A Womb With A View. By Kakie
What if Larry left behind something more than just a note?
(This story is not part of the other stories I have written. It's a solo piece.)
Chapter 1
John walked into Ally's office and found her stretched out on the sofa.
"Dammit, Ally, this is the fourth time I have found you like this. You need to see a doctor."
"I don't need a doctor, John. I just have a slight touch of the flu."
"Flu, my ass. This has been going on for weeks and it's not getting any better. I'm taking you to the doctor right now."
"Can't today. New client coming in at two."
"Elaine will reschedule. Let's go."
He pulled and dragged her to her feet. He handed her purse to her and led her to the elevators and into the parking garage.
Once inside the car, she turned to him. "If it's not flu, then what could it be?"
John started the car. "That's what the doctor is going to tell us."
"It's definitely not the flu, Ms. McBeal," the doctor told Ally later in his office following the exam.
Ally grabbed John's hand. "Oh my God. What is it? What's wrong with me? Am I going to die?"
Dr. Miller smiled at her. "You're not sick, Ms. McBeal, or even dying. You're pregnant."
"What!" she exclaimed as she jumped up. "What did you say?"
"I said that you're pregnant." He watched as Ally's face went pale. He helped her back into the chair and turned to John. "Is this pregnancy completely out-of-the-blue?"
"Like you wouldn't believe," John informed the doctor.
Dr. Miller returned to his desk. "Ms. McBeal, I am having a hard time understanding this. When I did the exam, I felt maybe a ten or eleven week old fetus. Without an ultrasound, I can't be more accurate. You're nearly three months along and you had no idea?"
Ally shook her head, still in disbelief.
"Do you remember the last time you had your period?"
Ally closed her eyes and tried to remember. "I can't remember." She turned to John. "I can't remember, John."
He took her hand. "How long has it been since Larry left?"
"He left May 20th."
Dr. Miller made some notes. And Larry would be the father?"
Ally nodded, tears streaming down her face.
"It certainly explains some things. Now, according to my chart, you should be about two and a half months along. Ms. McBeal, you need to make an appointment with your OBGYN immediately."
John stood up. "I'll make sure she does. Is they're anything else?"
"The good news is that the morning sickness you have been experiencing all this time should begin to pass pretty soon. I think the worse may be over."
Ally thanked the doctor and she and John left. As John drove, Ally cried. He sat with her all evening while she continued to cry. When he left her place late that night, he was so exhausted he felt like he had been crying all day.
She called in sick the next day as he expected. After work he stopped by her place expecting to find a depressed Ally but he found just the opposite.
"You're dressed," he observed.
"Yeah, they kind of frown on wrinkled PJs at the doctor's office."
"Oh," he said surprised, "you went to see your doctor."
"Yup, and the little one here is due around Valentine's Day. How ironic is that?"
John was taken back by her positive attitude. "You seem happy about this pregnancy."
She glanced over at him. "Because of my crying fit yesterday? Well, blame it on exhaustion, hormones and a broken heart."
"And today?"
She leaned over and picked up a book off of the coffee table. "Today I begin a chapter of my life as a mother starting with being pregnant."
He took the book from her hands. "What to expect when you're expecting." He handed her back the book.
"I don't understand how you can be so upbeat about having Larry's baby."
"My baby," she corrected. "This is my baby."
"Ally, you didn't get pregnant alone," John reminded her.
"You're right. From this point forward, he was simply a sperm donor."
"Ally!" John exclaimed. "He was not some guy who you picked up in a bar. You loved him and wanted to spend the rest of your life with him."
"I know that," she said as she threw the book across the room. "You don't think I know that? There isn't a second that goes by that I don't know that this baby was created in love by a man who left me. He made his choice and I've made mine."
"It's his baby, too. He has a right to know."
"I don't agree. He has his life in Detroit with Sam and whomever he chooses to spend it with. I have my life here with my baby. I don't need him to support us; I can do that just fine. If the kid needs a strong male role model, he has you."
"But I'm not his father."
"Maybe not but chances are his father wouldn't care." Ally picked up the tossed book and placed it back on the coffee table.
"Don't you think he has the right to decide that?"
Ally ran her hands through her hair. "John, I have spend the last few months trying to get over the love of my life. I was making progress. Just last week I was able to sit through the first movie we ever saw as a couple and didn't cry once. That may not mean much to you, but it was a lot for me. Now I'm pregnant with his baby. That is going to make getting over him a million times harder. If you throw Larry back into the mix, I'll never get through it. I can't deal with him right now. Do you understand?"
"No, I don't. He has a right to know, Ally. That's the bottom line."
