The Free Pass

Chapter 4

Mallory

I woke up on Thanksgiving morning to the smell of pumpkin pie. My mom must have gotten up early to start baking.

After peeing, I threw on some sweats and made my way to the kitchen. I desperately wanted a cup of coffee, but I was limiting my caffeine intake, because apparently it was bad for the baby.

"How are you feeling?" my mom asked. She was currently up to her elbows in the turkey as she stuffed it.

"Meh. Okay. Kind of tired."

"That's normal. Eat a good breakfast. That always helped me when I was pregnant with you."

My stomach growled as if it had heard her. I usually hated breakfast. On a typical day, I didn't eat until after 10 in the morning. Now I woke up ravenous.

I popped an english muffin in the toaster. While it toasted, I poured myself a cup of orange juice. I got out the peanut butter and spread it all over my english muffin when it was ready. I took my breakfast over to the counter and sat on a stool, grabbing a banana out of the fruit basket.

"What time are they coming over today?" I asked between bites.

"We told them dinner was at 2:00."

"It's weird that we're celebrating a holiday together. Like really weird."

My mom finished the bird and went to the sink to scrub her hands.

"It might be the first of many holidays we spend together," she said.

"I doubt it. I'm not marrying someone who doesn't want to marry me. He's only entertaining the idea because Dad is threatening him."

My mom walked over so that she was standing across the counter from me.

"Your dad only has your best interests in mind. He wants to make sure you and the baby are taken care of."

"I get it. I just think a shotgun wedding is ridiculous. This is 2019, not 1819."

We both heard the front door open and close. Seconds later my dad walked into the kitchen, ending the conversation. There was no discussing this with my father.

~~~~~~

"More pie, Shawn? Andrew?" my mother asked.

Shawn put his plate out for a second piece and said thanks. Andrew declined.

Dinner had been okay. No one had talked about our future plans. Instead, there'd been a lot of talk about us as individuals. My mom wanted to know everything possible about Shawn. He reciprocated by asking about me, which felt a bit contrived. I doubt he really cared that much about what instrument I played in middle school band. Andrew mostly observed, though he joined the conversation just enough to be polite.

I offered to help clean up when we were done, but my mom pushed me out of the kitchen.

"Why don't you and Shawn spend some time in the basement alone?" she suggested.

Oh the irony. My parents had been so overprotective of me when I was a teenager. I was never allowed to be alone in the basement with a boy. They assumed I was a virgin and felt my virtue had to be protected at all costs. They probably liked to think Shawn was my first and only.

He wasn't.

I'd been with several guys in college and several before that when I was in high school. I liked sex and wasn't ashamed of that.

I sighed and showed Shawn to the basement stairs. We were about to go down when Andrew, who was behind us, spoke up.

"I'm going to head back to the hotel to do some work. Text me when you need a ride, okay?"