Katy

I feel kisses all over my face, I open my eyes and see Sebastian looking at me with his beautiful green eyes, smiling at me... How handsome this man is... Today marks 6 months that we've been together... I can't even believe it's already been six months.

I worked at the same cafe I work at today... I always had a reputation for being a pain and not giving the time of day to men who hit on me... I'm 19 years old, and it's only been a year since I left the orphanage where I was raised since I was three, when my parents died in a car accident... I didn't see him as someone I could have a relationship with... He was the type of man I would never get involved with... The girls I work with are used to accepting invitations from customers to go out... but not me... and everyone knows it, that's why they call me a pain... When I met Sebastian, he was with a group of friends... they always come on Fridays for happy hour... they drink and have fun, especially with the girls who work here...

I remember it like it was yesterday, the first time Sebastian asked me out... He was with his friends, they were drinking and laughing a lot... as soon as I went to take their orders, he invited me out... but, as always, I refused, and this became a reason for ridicule among his friends; they laughed and said he'd lost his touch with women... But at the end of my shift, after everyone had left, there he was across the street, waiting for me to finish work... He asked to take me home, but I refused, said I would take the bus, but he didn't accept my refusal and said he would follow the bus and would only go home after I was safely home... So I accepted the ride, and we started to get to know each other, and from that day on, we've never been apart...

Sebastian: What are you thinking about, sleepyhead?

Katy: About the day we met. It seems like yesterday, and it's already been six months...

Sebastian: True... time flies, doesn't it? I need to get up, my beautiful... I have an early meeting at the company today... you can sleep a little longer, you can...

Katy: I think I will... I'm unexplainably sleepy today...

He gives me another little kiss and gets up, goes to the bathroom to freshen up and take a shower... he changes in the closet, and comes out, all handsome in a suit and tie, gives me a kiss that almost melts my body, and leaves for work...

As soon as he leaves, I get up, grab my cell phone, and call the pharmacy… I can't put this off any longer... It's been 15 days that I've been feeling nauseous, and my period is several days late... at first, I didn't think it was anything because my period has always been irregular, but yesterday, after smelling coffee at the cafe, I threw up again… my friend Ana, who already knew I'd been feeling unwell for days, suggested it could be pregnancy... and that hadn't even crossed my mind... I was a virgin when I started dating Sebastian... it took a month for us to go to bed, he was super sweet and waited until I was ready... he took me to get a shot so I wouldn't get pregnant, that's why I didn't suspect...

I ordered 5 different tests so I wouldn't have any doubts... I freshen up and take a quick shower... the delivery person arrives... I take the tests, gather my courage, and do all 5... I sit and wait, without the courage to look at the result... I close my eyes and pray for it to be whatever it's meant to be... I pick up the first one, and 2 pink lines appear, the second one too, as well as the third and all the others... that's it, I'm going to be a mother... My God, I'm not ready for this now... what am I going to do, I'm only 19, I don't have a college degree, and I work as a waitress in a cafe...

And Sebastian, will he support me... or will he be angry... we've never talked about children or long-term commitment... I love him, and I know he loves me too... but a child now...

I try to calm down and take a deep breath, my cell phone rings, it's Ana...

Katy: Hello, Ana...

Ana: Hi, sweetie, how are you doing?

Katy: So-so, I'm glad you called… I took the test, girlfriend... it was positive, and now I don't know what to do... (I start to cry)

Ana: Calm down, girlfriend, breathe... stay calm, everything will be alright, I'm here to help you, you know you can always count on me... and you have Sebastian too, he loves you and he'll love it...

Katy: You think so, girlfriend... I'm so confused...

Ana: Don't worry... it'll all work out... I know it's not a good time right now, but I need to ask you a favor... do you think we could swap shifts today... if you could come in at 10 and leave at 8... I'll cover your hours and stay until 10 PM for you... I have something urgent to take care of early this morning...

Katy: Of course, girlfriend... I can, it'll even be good to distract myself a bit and think about how I'm going to tell Sebastian...

Ana: Thanks, girlfriend, don't worry, sweetie, everything will be alright... We'll have lunch together and talk, okay?

Katy: Yes, we can... thanks for everything... see you later, kisses...

Ana: Kisses, girlfriend...