She stared him dead in the eyes. "You listen to me, John Cage. I have made up my mind on this. Larry is not to know about this baby. Maybe some day I'll tell him but that day is not here. This is my child and I will do this my way."
John resigned himself and nodded.
When he got home he picked up the phone and dialed. "Sorry Ally, I don't agree with this. Hello? Yes, I'd like to book a seat on your first available flight to Detroit."
John walked up to the secretary and smiled. "I don't have an appointment but I'd like a few minutes with Mr. Paul."
The secretary smiled a small smile back. "I'm sorry, Mr. Paul does not see anyone without an appointment."
John leaned forward. "Tell Mr. Paul that John Cage is here. I'm sure he'll see me."
She picked up the phone and repeated the words to her boss. She hung up. "He'll see you now."
"Thanks." John opened the door and stepped inside.
Larry stood and crossed his desk. "Well, John, you are the last person I expected to see show up here. Make that the second to last."
"Ally wouldn't stoop to that level," he said with a sneer to his voice.
Larry leaned against the edge of this desk. "Now that we've established that I'm the most hated man in Boston, what brings you to Detroit?"
"Ally."
"That's what I figured. Did something happen? Is she hurt, ill?"
John shook his head. "She's fine."
Larry took a deep breath. "That's good."
"So you still care?"
Larry's jaw dropped. "Still care? Of course I still care. I love her. She's the last thing I think about at night and the first thing in the morning."
John sat down on the small couch. "I don't care how you feel, Larry. Your feelings are of no interest to me. I am not here to get information on your feelings or plans. I'm here for one reason only. I believe very strongly in a man's right to know and although Ally has no idea I'm here and will probably kill me when she finds out, I am willing to risk a long time friendship because of something I believe in."
Larry blinked a few times. "I'm sorry, John. I have no idea what you are talking about."
"Ally's pregnant."
Larry lost all of his muscle control and slid to the floor.
John looked down at him. "Are you okay?"
"What did you say?" asked Larry in a strange voice.
"I said that Ally's pregnant. Why are you still on the floor?"
From the floor, Larry's mind went in a thousand different directions. "How did this happen?"
John sighed and shook his head. "I'm not going to stand here and explain the fundamentals of conception to you. I have a plane to catch." He stared down at the man still sitting on the floor. "Larry, are you listening to me?"
Larry slowly stood up, unsure of his footing. "Ally's pregnant. How long?"
"How long has she known or how far along is she?"
He closed his eyes. "Both."
"She's known a few days and she's almost three months along."
"Three months," he whispered. "She's three months pregnant with my baby."
John checked his watch. He needed to hurry. "Look Larry, I'm hoping you'll do the right thing and just leave the situation alone. She's better off without you. I don't plan to tell her I was here or that you know."
The fog began to clear from Larry's brain. "She doesn't want me to know?"
"No, she made it clear she doesn't want you involved. She said you have a life here with Sam and she doesn't want to see you anymore."
"But it's my baby, too. How can she do that?"
John felt bad for his former friend. "She still loves you and will never get over you if you're in the picture. Just give her what she wants. Do that for her." He glanced again at his watch. "I have to go catch my flight. Like I said, I'm not going to tell her about this but if you decide to act, let me know. I can't let her be blind sided." He handed Larry his business card with his cell phone number on the back.
After John left, Larry sank onto the couch. He rubbed his face with his hands. Phrases kept running through his head, Ally's pregnant, almost three months, she doesn't want you involved. Okay, Larry, he told himself, let's think this through. Ally's pregnant with your child. She doesn't want you to know much less be involved. John's right, you've already put her through hell, just file what he said in the back of your brain and move on. She doesn't know you know. She's not using this pregnancy to get you back. She doesn't need your money to support this baby. She's perfectly capable of being a single parent. A single parent to my child. A child who won't know that I'm his father. I can't do that. I can't let my child go through life without me. Even a long distance father is better than no father at all. Okay, that settles it. I'll tell Ally I know and we'll deal with it. We'll be co-parents. I can be a parent to my child from here. It works for Jamie and me. But we live in the same city and plus I don't love her. Can I do it? Can I be a part of my child's life and watch as Ally moves on with her life with other men? Oh God, she must hate me. No wait, John said she still loved me. She can't hate me if she still loves me, can she? Could this be my way back in? I should never have left. It was stupid and coward. Why did I ever think to take a piece of cobbler as an omen? What a moron I am. But wait a sec. This baby could be an omen. An omen telling me to fix things. But can I do it? Do I want to move back to Boston and be a real family with Ally and my child?
