“Sally Dunn… Will you marry me?”

I must have looked like a giddy little school girl, grinning widely as I waited for her response. Sally’s hand rose slowly to her mouth, staring down at the ring I’d had made especially for her. Marquise diamonds set into a gold leaf design on either side of a large round cut aquamarine. I glanced down at it, making sure it was in its proper position, then looked back at Sally and waited.

My grin shrank to a smile as the seconds ticked by, each swing of the pendulum in the antique clock set in the corner chipping away at my confidence. Doubt seeped into my consciousness as the seconds stretched into minutes.

“Mi Moscota, eh… Sally…” I stopped myself, biting back my impatience. As much as I wanted to, this was not a decision I could force her to make. It was not part of our contract. I wanted this, wanted her. But more than anything, I wanted her to want it. I wanted her to want me.

My smile faded when Sally looked away. I could see tears shining like cabochons in the dull light of the television screen, just budding in the corners of her eyes. She clutched herself tightly around the middle, squeezing her eyes shut, sending the tears dribbling down her cheeks.

“Sally.” I got to my feet, adjusting my dress and flagging excitement, and reached out to her, nearly gasping when she pulled away, my fingers inches from her skin. A gentle sob escaped her lips as I pulled back my hand, awkwardly aborting the gesture, fingers grasping at nothing. Pain stabbed my chest as I looked at her, confused. This was not how this was supposed to go… None of this was right.

“Sally?” The happy feeling that had fluttered though my core all night was nearly gone, quickly replaced with frustration and fearful concern. This was the first time Sally had ever shied away from me. From the beginning of our relationship, she’d been the perfect pet, testing my commands from time to time, yes, but never had she rejected my touch.

I held the ring limply in my fingers, going over in my mind all the time we’d spent together recently, looking for anything I might have missed. But there was nothing. As I always did, I had observed our rules with strict compliance; I’d done nothing to break her trust. I searched the room, a last ditch effort at understanding. Was it the movie? A bad choice for tonight, perhaps. My touch? Only she seemed to thoroughly enjoy my fingers earlier. The wine? My eyes fell on the glass of red liquid resting on the coffee table. The wine. Still full.

Suddenly, it all made sense. I’d been so excited about my secret proposal that I hadn’t even noticed. She had not taken more than a sip since I’d served her dinner. Her favorite wine. I’d only opened one bottle tonight when we easily went through two on a special occasion. Slow steps brought me to the empty bottle as I took it in my hands, looking at the white label splashed with an artsy streak of lipstick red, as though stained with spilled wine. Sally said she loved it because it was like a burst of pure passion on an empty canvas. I glanced back at her as I placed the bottle against the table, a loud clack of glass on glass piercing the silence in the room.

“Sally… You haven’t touched your drink.” I turned my gaze to her tear-streaked cheeks, watching her shift uncomfortably under my stare, eyes flicking to mine, then down to the ground.

“You’re pregnant.” All the signs were there. The swell of her belly stretching the satin straps of her dress tight across its surface. The wine she neglected to drink, despite her love of its dark and fruity flavors. ‘Passion in a bottle’ she would say. Her breasts, full and large in my hands tonight, heavier than usual. Her protective posture when I caught her in candid moments, arms cradling not herself, but the baby growing inside her.

“I was… I had planned to tell you tonight. After dinner. But you were enjoying yourself so much I-”

“How long?” My voice cut through hers in a whisper. I knew little about pregnancy, but I knew enough to know she’d been keeping this from me for some time. Expecting mothers didn’t just start showing. It took time for a baby to grow. A baby… My baby… Sally was-

“Nineteen weeks.” Her voice was soft, tired, raw. I grimaced at the number, never understanding why everyone felt the need to measure the progress in weeks.

“Really?” Frustration slipped from my lips before I could stop it. I picked up her wineglass, drawing in a mouthful of the liquid before swallowing. This was… a lot to take in. Five minutes ago I was proposing to the woman I loved, ready for her to move in with me and become my wife and full time pet, ready to spend the rest of my life with her. Now she was pregnant and I… I didn’t know what to do with that information. Part of me was excited. But more of me was… Afraid.

I wasn’t in the mood to crunch numbers, but I quickly did the math in my head, frowning at the digit behind my eyes. “Over four months…” I whispered, an icicle of pain slowly piercing my heart. She couldn’t be this far along and have just found out. “How long have you known?”

“I was… One missed period happens, you know? After I missed my next, though… I suspected. The OB said I was.” She took a deep breath, letting it out in one long, slow breath. “Seven weeks along.” Sally’s voice was low and hollow. She looked haggard. Three months she’d been keeping this from me. Three months she’d been betraying my trust.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” I wanted to scream at her. I wanted to yell and rage! “This is… A baby, Sally. Not some puppy you surprise your lover with!” We’d never even talked about kids! We both had our contraceptives, but… Something stopped working somewhere. Visions flashed through my mind, of me holding a baby, loving it, caring for it’s needs, waking up in the middle of the night to comfort it… My baby… This would change everything. I wasn’t sure I was ready for that. “I’m hurt Sally. And… I don’t know what hurts more. That you kept quiet about this for so long… Or the fact that I found out before you had the guts to tell me. How could you lie to me like this for so long?” My fists clenched. The ring was some place on the floor where I’d unconsciously dropped it.

