A Womb With A View by Kakie

Chapter 6

In the morning, Larry woke with a smile on his face. It was Thanksgiving Day and he and Ally were going to spend it together as a couple. He turned on his side and thought about what she said last night. She still loved him enough to come to Detroit and try to fix what happened. He couldn't ask for more than that.

He threw the covers off and decided to fix breakfast for her. But it didn't take him long to realize he was alone in the apartment. Certain she had taken off for the airport, he threw on some more clothes and opened the front door.

"Here," she said as she handed him two bags.

Surprised, he stepped back. "Where have you been?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Well, Dad, I met some friends at the library." She took one of the bags from him and stepped inside. "What's got you all panicky?"

He set both bags on the table. "I woke up and you were gone."

She pulled out a chair and sat down. "And you thought I'd what, gone back to Boston?"

"Maybe."

"Larry, if you had thought about it before panicking, you might have noticed the note sitting on the coffee table or that my clothes were still in the bedroom."

"Oh. I guess I didn't think."

"It's nice to hear the great Larry Paul admit he's wrong. Now, I bought stuff for breakfast so you can cook for me."

He cocked his head to one side. "Really?"

"And I found this little deli that's open today and they've agreed to put together a little Thanksgiving meal for us."

"Ally, for all you know, I might have had something special in mind."

"No, you didn't. I checked. Now, you must pick up the food by three before they close."

Larry fixed breakfast and the two of them ate while watching the parade on TV. Afterwards she pulled out a sonogram and handed it to Larry.

"Our daughter's first picture."

Ally pointed out all the body parts to him. "I hope she has your dark hair and blue eyes."

He stared at the picture. "And I hope she has your smile. It seems so unreal."

"What does?"

"All of it. I can't believe you're really here."

"I am." She touched his cheek. "Larry, I'm sorry for the way we left things in Boston."

He placed his hand over hers on his cheek. "I want you to know."

A knock at the door brought them back.

"I better get that," said Larry.

"And I need to get to the bathroom."

"Are you okay?" he asked, concerned.

"I'm fine. But mother nature calls. Answer the door."

She disappeared into the bathroom as Larry answered the door. It was his good buddy Jeff and his girlfriend Kate.

"Jeff, Kate. I wasn't expecting you." He closed the door behind them.

"Kate felt bad that you were all alone on Thanksgiving so we decided to come and force you to have Thanksgiving dinner with us at Kate's parents house."

"It would mean so much to me, Larry," Kate added.

Larry nodded. "I appreciate the offer, guys. But the thing is, I'm not alone."

Jeff smiled. "Is Sam here?"

Larry shook his head. "No, not Sam."

At that moment, Ally exited the bathroom. She turned and saw three pairs of eyes on her.

"Oh. Staring in stereo."

Larry took her hand as she came closer. "Jeff, Kate, this is Ally."

It was quite evident that neither Jeff nor Kate had expected this. And neither knew what to say.

Kate recovered first. "It's nice to finally meet you, Ally. I have heard so much about you. When are you due?"

Larry placed his hand on her stomach. "In February and we can't wait."

The cell phone in Ally's purse began to ring. "I need to get that. Please excuse me for a second." She grabbed her purse and hurried into the bedroom.

As soon as she was out of sight, Jeff grabbed Larry's arm. "You want to explain this to me? Because, man, I'm confused why you would invite her into your home after the hell she put you through in September?"

Larry jerked his arm free. "There is a lot you don't know, Jeff."

"Are you the father of her child?" asked Kate.

"Yes, I am. And before you say anything, Jeff, let me make this clear. Yes, the child is mine. There is no doubt about that. I found out right after she did. She's the reason I had to cancel Mexico. There was a problem with the pregnancy but everything is fine now. I never told you about it because it was personal and complicated and I wasn't ready to share it with anyone."

"Jamie and Sam included?" asked Kate.

"Jamie and Sam have no idea. This has been very hard on both of us. I still love her but after what I did to her, she lost all faith and trust in me. And then you add an unplanned pregnancy in the mix and you get."

"A great big mess," supplied Jeff. "And she came here because."

"Because she still loves me and wants to try and fix the relationship."

Jeff sighed. "I wish you luck."

"Your friends think you've lost your mind where I'm concerned, don't they?" Ally posed this question as they shared their Thanksgiving meal.

Larry thought for a second. "Yeah, they do. But they don't understand the history or see what's below the surface. But I'm sure John Cage thinks the same of you."

"Actually John has been trying to get me to do this for a long time. He was impressed by the efforts you made in September."

Larry grinned. "Really?"

"Yeah but did I listen to him? Nope. It took a hundred dollars an hour therapist to tell me the exact same thing."

"That would be your Dr. Wyatt?"