"Yes," he said without realizing it.
What if Larry left behind something more than just a note?
(This story is not part of the other stories I have written. It's a solo piece.)
Chapter 1
John walked into Ally's office and found her stretched out on the sofa.
"Dammit, Ally, this is the fourth time I have found you like this. You need to see a doctor."
"I don't need a doctor, John. I just have a slight touch of the flu."
"Flu, my ass. This has been going on for weeks and it's not getting any better. I'm taking you to the doctor right now."
"Can't today. New client coming in at two."
"Elaine will reschedule. Let's go."
He pulled and dragged her to her feet. He handed her purse to her and led her to the elevators and into the parking garage.
Once inside the car, she turned to him. "If it's not flu, then what could it be?"
John started the car. "That's what the doctor is going to tell us."
"It's definitely not the flu, Ms. McBeal," the doctor told Ally later in his office following the exam.
Ally grabbed John's hand. "Oh my God. What is it? What's wrong with me? Am I going to die?"
Dr. Miller smiled at her. "You're not sick, Ms. McBeal, or even dying. You're pregnant."
"What!" she exclaimed as she jumped up. "What did you say?"
"I said that you're pregnant." He watched as Ally's face went pale. He helped her back into the chair and turned to John. "Is this pregnancy completely out-of-the-blue?"
"Like you wouldn't believe," John informed the doctor.
Dr. Miller returned to his desk. "Ms. McBeal, I am having a hard time understanding this. When I did the exam, I felt maybe a ten or eleven week old fetus. Without an ultrasound, I can't be more accurate. You're nearly three months along and you had no idea?"
Ally shook her head, still in disbelief.
"Do you remember the last time you had your period?"
Ally closed her eyes and tried to remember. "I can't remember." She turned to John. "I can't remember, John."
He took her hand. "How long has it been since Larry left?"
"He left May 20th."
Dr. Miller made some notes. And Larry would be the father?"
Ally nodded, tears streaming down her face.
"It certainly explains some things. Now, according to my chart, you should be about two and a half months along. Ms. McBeal, you need to make an appointment with your OBGYN immediately."
John stood up. "I'll make sure she does. Is they're anything else?"
"The good news is that the morning sickness you have been experiencing all this time should begin to pass pretty soon. I think the worse may be over."
Ally thanked the doctor and she and John left. As John drove, Ally cried. He sat with her all evening while she continued to cry. When he left her place late that night, he was so exhausted he felt like he had been crying all day.
She called in sick the next day as he expected. After work he stopped by her place expecting to find a depressed Ally but he found just the opposite.
"You're dressed," he observed.
"Yeah, they kind of frown on wrinkled PJs at the doctor's office."
"Oh," he said surprised, "you went to see your doctor."
"Yup, and the little one here is due around Valentine's Day. How ironic is that?"
John was taken back by her positive attitude. "You seem happy about this pregnancy."
She glanced over at him. "Because of my crying fit yesterday? Well, blame it on exhaustion, hormones and a broken heart."
"And today?"
She leaned over and picked up a book off of the coffee table. "Today I begin a chapter of my life as a mother starting with being pregnant."
He took the book from her hands. "What to expect when you're expecting." He handed her back the book.
"I don't understand how you can be so upbeat about having Larry's baby."
"My baby," she corrected. "This is my baby."
"Ally, you didn't get pregnant alone," John reminded her.
"You're right. From this point forward, he was simply a sperm donor."
"Ally!" John exclaimed. "He was not some guy who you picked up in a bar. You loved him and wanted to spend the rest of your life with him."
"I know that," she said as she threw the book across the room. "You don't think I know that? There isn't a second that goes by that I don't know that this baby was created in love by a man who left me. He made his choice and I've made mine."
"It's his baby, too. He has a right to know."
"I don't agree. He has his life in Detroit with Sam and whomever he chooses to spend it with. I have my life here with my baby. I don't need him to support us; I can do that just fine. If the kid needs a strong male role model, he has you."
"But I'm not his father."
"Maybe not but chances are his father wouldn't care." Ally picked up the tossed book and placed it back on the coffee table.
"Don't you think he has the right to decide that?"
Ally ran her hands through her hair. "John, I have spend the last few months trying to get over the love of my life. I was making progress. Just last week I was able to sit through the first movie we ever saw as a couple and didn't cry once. That may not mean much to you, but it was a lot for me. Now I'm pregnant with his baby. That is going to make getting over him a million times harder. If you throw Larry back into the mix, I'll never get through it. I can't deal with him right now. Do you understand?"
"No, I don't. He has a right to know, Ally. That's the bottom line."
