Chapter Two

“Declan couldn’t keep his eyes off you.” Halle strung her arm through mine.

The three of us were headed toward the spring festival held at Waterfront Park every year. I hadn’t been in forever. But it was the perfect day for it. Sunny, warm, hardly a cloud in the sky. Children’s laughter rang through the air. I couldn’t believe one day one of those little voices would belong to me.

“It means nothing. I’m sure he was just surprised like everyone else that I’m living back with my parents, divorced, and pregnant.” No one was more surprised than me. I had done my best not to look at him when we left, even though I wanted to. During college I thought of him so many times. I had fantasies of him coming to find me to tell me how sorry he was so we could pick up where we left off. But he never came. So I headed north to Philadelphia when a large financial planning firm recruited me straight out of college. It was there I met the biggest mistake of my life at a financial institution conference. I rubbed my abdomen. At least I got the best parting gift ever.

“Or maybe, like every other single man in this town, he’s still in love with you,” Heather commented.

“We don’t know he’s single. And no one is in love with me.”

“Please. All you have to do is say the word and you would have ten guys lined up to date you.” Heather wasn’t letting it drop.

“I’m pregnant.”

Halle scooted in closer to me. “And gorgeous inside and out.”

“You girls really are the best, but it’s apparent I have horrible taste in men, so it’s best not to think about any of them.”

“Did you look at him though?” Heather fanned herself with her hand. “If it didn’t go against the girlfriend code, I would make a play for him.”

“Be my guest.”

Heather took my other arm. “You don’t mean that. I know you, and despite what you’re saying, we all know how in love with him you were. And I saw in your eyes that you still have a little spark for him, whether you admit it or not.”

“You caught my eye when the baby was moving.” The baby was my truest love of all time.

“You’re such a liar, but I understand.” Heather laughed.

I looked out at all the brightly colored booths. The last time I had been to the festival I felt like I had my whole life ahead of me. And I thought Declan would be a part of it. Those were unrealistic teenage machinations.

“Where do you want to head first?” Halle asked.

“Ooo, let’s hit Faye’s jewelry booth. She promised me she would make me some of those lace chokers.” Heather and her jewelry.

We headed in that direction amongst the crowd while I reveled in the warmth and sea air—all things I missed living in Philadelphia. While Halle and Heather bought out Faye’s jewelry booth, I headed to Jimmy’s booth. He believed the 1960s were the best years of his life and so he dressed accordingly and only listened to music from that era. Which meant he was a pro at finding what I considered retro albums from artists like the Beatles and Simon and Garfunkel. But don’t get him going on the latter group. He was still torn up that they refused to make up and tour again. To him their voices were national treasures.

And sure enough, I could hear “The Sound of Silence” as I approached. I had missed home and all the people who made my childhood so magical. It was no wonder this was where I ran to.

There sat Jimmy with his long, braided gray hair wearing a psychedelic tie-dyed t-shirt. His booth was covered in colored beads and he had boxes full of old records.

“Hi, Jimmy.” I never knew his last name. I’m not sure anyone did.

“Miss Melanie. I heard you were back in town. Looks like you packed some extra luggage.” He pointed to my belly. “Congratulations.”

“Thank you. Got anything good?” I peered into one of his cardboard boxes that had seen better days.

“I have just the thing for you.” He rummaged through the box closest to him. He soon pulled out a tattered cover and handed it to me. “The Mamas and Papas. There are some great songs on that album that would make the perfect lullabies. Or you can’t go wrong with Simon and Garfunkel.” He looked up to the sky as if he was paying homage to the duo.

I looked over the worn cover. I had bought a retro looking record player, more for decoration than anything, but it might be nice to have something to play on it. “I’ll take it. And if you have anything by Simon and Garfunkel, I’ll take that too.”

It looked like he was going to tear up. “You are a gem, Miss Melanie.”

I did miss this place.

With my new treasures, I headed back to find my best friends. I was feeling more alive than I had in months. I needed this place and these people, even if I was the hot topic of Indigo Bay gossip. And I had a feeling there was only going to be more of it. Declan was walking my way. For a second I felt seventeen again. His smile and eyes always did me in and when he looked at me, I always knew they were only for me. I had convinced myself his smile was different for me than for anyone else. He was wearing it now, but that was silly. We were silly.