Katy

I went to work Ana's shift, it was busy and that was great for me, because I didn't have time to think about how to tell Sebastian about the baby... I didn't tell him I went at a different time... I never call or text him when he's working... I don't know, I've never felt comfortable doing that... he calls or texts me when he needs to let me know about a dinner or if he's going to be late, but I never do it, I've never been to his company either, he never invited me to visit and I wouldn't go uninvited either... Now that I stop to think about it, we don't have that kind of relationship and that disheartens me a little... How did I never realize we were like this? I realized I've been settling for little... maybe because I've never been in a relationship I didn't realize how we were progressing... I've never met his parents... only his best friends because we met them the same day I met him... and I go to charity or business dinners but he always introduces me as Katerine and not as his girlfriend... And now this has been hammering in my head, I believe this isn't normal in a relationship.

Ana and I leave at 2 PM, we have to eat quickly, because it's busy today... I talk to her about what I've been thinking... she also agrees that this isn't right, even more so if I'm going to be the mother of his child... As soon as I manage to tell him about our baby, I'm also going to talk about the type of relationship we're having, because I don't want our child to grow up believing their parents don't love or respect each other...

We go back to work, at 8 PM my shift ends, I'm going to stop by a delicatessen to buy wine and a charcuterie board that Sebastian loves to celebrate... Today his friends are there for poker night, there will be time to get home, take a shower to relax, and as soon as they leave we can talk... I get nervous again and scared of his reaction, but I try to think positively as I enter the delicatessen...

As soon as I'm done with my shopping, I take a taxi, today I don't feel like waiting for the bus home... Another thing I'll need to change with the pregnancy will be about my job, I've been saving since I started spending nights at Sebastian's apartment... so I can use this money to invest in my dream... I make incredible dress designs and sew them by hand, I used to do that at the orphanage and after I went to live with Ana I made my own clothes... I just didn't do it anymore because I couldn't afford the fabrics and because I didn't have a sewing machine... but now with what I've saved in 5 months living with Sebastian I can start...

I get a taxi, and another thing that comes to mind is that even though Sebastian is very, very rich, he never said anything about me working as a waitress. Not that it isn't a dignified job—it is, very much so, as it's what has sustained me since I left the orphanage—but he never asked me to stop working or offered me a position in his company… not that I would stop or accept, because I like my independence, but still, this now sounds strange in my head...

Katy

I arrive home at 8:40 PM. Sebastian lives in a "triplex" penthouse apartment in a luxury building in New York City, which also houses the headquarters of his technology company. He is one of the richest and most successful men currently, just like his best friends, Henrico, Dimitre, and Max. They studied together at Harvard and have been friends ever since...

I leave the wine and the charcuterie board in the kitchen on the first floor. I take off my shoes, as my feet are aching badly... From the kitchen, I hear laughter and voices on the second floor where the game room is... The bedrooms are on the third floor... I'll go up to say hello to them before going up to the bedroom to take my relaxing bath…

Just as I'm about to knock on the door and go in, I hear Dimitre's voice...

Dimitre — So now, Seb, since you won the bet, what are you going to do with the waitress? Have you already picked up the key to your yacht? You can even rename it, hahaha.

Max — That's right, Seb. What are you going to do now? Are you going to dump the poor girl now that you got what you wanted, to show you could get any woman and keep her smitten for 6 months, introduce her to society as if she were one of us...

Rico — I think this joke went too far... you could have gone out with her, even taken her to bed, and then dumped her. You didn't need to stay with her all this time, Seb, and now what's going to become of her... and another thing, you didn't even need a new yacht... yours is great, by the way... I don't like these games that involve other people's lives…

Sebastian — Calm down, guys, hahaha. I'm not going to dump her yet; I'm not done with her yet... no one has ever pleased me in bed like she does... I'll only dump her when I get tired of her... and that hasn't happened yet, hahaha.

Max — Could it be my friend is in love? Hahaha.

Dimitre — Soon he'll be proposing to the waitress, hahahahaha.

Sebastian — I'm not going to propose to anyone, no... first, because I don't plan on getting married anytime soon... second, when I do get married, it will have to be to someone of my class. I need a wife who knows how to navigate the society I live in, who knows how to receive my guests at business dinners. And another thing, I want children, and I can't have children with just anyone... especially not a woman so simple and uneducated... what kind of children would they be...

