“I told myself that for months, Emma. It’s okay if you fell in love with him,” Natasha said.
“Well, the difference here is you got your happy ending,” I said. “I don’t get that. Women like me don’t get that. So back off.”
“Yikes,” Catherine said. “There’s a mood for you.”
“You know, she’s acting just like I did when I was-”
My eyes panned up to Natasha’s and I watched her face fall.
“Uh oh.”
“What?” I asked.
“When you were what, Natasha?” Catherine asked.
My eyes dropped to my stomach and my mind started to swirl. Exhaustion. Mood swings. Headaches. A general sense of not feeling well.
“That’s not possible,” I said. “Nope.”
“What?” Catherine asked.
“Think about it,” Natasha said. “She’s tired. She’s irritable. She’s sick.”
“Oh shit,” Catherine said.
“No. That wouldn’t happen,” I said.
“Were you two using protection?” Natasha asked.
“Could you have asked that question any louder?” I asked.
“She’s right. You did kind of yell that at her face.” Catherine said.
“I’m sorry, but if there’s even a chance that you are, we drank wine last night. A lot of it,” Natasha said.
The mere idea of drinking while pregnant rose tears to my eyes.
Could I be? Was it possible I was pregnant? My hands began to tremble and my stomach started to roll. My headache got worse as tears wafted down my cheeks. Catherine scooted from the booth we were in and reached her hand out for mine, but when I didn’t move she grabbed it for me. She tugged at me until I was on my feet and Natasha was busy packing up our food in to-go boxes.
“Come on,” Catherine said. “We need a pharmacy now.”
Natasha paid for the bill and grabbed our food. We all poured out onto the street and Catherine continued to drag me behind her. We ducked into the first drug store we came across and I bought three different pregnancy tests. All digital, all with a great deal of accuracy, and all to be taken at the same time.
“Come on,” Natasha said. “I’ll drive.”
“But my car?” I asked breathlessly.
“It’s fine. We’ll come back for it. More important things are at stake.”
“What if it gets-?”
“I’ll pay for the damn towing bill then!” Natasha exclaimed. “Now come on.”
The ride back to my apartment was long. My hand kept migrating to my stomach, and I was disgusted with myself. I kept wishing I wasn’t pregnant. Hoping I wasn’t pregnant. The idea of being attached to a man like Ryan for the rest of my life made me want to sob. Tears streamed silently down my cheeks as Natasha zoomed through traffic, dodging in and out of cars while Catherine tumbled between car seats.
“Got enough shit back here?” Catherine asked.
“You try having two-year old twins,” Natasha said. “Going anywhere with them is like moving the damn house.”