"The one and the same. I'm not the same person I was in May or even the same one from two months ago. Dr. Wyatt has made me realize that the decisions I make now can not be based on past events or feelings. I'm wiping the slate clean. No looking back." She dropped her fork on the table. "Having said that, I'll take care of these dishes."

Larry shook his head. "No, you won't. You are a guest in my home and guests never do the dishes."

She stood up and picked up some plates. "Larry, first of all, I'm not a guest. I dropped in unannounced. And second, you went and got the dinner, it's the least I can do."

He opened his mouth but she interjected. "While I'm doing this, why don't you go get a deck of cards and some chips. I'm in the mood to beat you at poker." She disappeared into the kitchen.

Beat me at poker? Yeah right, he thought to himself with a grin.

Three hours later Ally was up by fifty bucks. "That was fun," she said as she gathered all her chips close. "That fifty bucks will come in handy with diapers."

Larry couldn't believe she had actually beaten him. How could it have happened? "Did you cheat?"

She wiggled her feet that were in the chair closest to her. "Did you see me cheat?"

"Well, no."

"Okay then." She stood up and stretched. "I'm beat. What's on the agenda for tomorrow?"

Larry had to think for a second. "Jamie is bringing Sam over around lunch time. I think it's time to tell him about the baby."

She shrugged. "That's your call. I'll follow your lead."

"Okay, and then later I thought I'd take you on a tour of Detroit."

She smiled. "Could be an interesting day." She walked over and kissed him lightly on the lips. She was about to wish him good night when he pulled deeper into the kiss. She pulled back. "Stop. It's too soon. Let's take it one day at a time. Can you do that?"

He kissed her on the cheek. "I can do that. Good night, Ally."

An hour later she was still awake. That kiss had triggered things off inside her that made her head spin. She knew he was only a few feet away, probably thinking about her too. Frustrated at her self, she fluffed the pillow but in the process, knocked over the lamp. It made a loud racket as it hit the floor.

Within seconds, Larry was at the door. "What was that?"

"I think I broke your lamp."

Larry looked down at the mess on the floor. "I'd say that's a pretty good assumption. I'd better clean it up."

"I'll help." She tossed the covers back.

"No, no, you stay in bed. I don't want you bending over or squatting in your condition."

A few minutes later the remains of the lamp was in the garbage.

"Tomorrow I'll buy you a new lamp. A better lamp. One that does not break when you drop it."

Larry raised an eyebrow. "Why were you dropping my lamp?"

Ally chuckled. "I wasn't. I couldn't sleep and so I was tossing and turning and I guess I tossed one time to many and knocked the lamp off."

"Oh," he said. "Why couldn't you sleep?"

She stared at him as he stood three feet from her. Conflict waged within her. Tell him or keep quiet? Dr. Wyatt's words ran through her head. 'Don't be afraid of what you're feeling.'

She took a deep breath. "I kept thinking about you in the next room." There, she had said it.

Larry took this as a good sign and moved closer. He sat at the end of the bed. "You couldn't sleep because you were thinking about me?"

She nodded. "Yes, that's right. Why are you smiling?" she asked when she saw his face light up.

"Because that's what I've been doing for the last hour. Hell, for the last two nights."

Ally knew that the next move would have to be hers. Larry wasn't going to try anything again. She had already made her position clear. She knew that what she was about to do would change everything. There would be no going back. She reached out and touched his face. "Make love to me, Larry."

Larry jerked back. He wasn't expecting that. Hoping, yes but not expecting. He removed her hand and intertwined it with his. "Is that what you really want?" His heart was beating fast.

"I want you."

Without any words, he gently pushed her back onto the bed. "That's what I want too."

Larry opened his eyes and saw from the light that morning had just broke. They had finally fallen asleep after making love for hours. He was amazed at how great he felt after only two hours of sleep. He glanced over at Ally as she slept with her head on his chest. He could hardly believe that it had really happened. But there she was, the woman he loved, pregnant with his child, sleeping in his arms. It was his fantasy come true.

"You're smiling again."

Larry pulled her closer. "How can I not smile? Last night was amazing, as was this morning."

"Mmm. Sleep." She snuggled deeper into the covers.

A few hours later, Ally woke to the smell of breakfast. Her stomach growled so she grabbed her bathrobe and went in search of its source.

She found him fully dressed cooking up a storm in the kitchen. She stood behind him and rested her cheek against his back. "Good morning."

He turned around and gathered her close. "Good morning." He kissed her on the lips. "How did you sleep?"

"Amazingly well since there were three of us in a full size bed. How did you sleep?"

He turned back to the stove to continue cooking. "Best night's sleep I've had in months. Hungry?"

"Starved."

"Good. After we eat, I'm going to take you on that tour of Detroit and then we'll come back, eat lunch and then wait for Sam to arrive."

She frowned. "Do you think he'll be happy about his sister?"

"I think he'll be thrilled."