Wastime Time and the Bellflower
"Let’s get married as soon as possible," said my fiancee, Clementine Knaupper, out of nowhere during dinner.
I froze with the spoon in hand. Over the last three years, I proposed to get married seven times, and she turned me down all seven times with all sorts of reasons.
Then, she told me with a shifty look in her eyes, "I… I’m two months pregnant. The pregnancy is going to start showing soon."
I set aside my spoon and stared intently at her. "You were on a business trip two months ago, weren’t you?"
She gulped before stating in a troubled voice, "The baby… is my assistant, Stanley Brickley’s. I had too much to drink that night, and I thought it was you.
"The doctor says if I get an abortion, it will be difficult for me to have children again. After we get married, we can announce my pregnancy. We can tell people it’s our baby.
"Then, I will send Stanley and the baby away. They won’t come back after that."
I looked at the woman I had loved for seven years, and for the first time, I felt like I was looking at a stranger.
"Clementine, let’s call off our engagement."