Redemption

"You know what? Just go to the boss. We'll talk about it later." he snapped.

She looked crushed but slowly she got up and walked away without saying another word.

The day went by with Michelle constantly on his mind. He wondered if he'd sounded too harsh. Things had gone better than expected but she probably wasn't feeling too happy about anything right now. He texted her and asked her to wait for him before going home. She hadn't responded and he became nervous. It wasn't till later that afternoon, precisely when she was about to leave that he saw her. She'd asked Mr. Benson to relieve him a little earlier than usual so that they could discuss the news of her pregnancy.

Mark was relieved and walked her to his car without saying much of anything. She seemed exhausted as she got into the car.

"I'm sorry about everything Mark. I know what I said about sharing things with you and I guess I fucked up. I was so happy that day...I couldn't wait to tell you."

"It's alright." he said, almost coldly. "You look tired, just relax and we'll talk about it when we get home."

"But I ..."

"Later babe."

She didn't say anymore. She gave him one last sad look before she turned her body away from him towards the car window as he drove off.

"Mark..."

"Yeah?"

"What are we doing here?"

"Don't worry babe...you'll see." he smiled. It was the first he'd given her since this morning.

He'd driven her to the beach. The same where they'd had their first date. He'd been planning this for a while and thought that today would be the perfect day for a visit. The sun was about to set and the sky was on fire with hues of red and gold. It was beautiful and Mark smiled to himself as he walked her to the shore. They walked bare feet along the sand and Mark soon found the spot where he'd given her pleasure.

"Hey babe?" he whispered to her.

"Yeah?"

"You know, I really wasn't mad at you."

"You weren't?"

"No." and he got down on one knee. "I've been carrying this around for two months now. I was trying to figure out when to give it to you."

Mark took a tiny black box out of his pocket and opened it up slowly. Inside was a Princess-cut diamond on a platinum wedding band.

"You suck!" she laughed, even though tears were streaming down her face. "I thought you were going to break up with me!"

"Never baby. I'm not going anywhere. I'm going to be with you, and our baby. Nothings going to change that. So Michelle, would you do me the honor of being Mrs. Delaney?"

"Yes! Yes, yes!" she said excitedly, while she jumped on top of him and showered his face with wet kisses and tears.

"I love you baby. I just wished you would have trusted me enough to tell me what was going on. I'd never leave you."

"I'm sorry sweetheart. I give you my word. It won't happen again."

"I hope so babe. You can trust me. If we're going to be a family, you need to be open with me."

"I will Mark. No more secrets and no more being afraid." she whispered into his ear as she clung to him. "We are a family."

End