"These tall chairs are usually really fun," Amy said as she struggled to lift herself all the way up onto the seat. "Not so much, when you are six months pregnant," she added. Ben chuckled and she smiled. He set her food down and sat down across from her. Amy immediately dug into her corn dog and fries.

"It's a wonder our baby is so healthy considering the junk food you eat," Ben jabbed jokingly.

"Hey," she said, playfully smacking him. He feigned injury and pouted. "You offered to buy me the corn dog," she sniped back, cocking her eyebrow at him. "Besides, Mom makes me eat veggies and fruit. I take the supplements. The food at your house is always amazingly delicious and healthy. Spare me the lecture and let me enjoy a little bit of corn dog heaven," she retorted, taking another bite. She could barely keep a straight face.

"So, I did. So, I did," Ben replied, acknowledging his part in her current junk food mania. He smiled at her. Amy grinned, and after swallowing the bite of corndog, leaned across the table, allowing him to press his lips to hers. She was delighted by his ability to always make her feel better, even if it sometimes happened in the strangest ways. "So, how come you didn't want to buy that little pink dress we saw at the store? I thought for sure you'd want to," he asked, taking a bite of his chicken sandwich. "Or something for yourself?" he added.

"That little pink dress was pretty cute. I'll see if it's there the next time we're at the mall. No need to go back now. The baby is still a few months off. Did you see that amazing dress in the window right as we were leaving though? It wasn't a baby dress. It was a dress for a mother, but it was not frumpy like they can sometimes be. It was amazing, way too expensive, but amazing."

"I guess I hadn't noticed it," he replied, taking a sip of his soda.

"I'm feeling pretty tired, would it be okay if you just took me home after we finish eating? As much as I'd love to spend more time with you, I think I just need to nap."

"You can nap with me, at my house," he offered a bit suggestively.

"No, I'm really tired. If I go back to your house, we'll just end up talking and I won't sleep. You're too entertaining, Mr. Boykewich," she said with a smile.

"Okay. I'll just have to live with that, I suppose," he replied, then gave her a cordial smile in return.

He kissed her goodbye and wished her a restful sleep, and as soon as he dropped Amy off at her house, Ben pulled out his cell phone to make a call, a call that had to be made.

--

The next afternoon at four o'clock, Ben was sitting in his room in front of his computer working on a paper for his English lit class when his phone rang. It was Amy. "I love you," he said, answering it.

"I love you, too," she replied. "How are you?"

"I'm doing alright. I'm working on this English lit paper that's due tomorrow. Did I tell you about that?"

"Mmhm, it has to be six pages long, right?"

"That's the one," he replied. "Six pages is a tremendous amount to write about a book I didn't understand and barely read," Ben chuckled. "I'm gonna be at this all night."

"Do you need help?" she asked, with a smile. He could hear the way her voice changed when she smiled. He couldn't help but smile in response.

"No, I'll be okay. It's just going to cut into our time, that's all. I'm sorry, but I have to finish this."

"Oh," she replied. She hadn't even realized that it would mean she would not see him that night. "It's alright," she replied, trying to hide the disappointment in her voice.

"Good, I'm glad you'll be okay with it," he replied. She was a little hurt that he hadn't noticed the sadness in her voice. "We can hang out tomorrow night. It's Friday. I'll send my dad's driver over to pick you up tomorrow."

"Ben, I can have my mom give me a ride. You don't have to go out of your way," she replied.

"No trouble at all, sweetie. Just be ready at the normal time," he said. "Goodnight, Amy. I love you."

"Goodnight, Ben. I love you, too." Her throat caught a little on the last few words, but he'd already hung up. She sighed, closing her phone and sitting down, with a thump, on her bed. What am I going to do all night?

After flipping through some old magazines, making and eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and then attempting to watch some television, she eventually ended up back in her room on her bed, in her pajamas. What did I do before I met Ben?, she wondered as she idly fussed with the pendant between her fingers. I must have done something, right? She hadn't seen Madison or Lauren in months because she wasn't going to school – and even if she had been, Lauren still wasn't really allowed to see her. Without the social aspect of school and without Ben, Amy really didn't know what to do.

--

Ben yawned and shut the lid on his laptop. He'd finished sooner than he expected. He pulled a small card and a pen out of his desk drawer, and wrote a short note on it. Then he walked over to the bed and removed the large parcel from underneath it. Tucking the card underneath the ribbon, he smiled, ran his hands over the top and placed the package next to the door.

Snapping off the light, he went to bed.

--

There was a knock on her door. "Come in," she answered.

"Hi, Amy, honey," Anne greeted her. "What are you doing home? I didn't expect you to be in yet. It's only a little after nine. Did you get in a fight with Ben? He didn't try anything, did he?"

Amy scoffed, and then giggled. "Try anything? Have you seen me lately?" she asked, holding her stomach. "Plus, its Ben you're talking about, remember? No. We didn't get in a fight. I didn't go see him tonight; he was busy working on an English lit paper. He said he didn't have time," she replied with a sigh.

"I'm sorry, Amy. I know how much you care about Ben," she said, rubbing her daughter's back tenderly. "Especially in your situation, which is a peculiar one to say the least, being away must be hard."

Amy nodded.

"What's this?" Anne asked, lifting the pendant off her chest and inspecting it. "It's gorgeous."

"Didn't I show that to you?" she said perking up. "Ben gave it to me. It used to belong to his Mom. He said to wear it as a reminder that he was always thinking of me, even when he wasn't able to be around."

"Today sounds like a good day to have that," Anne realized.

Amy nodded again. "I really love him, Mom."

"I know, honey."

"No, I don't think you do. I think sometimes that you think I just like him - that I just say I love him because he says it and he's willing to provide for me and the baby. But that's not true. It's not true at all. I really do love him. I don't know what to do when he's not around, Mom. I've been sitting up here all alone for hours now because I don't remember what I did before him, before I got pregnant."

"Oh, Amy, I'm sorry," Anne said pulling her into a hug. "It'll get better, I promise. You'll get older and you'll have the baby. There will be things to do, big things ahead. This is a tough time, but you'll get through it. I'm always here for you, too."

"Thank, Mom," she replied, reciprocating the embrace. "Can I ask you something?" she said, a bit hesitantly.

"Anything," Anne replied.

"I've thought about it, a lot, and after I have the baby, I think I want to go live with Ben at his house. I think it makes the most sense if we're getting married after the baby is born. I can't very well expect him to leave his house and live here. Would you be really mad if I did that?"

"My little girl is growing up," Anne sighed, as tears formed behind her eyes. "No, Amy. I'll miss you very much, but I think you should do what you think is best for the baby. For you and Ben, too."

"Thanks," Amy replied.

"I just want you to be happy. Amy, I'm very proud of you for taking responsibility for this, and I'm so glad that you found someone like Ben to lean on. He's a very nice boy," she added.

"He is," she agreed, smiling and touching the pendant once more.