by J. Fritschi
“Not so good,” she replied with a crack in her soft voice as she looked at him with the eyes of a lost child.
“I’m sorry I got you mixed up in this whole thing.”
“I’m scared Mike,” she said with a quivering chin.
Mike reached out and pulled her into his chest and held her tight. “It gets easier with time. The memories won’t go away, but they get easier to deal with.” He could feel her body shaking against his.
“That’s not it,” she sniffled as she pulled away and retrieved a handkerchief from her purse that she used to wipe the mascara from her face.
“What do you mean?” Mike asked confused. “What is it?”
Kate’s eyes were shifty as she looked around the room.
“Is everything alright?” Mike asked.
“I need another glass of wine,” she said disconsolate.
Mike motioned to a short Pilipino waiter dressed in a white coat and black bowtie, butler-like uniform to bring another glass of wine.
“Why don’t you sit down,” he told her as he assisted her into an antique high back chair. The waiter brought the glass of wine and Kate gulped down half of it.
“Are you going to be alright?” he asked as he examined the worried lines on her face.
Kate took a deep breath and exhaled. “I’m fine,” she said unconvincingly.
“Why don’t you tell me what this is all about?”
Kate peered up at Mike with her fluttering lashes and baby doll eyes. “I didn’t want to tell you until I was sure.”
Oh shit. Here it comes. She was going to try and let him down easy. “You don’t have to say anything,” Mike assured her gently. “I don’t blame you for not wanting to see me anymore.”
Kate tilted her head and looked at Mike with sympathetic eyes. “You are a sweet, misguided angel Mike McCormick,” she said with tears in her eyes.
Mike could tell she was holding something back, like she wasn’t sure how to tell him and then finally her lips moved and the words came out like a revelation.
“I’m pregnant.”
Mike didn’t see that coming. Holy shit. That is what she meant when she said she wanted to talk to him alone. She wasn’t breaking up with him. She wanted to tell him he was going to be a father. Of course! She was probably scared that he wouldn’t want anything to do with the child.
Mike smiled, got down on one knee in front of her and took her hands in his as he looked her in the eyes.
“That is great news,” he assured calmly. “You are not going to have to raise our child on your own. I will take care of both of you.”
Kate shook her head with a trembling bottom lip as tears welled in her eyes.
“I’ll quit my job,” he said reassuringly. “You won’t have to worry about me not coming home one night and the child being raised without a dad.”
Tears streamed down her face as she reached out and tenderly stroked his cheek.
“I want to marry you and have a family together,” he proclaimed earnestly. “I’m ready for this now. I’ve been sober for over three months and I’ve done a lot of soul searching.”
“You don’t understand,” Kate whispered regretfully. “I don’t think the baby is yours. I think Father John’s son is going to have a cousin. I think the baby is the Sterling Killer’s.”
Mike felt like the life was sucked out of his heart as his arms dropped to his sides and he sat back on his hindquarters. His head was reeling as all the blood rushed from it. The son of God has a son…was the son of the Devil going to have a son too? What would the church do to Kate if they found out she was pregnant with the Sterling Killer’s baby? Mike now understood the feeling of fear that Father John’s dad felt when he realized he was having a sixth son. He would do whatever it took to protect Kate and her baby. If the church ever found out that the child was the son of the Antichrist, they would surely kill them both.
