our lives?”
    Mom searches my face. “You don’t understand, do you? You may not end up romantically committed to this woman, but you have created a child with her. Like it or not, the two of you are now connected forever. She’s scared, Devin. She needs to know she can depend on you.”
    I anxiously rub the back of my neck. “I so didn’t sign up for this.”
    “And she did?”
    “That’s not what I meant.”
    Mom sighs. “I know you’re scared, and I don’t mean to dismiss that, but think about how frightened you are and then multiply it by a thousand. That’s how scared Callie is right now. All this anxiety isn’t good for her or the baby.”
    “She hates me.”
    “That’s why you’re going to do whatever it takes to fix this. Right now.”
    Without letting go of my hand, my mom leads me out the door.
    “Oh, and Devin?”
    I lock the door behind us. “Yeah?”
    “She’ll probably tell you to go away.”
    “Oh, I’m prepared for that.”
    “What will you do?”
    I look down into my mother’s proud, trusting eyes. My mom knows me better than anyone, and she knows that, despite my faults, I’ll do whatever it takes to make things right.
    “I’ll beg to stay.”
     

     
    I check my watch. How can she not be home?
    I keep knocking and pray her neighbors won’t call the cops on me. I’ve been standing at her door for thirty minutes. Maybe she’s home and just doesn’t want to talk to you. Maybe she’s at work. Maybe she’s sick and can’t answer the door. Maybe  . . .
    With a groan, I slide down her door and sit on my ass.
    Where is she?
    The elevator dings, and Callie walks out into the hallway. In her arm is a bag of groceries. When she sees me standing by the door, she stops in her tracks and drops the bag.
    “Sorry.” I rush toward her and kneel to the ground. “I didn’t mean to