Rico — Snob, hahahahaha.

My ears are ringing; I faintly hear them laughing at what Rico said… When I come to my senses, I'm sitting on the floor, leaning against the door... tears stream down my face; I cover my mouth to keep from making a sound, I don't want them to hear me... With great effort, I get up and go up the stairs to our bedroom... I'm in despair; I can't stop crying and trembling... I've never felt such immense pain inside me... it feels like my heart is being torn apart... how could I have been so stupid... it was right in front of my face all this time... the way he introduced me to others... not caring that I worked as a waitress... I was just a joke to them... My God, what did I do to deserve this humiliation from them...

I look for a backpack in the closet, trying to do things as quietly as possible. I haphazardly stuff into the backpack only the clothes I brought when I came here... I don't want anything of his... not the designer dresses, nor the bags and jewelry, much less the expensive shoes... I gather my few things and my documents... I try to calm myself and go down the stairs very slowly and quietly... they are still in the game room, laughing and talking loudly... I cover my ears, as I don't want to hear anything more that comes from their mouths... I believe they've been drinking for hours, but that doesn't change what they said... 6 months... 6 months being an idiot... a joke to them…

I manage to leave the apartment; once on the sidewalk, I hail a taxi and get in... when I sit in the car, I start breathing again; I hadn't even realized I was holding my breath... And now? Where do I go? I can't stay in this city anymore; I won't be able to... I need to run away; I never want to have to look Sebastian in the face again... how could I love a man so much whom I didn't even know... Lord, this can't be love... this has to pass... it hurts so much... The taxi driver keeps looking at me, waiting for me to tell him where to go... I wipe away my tears, ashamed, and ask him to take me to the airport... I have my savings; I'll buy a ticket to anywhere, and then I'll figure out what to do with my life and my baby's... My God! There's still the baby... for a moment, I forgot I was carrying a life...

My phone beeps, signaling a new message... I check the time: 9:30 PM. Not even an hour has passed since I arrived and heard everything they said... but to me, it feels like hours... I'm exhausted, my body heavy... The message is from Sebastian, asking if I get off work at 11 today and what I want for dinner... he hasn't realized I was there yet, because I left the things I brought in the kitchen... I turn off my phone... On poker nights, they always play until around midnight; after I arrive and take a bath, they leave... This is good because it gives me time to catch my flight, wherever it may be, and disappear…

I arrive at the airport and look for the first flight departing within the United States; I can't go abroad because I don't have a passport... The first flight leaving in 20 minutes is to Dallas... it'll have to be that one... once I get there, I'll see where I go... I buy the ticket, check in, and before I know it, I'm on the plane, taking off...

I cry the entire flight... all of this is too much for me... I've never experienced such a profound disappointment... When I lost my parents, I was only 3 years old. I grew up in an orphanage and have no memories of my parents or the accident that took them... after I turned 18 and left the orphanage, I went to live with Ana, who was also 18 and left with me... We rented a tiny, very simple apartment because it was all we could afford on a waitress's salary... I couldn't go to college because what I earned was only enough for food and rent... but I always had dreams, I always wanted more... however, life hadn't been easy for me, and doors never open for someone who came from an orphanage and has no roots...

We arrive in Dallas, and I still haven't thought about what to do or where to go... The city is very big, just like New York, and I don't want to stay in a city like this... my experience in a city like this wasn't good, and I don't want to raise my child here... but I need to save money... so I take a taxi and ask to be taken to the bus station. Once there, I'll look for a small town right here in Texas to start over, where he can't find me... although he already won his bet, I believe he won't come after me...

I arrive at the bus station, look at the ticket counter for city names, and see when the first bus leaves and where it's going... Dreamsville. I quickly turn on my phone and search for its population... 3,435. This is it... let's try to start over there, and whatever God wills... I buy my ticket with my ID card, just like I did at the airport, and not with my driver's license... I don't want to leave any clues behind in case someone tries to find me... I don't know why my ID card, made at the orphanage, only has my mother's maiden name... On the ID, my name is Katerine Taylor, and on my driver's license, my name has my father's surname, just like on my birth certificate, Katerine Jordan... So, I board the bus, on my way to my new life...