She stared him dead in the eyes. "You listen to me, John Cage. I have made up my mind on this. Larry is not to know about this baby. Maybe some day I'll tell him but that day is not here. This is my child and I will do this my way."
John resigned himself and nodded.
When he got home he picked up the phone and dialed. "Sorry Ally, I don't agree with this. Hello? Yes, I'd like to book a seat on your first available flight to Detroit."
John walked up to the secretary and smiled. "I don't have an appointment but I'd like a few minutes with Mr. Paul."
The secretary smiled a small smile back. "I'm sorry, Mr. Paul does not see anyone without an appointment."
John leaned forward. "Tell Mr. Paul that John Cage is here. I'm sure he'll see me."
She picked up the phone and repeated the words to her boss. She hung up. "He'll see you now."
"Thanks." John opened the door and stepped inside.
Larry stood and crossed his desk. "Well, John, you are the last person I expected to see show up here. Make that the second to last."
"Ally wouldn't stoop to that level," he said with a sneer to his voice.
Larry leaned against the edge of this desk. "Now that we've established that I'm the most hated man in Boston, what brings you to Detroit?"
"Ally."
"That's what I figured. Did something happen? Is she hurt, ill?"
John shook his head. "She's fine."
Larry took a deep breath. "That's good."
"So you still care?"
Larry's jaw dropped. "Still care? Of course I still care. I love her. She's the last thing I think about at night and the first thing in the morning."
John sat down on the small couch. "I don't care how you feel, Larry. Your feelings are of no interest to me. I am not here to get information on your feelings or plans. I'm here for one reason only. I believe very strongly in a man's right to know and although Ally has no idea I'm here and will probably kill me when she finds out, I am willing to risk a long time friendship because of something I believe in."
Larry blinked a few times. "I'm sorry, John. I have no idea what you are talking about."
"Ally's pregnant."
Larry lost all of his muscle control and slid to the floor.
John looked down at him. "Are you okay?"
"What did you say?" asked Larry in a strange voice.
"I said that Ally's pregnant. Why are you still on the floor?"
From the floor, Larry's mind went in a thousand different directions. "How did this happen?"
John sighed and shook his head. "I'm not going to stand here and explain the fundamentals of conception to you. I have a plane to catch." He stared down at the man still sitting on the floor. "Larry, are you listening to me?"
Larry slowly stood up, unsure of his footing. "Ally's pregnant. How long?"
"How long has she known or how far along is she?"
He closed his eyes. "Both."
"She's known a few days and she's almost three months along."
"Three months," he whispered. "She's three months pregnant with my baby."
John checked his watch. He needed to hurry. "Look Larry, I'm hoping you'll do the right thing and just leave the situation alone. She's better off without you. I don't plan to tell her I was here or that you know."
The fog began to clear from Larry's brain. "She doesn't want me to know?"
"No, she made it clear she doesn't want you involved. She said you have a life here with Sam and she doesn't want to see you anymore."
"But it's my baby, too. How can she do that?"
John felt bad for his former friend. "She still loves you and will never get over you if you're in the picture. Just give her what she wants. Do that for her." He glanced again at his watch. "I have to go catch my flight. Like I said, I'm not going to tell her about this but if you decide to act, let me know. I can't let her be blind sided." He handed Larry his business card with his cell phone number on the back.
After John left, Larry sank onto the couch. He rubbed his face with his hands. Phrases kept running through his head, Ally's pregnant, almost three months, she doesn't want you involved. Okay, Larry, he told himself, let's think this through. Ally's pregnant with your child. She doesn't want you to know much less be involved. John's right, you've already put her through hell, just file what he said in the back of your brain and move on. She doesn't know you know. She's not using this pregnancy to get you back. She doesn't need your money to support this baby. She's perfectly capable of being a single parent. A single parent to my child. A child who won't know that I'm his father. I can't do that. I can't let my child go through life without me. Even a long distance father is better than no father at all. Okay, that settles it. I'll tell Ally I know and we'll deal with it. We'll be co-parents. I can be a parent to my child from here. It works for Jamie and me. But we live in the same city and plus I don't love her. Can I do it? Can I be a part of my child's life and watch as Ally moves on with her life with other men? Oh God, she must hate me. No wait, John said she still loved me. She can't hate me if she still loves me, can she? Could this be my way back in? I should never have left. It was stupid and coward. Why did I ever think to take a piece of cobbler as an omen? What a moron I am. But wait a sec. This baby could be an omen. An omen telling me to fix things. But can I do it? Do I want to move back to Boston and be a real family with Ally and my child?
"Yes," he said without realizing it.