I bit my lip. “Declan, what are you doing here?” I looked around, praying no one was paying attention. His family moved away a few months after he graduated from high school. I hoped that meant most people wouldn’t recognize him or his connection to me.

He glanced down at my baby bump.

“Yes, I’m pregnant.”

His eyes headed north. “I didn’t mean to stare. Congratulations.”

“Thank you.” I walked past him.

He followed. “Do you think we could talk?”

“About what?”

He laughed. “You sound like a tough sell, like your dad.”

“You didn’t answer the question.”

He studied me carefully. I could see the salesman gears turning through those gorgeous eyes of his. “I thought maybe we could catch up.”

I wasn’t buying it. “Declan, considering the last time we were together and all the time that has passed, I don’t know what we have to catch up on.”

“I know. That’s what I wanted to talk to you about.”

“Why? It was long time ago.”

“Maybe I was wrong—you’re tougher than your dad.”

I stopped and looked up at him. Even though I was five-foot-eight, he was several inches taller than me. “No. I just can’t look back anymore. I wish you the best.”

“Please, Mel.”

His charm almost had me, but I had fallen victim to the allure of a handsome man one too many times. “Bye, Declan.”

~*~

I was soaking up the sun by our pool waiting for my parents to get home. Momma and her friends had been running a booth selling crafts to benefit the local animal shelter. She was always busy doing good. It’s one of the things I loved about her. And Daddy was playing a round of golf after his meeting with Declan. I still couldn’t believe he hadn’t told me who he was meeting with. Maybe he figured so much time had passed it didn’t matter, but you would have at least thought he would mention it as a point of interest.

I tried not to think about Declan as I scrolled through a Realtor site on my tablet. I needed to find my own place, even though Momma was begging me to stay. I think Daddy and she were looking forward to being grandparents as much as I was looking forward to being a mom. It was still hard to believe. I was happy to finally be surrounded by people that were excited about the impending arrival.

I looked out toward the ocean and watched the waves roll in. I thought back to the night I told Greyson I was pregnant. I was so excited, even though I knew he wanted to hold off until we had been married five years and we were shy by a couple. I knew in an instant that not only was he not happy about it, but he was angry. He blamed me for not being careful. He immediately left, said he needed to think. It didn’t take him long to decide we were done.

It was then I found out about the affair he was having with one of the tellers at the bank he was president of. She worked in one of the branches. I’m not sure how they met, but he refused to admit paternity. And suddenly I found myself very alone. His mom, Tamara, whom I had been close to, pulled away and believed her son’s lies that it was me that had been unfaithful. Our married friends seemed to vanish. And I was left with a choice. Force the paternity issue or let him buy me off. At first I was determined to make him admit he was the father—because he absolutely was—but then I realized after all his ugly actions, he was the last man I ever wanted to be the father of my child.

With my support group gone and the major humiliation he had put me through, I packed up and left after the divorce was final. I basically took his bribe and a whole lot of his money. I wasn’t sure what kind of person that made me, but it gave me time to think about what my next steps were. And it set my baby and me up for a long time. One thing I knew for sure was that my plans would never involve my ex-husband. I beat myself up on a frequent basis about how blind I had been. There were probably a hundred warning signs along the way and I missed them or chose not to pay attention because I loved him.

He had this charisma to him. He was a rock star in the financial world. Not only was he the president of one of the largest banks in Pennsylvania, but he was constantly asked to speak at conferences. He was innovative and knew how to motivate people. And when he set his sights on me, I was flattered and taken in by him. He was a lot older than me, eleven years to be exact, and that also excited me. But after we married he worked more than he was ever home. I was low on his priority list. In the end, I was only there to give him the image he wanted. I was educated and came from a good family. I was just part of his resume. When he found out I was pregnant, he didn’t have time to add fatherhood to the list. He barely had time to be a husband and a philanderer.

He was one more man to forget about. I was seriously considering telling this baby of mine that I had been artificially inseminated. How could I ever explain to my child that he didn’t want him or her? I wasn’t looking forward to the questions I knew would come.

For just a second I wondered what would have happened if I had taken Declan’s ring and waited for him. But I couldn’t go down that road. I couldn’t look back, like I told Declan. My life was already trailed with too many regrets. No sense in adding one more. And who’s to say that it would have worked out anyway?