Eric will never marry me.” He would probably offer child support or whatever, but he wouldn’t walk her down the aisle. “Not that I should marry him, anyway. We hardly even know each other.” She rocked forward. “But how can I raise a baby by myself after the way I was raised? After the promise I made to my family?”
Candy gently replied, “You can always terminate if that’s a better option for you.”
She touched her stomach and recalled that she’d written L-O-V-E across it on the night she and Eric had made love. “I don’t think I could do that.” But the reality of being a single parent was knocking her upside the head, too. She understood the hardships it entailed.
Candy went to the pharmacy with her, and they looked at every kit on the market, reading the backs of the boxes. Dana couldn’t decide which one to choose, so she let Candy decide for her. At this point, she couldn’t think straight.
After they returned, Dana opened the box and read the instructions. The test was a digital model and was described as ninety-nine percent accurate. Curious to know everything, she even read the clinical stuff and how pregnant women produced a hormone called hCG, which was what the test would be detecting in her urine if she was pregnant.
Leaving Candy on the couch, Dana went into the bathroom and examined the test stick. According to the pamphlet, the words Pregnant or Not Pregnant were supposed to appear in the optical reader that was encased in the stick.
Anxious, she took the test. Then she sat in the living room with Candy and waited for the results, which was supposed to take all of three minutes. Normally that would have seemed like nothing, the amount of time to listen to a song or cook a frozen pizza in the microwave. But in this case, three minutes felt like an eternity.
Finally, her time was up and she returned to the bathroom to check the display and saw “Pregnant” on the screen. Candy saw it, too. Dana wanted to sink to the floor and cry, but she forced herself to remain standing and keep her eyes dry. Still, she was trembling inside. How could she tell her mom and grandmother? How could she deal with any of this?
“Maybe it’s a false positive,” she said. “Surely that sort of thing happens.” She could hope, right? “I should probably see a doctor before I contact Eric.”
She called to make the appointment, but the soonest she could be seen was three days away.
* * *
The days dragged by, with Dana praying her period would start. She could barely concentrate at work. She even mixed up people’s orders, bringing them the wrong food.
She wasn’t faring any better at home. Mostly she just sat around, worrying and waiting, without the slightest sign of her period.
By now she doubted that the test had been a false positive, but she was still going to the doctor to be sure.
The day of her appointment, Candy drove her there, with Dana fidgeting in the passenger seat. She was glad her friend was with her. She didn’t know if she could have done this alone.
They arrived at the office and went inside. Dana signed in and they sat down and paged through outdated magazines.
Eventually Dana’s name was called and she saw the doctor. He ran a blood test, and within an hour she had the results.
Positive. She was pregnant. Unmarried and with child . The very thing she’d promised her family would never happen to her.
On the way home, Candy kept shooting Dana worried glances, as if she expected her to cry. It was all she could do to hold herself together.
But as soon as they walked in the door, she lost it and burst into tears. Candy reached for her and she put her head against the other woman’s shoulder and bawled her eyes out.
Candy kept saying, “It will be okay,” but Dana knew that was just something to say. How was it going to be okay? How was she going to survive this?
After her horrific crying jag, she dried her face and blew her nose. Somehow, someway, it was going to
Candy gently replied, “You can always terminate if that’s a better option for you.”
She touched her stomach and recalled that she’d written L-O-V-E across it on the night she and Eric had made love. “I don’t think I could do that.” But the reality of being a single parent was knocking her upside the head, too. She understood the hardships it entailed.
Candy went to the pharmacy with her, and they looked at every kit on the market, reading the backs of the boxes. Dana couldn’t decide which one to choose, so she let Candy decide for her. At this point, she couldn’t think straight.
After they returned, Dana opened the box and read the instructions. The test was a digital model and was described as ninety-nine percent accurate. Curious to know everything, she even read the clinical stuff and how pregnant women produced a hormone called hCG, which was what the test would be detecting in her urine if she was pregnant.
Leaving Candy on the couch, Dana went into the bathroom and examined the test stick. According to the pamphlet, the words Pregnant or Not Pregnant were supposed to appear in the optical reader that was encased in the stick.
Anxious, she took the test. Then she sat in the living room with Candy and waited for the results, which was supposed to take all of three minutes. Normally that would have seemed like nothing, the amount of time to listen to a song or cook a frozen pizza in the microwave. But in this case, three minutes felt like an eternity.
Finally, her time was up and she returned to the bathroom to check the display and saw “Pregnant” on the screen. Candy saw it, too. Dana wanted to sink to the floor and cry, but she forced herself to remain standing and keep her eyes dry. Still, she was trembling inside. How could she tell her mom and grandmother? How could she deal with any of this?
“Maybe it’s a false positive,” she said. “Surely that sort of thing happens.” She could hope, right? “I should probably see a doctor before I contact Eric.”
She called to make the appointment, but the soonest she could be seen was three days away.
* * *
The days dragged by, with Dana praying her period would start. She could barely concentrate at work. She even mixed up people’s orders, bringing them the wrong food.
She wasn’t faring any better at home. Mostly she just sat around, worrying and waiting, without the slightest sign of her period.
By now she doubted that the test had been a false positive, but she was still going to the doctor to be sure.
The day of her appointment, Candy drove her there, with Dana fidgeting in the passenger seat. She was glad her friend was with her. She didn’t know if she could have done this alone.
They arrived at the office and went inside. Dana signed in and they sat down and paged through outdated magazines.
Eventually Dana’s name was called and she saw the doctor. He ran a blood test, and within an hour she had the results.
Positive. She was pregnant. Unmarried and with child . The very thing she’d promised her family would never happen to her.
On the way home, Candy kept shooting Dana worried glances, as if she expected her to cry. It was all she could do to hold herself together.
But as soon as they walked in the door, she lost it and burst into tears. Candy reached for her and she put her head against the other woman’s shoulder and bawled her eyes out.
Candy kept saying, “It will be okay,” but Dana knew that was just something to say. How was it going to be okay? How was she going to survive this?
After her horrific crying jag, she dried her face and blew her nose. Somehow, someway, it was going to
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