The Free Pass

Chapter 15

Shawn

I was back in Virginia mid-March for an entire week. We had a wedding to plan, and Mallory was hoping I could improve my relationship with her dad. Because of this, I was staying at their house. I wasn't happy about this. At all. But I owed it to her to try.

The hilarious thing was that even though Mal was carrying my baby, which was proof positive that we'd had sex at least once, they would not allow us to share a bed until we were married. My room was in the basement. It was a nice guest bedroom suite, so I couldn't complain too much, but I did feel a little isolated. I was also a bit frustrated. I was only getting laid when I was with Mal, and here I was with her in the same house for a full week, unable to do anything.

The first task of the week was the guest list. Initially, it was just going to be immediate family. Now that our closest friends knew, we both wanted them to come. There were several people who were a huge part of my professional life, and I wanted them there as well. Mallory had a fairly large extended family and her parents pushed to have them invited. We couldn't invite them without doing the same for my family. In the end, the guest list topped off around 100 people.

Mallory's parents agreed to handle all of the ins and outs of the wedding. They knew a good caterer and would be in charge of the all the rental items needed for the wedding. They had a huge garden, so it was decided we'd hold the wedding there. Folding chairs would be set up along with tents if it was warm. The reception would also be in the garden, on the deck, and on the patio. If the weather didn't cooperate, their house was big enough to handle the small crowd.

I could tell the Everetts we're enjoying all of this. Mallory was fairly passive. She'd told me she wanted it to be as simple as possible, and now it had grown into being more of a real wedding. I was pretty sure it bothered her, but she kept it to herself. If she wasn't so pregnant, I'd whisk her off to Vegas and let Elvis marry us. I knew we'd both prefer that to what was being planned.

The other person on board with all this wedding crap was Andrew. He wanted my photographer there to document everything. The plan was to then release pictures through social media, showing how happy we were on our special day.

The reaction of my fans had been difficult for me. I cared about them deeply, and knowing that the majority of them were critical of what I was doing bothered me. Unlike Andrew, I didn't care how it would impact album or concert ticket sales. I didn't like that the people who supported me from the beginning thought less of me now.

So maybe Andrew was right. If we used the wedding as a public relations opportunity, people might accept the marriage easier. I'd made a point to take several pictures with Mal over the last few days, posting them with loving comments about her. My posts got lots of likes, but the comments were often negative. Even a couple of my most loyal fans, who I'd gotten to know over the years, questioned our relationship.

I woke up early halfway into my week at the Everett's house. I got dressed and went on a long run. While my feet pounded the pavement, it came to me.

The thing that had convinced me to marry Mallory was our baby. I needed to show the world just how in love with this baby I was. Maybe if they understood my feelings, they'd be happy about the path I was on. I'd never personally responded to the pregnancy news, so it was time for me to acknowledge it.

I stopped running and opened my phone. I went to Instagram. I pulled up the best picture I'd taken of the ultrasound photos last month. In the photo you could clearly see the baby's face. One of its hands was next to its cheek. I selected the photo and cropped it. I then composed a caption.

As most of you know, baby Mendes is due to arrive soon. To say I'm excited is an understatement. I can't wait to meet my baby, but more than that, I can't wait to begin the journey into parenthood with my beautiful fiancée. All I ask of my fans is that you share my happiness and support me as I move forward. I love you guys. Xx