Ketchup Popsicle

Somebody has their knee in my back. I can’t believe that nobody would give their seat up for a pregnant woman. I’m pretty friggin’ humungous, it’s not like they can’t tell just by looking at me.
Sandra looked up from where she was sitting on step inside the multi-level train car and into the blank faces of the commuters. She wasn’t sure how much longer she could bare the ride back and forth everyday. The worst part was that if Mike would just get up a few hours earlier, instead of sleeping in until nine every morning, he could drive her to work. A tear ran down her cheek as she reflected on her current living situation. She was so much happier living on her own, but with the baby coming, she didn’t know what to expect and thought that accepting Mike’s offer to move into his house would be helpful.

Mike was not thrilled about having her there either. He was a bachelor and always would be. Fathering a child wouldn’t change a man like him. Sandra didn’t want to change Mike, she didn’t want him as a husband, but she couldn’t change the fact that in their short stint as a couple she had wound up pregnant at the age of twenty-two. She reminded herself often that it could be worse, she could have been a statistic from the small town she grew up in and have been pregnant at age fifteen. At least all of her fun and wild days were already behind her and she felt ready to be a Mother. That was the only thing that was right about the mess she’d gotten herself into.

The baby began to wiggle around in Sandra’s belly as though confirming her thoughts. If anyone was enjoying the train ride it was the baby. He liked the motion of the fast moving train as it gently hummed and rocked passed the little towns on the outskirts of the city.
At the train station Mike didn’t even bother to get out of the car as Sandra waddled toward it, impatient travelers pushing past her to get their connecting busses. She wrapped her arms protectively around her belly as she made her way slowly to the black sedan. It was hard to hold her head up to see where she was going.

Sandra greeted Mike with a little kiss after awkwardly sliding into the very low passenger seat. "How was your day?" She asked.
"Alright." Mike answered in an uninterested tone. His worked at a car dealership and sweet talked women out of their money all day long. He was the type of guy that women couldn’t resist; tall and lean, with tanned skin and green eyes. He was a major sports and car enthusiast and therefore men loved him too. Mike wasn’t modest either, bragging that he could sell a ketchup Popsicle to a woman wearing white gloves. Sandra thought that was funny before she realized how true it was.
He didn’t bother asking how her day was in return and they drove to his house in silence. There was a big elephant in the car with them. It was Sandra’s belly.

It changed everything. They were just having fun before, dating casually, Mike wasn’t even her type really. She preferred more rugged men with character but his slick tongue and his shifty eyes drew her in. They didn’t even make a nice looking couple, her pale skin and average looks made her seem like a ghost at his side. It was tough dating in the city and Sandra was beginning to get lonely when she met him. She wouldn’t have given a guy like Mike the time of day otherwise. It was just her luck that he would be the one to knock her up. And she knew he felt the same way about her. He probably thought that she had gotten pregnant on purpose. The truth was that life had become so exciting and so spontaneous, that some nights Mike didn’t take her home at all to where her little pack of pills always sat on the top of her dresser. A little too late she realized that she should have been keeping them in her purse instead.

"I made dinner." Mike mumbled as they entered the house and the smell of spaghetti sauce wafted to the front door. Maybe he’s coming around, she thought.
"Great," She said aloud although she absolutely despised spaghetti and was sure she had mentioned that to him before at some point. She was ravishingly hungry though and would eat a salted boot if that’s all that was presented to her at that point.
They ate in front of the television. The Lakers were playing and Sandra didn’t mind watching Cobe Briant do his thing. She cuddled up to Mike who made no attempt to put his arm around her or acknowledge her there. In fact he was as stiff as a board. After about a half an hour, Sandra drifted off to the bedroom to cry herself to sleep.
The baby nudged and wiggled inside her as she cried, his way of telling her she wasn’t as alone as she felt.