“I didn’t lie to you! Sandra! I… I’m sorry… I couldn’t find the right time to tell you. I didn’t know what to say. So many times I thought, I thought you’d figured it out. I just didn’t have a chance to…” Her words stung almost as much as her revelation.

“Are you saying… I wasn’t paying attention to you?” I glared at her, daring her to accuse me, daring her to make this my fault. Except for school and business obligations, Sally often came even before myself… That she thought that I-

“N-no, Sandra, I-” Sally backpedaled, but her feelings were plain in her soft features.

“Señora…” I growled, teeth grit. I was done with this game. I was done with tonight. Best laid plans all gone to waste. It was supposed to be special and because of that I’d let her have more leash tonight than usual. It was time to pull her in.

“Señora… I… I don’t mean that you weren’t paying attention, just that… There were signs. When I-”

“SIGNS?” I blew up, stopping her cold. “Am I supposed to be a fucking tracker? Maybe I need to be a mind reader? Or, here’s an idea, you could have told me you were fucking pregnant when you found out three months ago!” I was raging and I knew it. But she’d broken my trust. For weeks! Righteous indignation bubbled up inside me, spilling out in my words.

“You and I have a contract, Sally! There are rules to our relationship! One of those is communication! How could you… How could you think it was okay to keep this from me?”

“This is exactly why I didn’t tell you!” She screamed, catching me off guard. “I’ve been struggling for months to figure this out, agonizing over what decision to make. I want what’s best for everyone here! Not just you, Sandra. Not just me… You can’t be selfish! This is your baby too! You’re half of what’s inside me and I’ve been alone in this up till now. Yes! I could have said something… You are right about that. But every time I thought to tell you, I couldn’t help but think of this moment, right here and now. I knew this is how you would react!

“Just look at you! Look at the fear in your eyes. You’re so scared because you know what this means. You know how much work it will be, how much effort you’ll have to put in. It’s what I was worried about all along and it seems I was right… It’s a baby, Sandra. Our baby. And you don’t even want it.” My mouth gaped, her impassioned rebuke slapping me sober. “If you stopped caring so much about yourself for five goddamn minutes and seen me for what I am, as something more than your toy, your plaything, maybe you would have noticed what was happening!” Tears streamed down Sally’s face as her sobs wracked her body.

I stood dumbstruck, toxic emotions eddying in my chest, righteous fury still blazing. She blamed me. When she was the one that kept all this to herself because she was afraid of how I’d react. And I was the selfish one! Me!

“I’ve had enough of your bullshit, you ungrateful little bitch. I’ve given you everything, everything!” The lock I kept on my anger broke. It slammed into me, making me shake with rage, something I’d not felt in a long time. “And this is how you repay me… I pulled you out of that shithole shack of an apartment with that shit smear of a man that-”

“Don’t you dare bring that into this!” Sally barked, teeth bared. “I never asked you to save me!”

“But I did! And you didn’t turn away from my offer then.” I countered, doubling down on something the sane part of my brain knew I shouldn’t have brought up. “I gave you a new life! I let you into mine… I made you my pet! I loved you with all my heart!” Before I knew what was happening, the wineglass in my hand was sailing across the room, tumbling through the air. I watched as time stood still, burgundy liquid spilling from the mouth, spreading like a sheet to fall across the rug as the glass shattered against the wall, jagged pieces scatting across the floor.

I heard a gasp, turning in time to see the shocked look on Sally’s face as she took a step back, eyes wide. I recovered slowly, pulling my arm back from the throw, blinking. What had I just done?

“Sally…” I made to apologize, aghast at my loss of control. I took a step and reached for her. Fear shot through my body as she took a step back. Once, twice… For every step I took, she matched me. Like some macabre dance, we shuffled across the wine stained floor and into the foyer, the life of our relationship hanging by a thread between us.

“Sally, I’m sorry… I didn’t mean…” Her eyes filled with horror, head shaking at witnessing the dark anger inside me I thought I’d buried long ago. My heart pounded in my chest, my muscles wound tight, skin hot and flushed. “Sally!” my chin was quivering. I could see it on her face though, that look in her eyes. I’d lost her already. “Please!” I sobbed, “Don’t!”

“I’m not your pet anymore…” She whispered.

I was too far away to reach her when she spun on her heel, snatching her jacked off the hall tree and all but ran for the door. It wouldn’t have mattered. Shock rooted me to the spot, disbelief freezing my veins as I watched her go. This couldn’t be happening… She wouldn’t leave. She couldn’t!

“SALLY!” I screamed. But the door slammed shut, and she was gone.

© O.L. Vale 2022