Twenty-Two

                                    

                                          
Photo of Tigo
                          
Music: Say you won't let go by James Arthur (Cover by: Madilyn Bailey, Joshua David Evans)
                          
Sky stood in the wings of the large theatre along with two other ballerinas, waiting to be announced. 
                          
The three of them had been grouped together to perform a ballet piece, in front of an audience for a talent show. The whole thing was being streamed live and she was more nervous than usual, but she attributed her heightened emotions to the burgeoning life within her as she absent mindedly placed her palm over her abdomen, rubbing circles over the still flat surface. 
                          
Seven weeks pregnant! How she hadn't realized that she'd missed her monthly cycle, she would never know, neither would she have ever imagined being in this position before now. 
                          
Even though she knew for certain that this was Brian's child, she also knew that he would have doubts, however fleeting, about the paternity, considering that he knew she'd been with other men all these months they'd spent together. 
                          
Only she could know for certain that he was the only one she'd had unprotected sex with, and though they hadn't particularly talked about this issue since the day the shocking news was delivered to both of them nearly a week ago, she knew without a doubt that she was keeping their child.
                          
She'd asked for time to process the information and Brian had been nothing short of considerate in giving her the time she needed, but she wasn't sure what his position would be once he'd had time to digest the news. However, she'd made her decision, regardless of what happened between her and Brian in the future. 
                          
If her mother had been strong enough to brave the terrible odds she'd been up against to keep her baby, then surely, she could do the same for her child.
                          
She'd only packed an overnight bag to stay at his place the day she'd passed out at his office, and though she still spent most nights at his home, she still hadn't moved in like they'd agreed, and he hadn't put any further pressure on her to do so, leading her to wonder if that was because she'd asked for time, or if he'd gotten cold feet now that it seemed like their lives were about to change.
                          
In his defense, he'd been busier than usual, these past few days at work, and at nights, she sometimes feigned sleep when he came home, even when he got into bed and wrapped his arms around her, tucking her body into his.
                          
When she wasn't feigning sleep, she made sure to steer their conversations toward mundane matters. 
                          
She just wasn't ready to talk about the baby yet. 
                          
She climbed onto the stage with the other two girls as their act was announced, and turned her focus towards the performance they were about to perform. She'd decided that this would be her last dance gig for the next several months until she'd delivered her child, after which she would reevaluate her options. 
                          
In a matter of weeks, her pregnancy would probably begin to show and she wasn't interested in any activity that could potentially put her child's life at risk.
                          
......
                          
Brian made his way into the packed theatre where Sky's performance was already underway and knowing he would miss the rest of her performance if he decided to go looking for his seat, he found a spot at the back, in the shadows, from where he chose to watch the concluding part of the act. 
                          
Watching her perform had become his secret pleasure, and as he watched her twirl about the stage with two other ladies, he was suddenly hit with the knowledge that he could do this forever.
                          
He could watch her dance or smile or laugh, or even just talk. It didn't matter what it was she was doing, as long as she was involved, it became of interest to him.