Broken Sound by Karolyn James Page A

concert, pictures of her and friends getting ready, at the show, even a few shots of the band playing.  There was one picture of Davey staring down at the camera, meaning to stare at Cassy.  When he saw his own eyes, he felt his stomach do a back flip.  The look in his eyes in the picture told him he wasn’t exactly sober during the show, and that his intentions that night were clear.
    From there the pictures turned into a maternity delight. 
    Pictures of pregnancy tests, eight in all.
    “I wanted to make sure,” Cassy said.  “I mean, you can imagine how much of a shock it was, right?”
    “Yeah, I guess,” Davey said.
    “I’m always on time, if you get what I mean by that... always on time.  So when I was a week late, I freaked out.  I drove across town to buy a pregnancy test just so nobody would see me.  I came home and it came up positive.  That’s when I called a few friends and showed them.  They didn’t believe it so each one bought a test.”
    “And they were all positive,” Davey said.
    “Obviously.” 
    Cassy flipped the page and there was the first sonogram of Donald.  A tiny white speck in a black, uneven bubble.  As Cassy flipped the pages in the book, there were more sonograms, but then there were receipts. 
    Receipts.
    Davey looked at Cassy, confused, because he thought he was looking at a baby book.
    “This part is for you,” Cassy said. 
    She plopped the book into Davey’s lap.
    “What is it?”
    “All the receipts of what I bought for Donald,” Cassy said.  “Just so you can see how hard it is.  How expensive.  And on top of that, I’m alone.  With nobody to believe me.”
    “I’m sorry about that...”
    “Sorry?  Imagine telling your parents you’re pregnant.  And like I said, what were my choices?  Look like a slut and say I didn’t know who the father was?  Or look like a lunatic and say it was the guitarist from Chasing Cross.”
    “I don’t know how to respond to that,” Davey said.
    The receipts were in the hundreds.  Piles and piles of receipts.  From diapers to formula to the eight hundred dollar crib Donald slept in.  For needing money, Cassy sure wasn’t afraid to spend it.
    “If you don’t mind me asking,” Davey said, “how did you afford all this?”
    “I have a good job,” Cassy said.  “In marketing.  My boss is a single mother and she lets me work from home as I need to.”
    Davey knew there was more than just a good job but it wasn’t his business.  Donald was his business. 
    “You want me to pay for all this?” Davey asked.
    “Yeah, sure.  And that’ll make up for not being there.”
    Cassy’s tone changed again, hurt and bitter.  Davey knew he had to absorb it the best he could.
    “Look, Cassy, I can’t turn back time.  No money in the world can do that.”  Davey flipped the page to the last page in the book.  It was Donald’s newborn picture.  This little boy swimming in a blue and white stripped outfit, his small hands curled, his eyes barely open. 
    “I’m not asking you to turn back time,” Cassy said.
    “But it’s not fair to throw it in my face.  I’m not saying you did anything wrong, but I didn’t know about Donald until yesterday.”
    “So you just fuck women all the time?  A new one each night?  How many kids do you have?”
    The jab twisted at Davey’s heart and his stomach churned.  What if he did have more kids out there?  He thought about Anna.  He felt like saying something about her, but he knew Cassy was in a sensitive spot.
    “It’s not like that,” Davey said.  “I’m not going to talk about what I’ve done.  It won’t change a thing.  I’m trying to stay present and figure this out.”
    “I love how you say figure this out like it’s not a big deal, like you could just stand up and walk out that door.  And what?  Leave me?  Leave me carrying... everything...”
    Davey heard Cassy’s voice crack.  He closed the leather book and gently placed it on the