But Janelle bites her lip again, hesitation in her eyes.
“No, it’s not that, Olly. You have achy breasts, nausea, and you’re vomiting too. I mean, I didn’t want to bring it up, but are you sure you’re not pregnant?”
I start with surprise and then begin laughing, grateful the wave of nausea has passed so it doesn’t make me vomit again.
“No, no, no. I’m not pregnant. That’s not possible. Jason and I, well we …”
Janelle shoots me a skeptical look.
“Look, I’m sure you and Jason are careful, but sometimes things happen. Condoms break, birth control fails, and you know that no prophylactic is one hundred percent fail-safe.”
I shake my head and take a deep breath, deciding to reveal my truth.
“No, you don’t understand. Jason and I have never had sex, so I couldn’t possibly be pregnant.”
Now, Janelle looks utterly stunned as she rocks back on her heels to stare at me.
“Are you serious? Wait a second, you’re lying to me. There’s no way Jason hasn’t put the moves on you yet.”
I shake my head, tears pricking my eyes.
“No, I am, and I know how crazy it sounds because it’s almost like we’re living in the 50’s or something. But yeah, we’ve been dating for three-and-a-half months, but the most we’ve done is make out on his couch. Trust me, we haven’t hit home base. We’re at second or sometimes even third, but no home runs.”
Janelle stares at me again.
“You’re kidding me.”
I shake my head.
“No, I’m not. Scout’s honor. I know it sounds insane but I’m not lying to you. There’s literally no way for me to be pregnant, unless it’s some kind of immaculate conception.”
But Janelle looks totally perplexed.
“But why? Are you guys doing this chastity thing because of religion? Or does he have some weird hang up? This is just so strange.”
I shake my head as my shoulders slump.
“To be honest, I don’t know,” I whisper. “I want to, don’t get me wrong, but it’s him. He’s such a gentleman that I think he wants to date a little while before he touches me intimately. But it’s weird, right? I mean, how many guys are like this? I’ve been meaning to talk to him about it.”
Janelle studies me for a moment before nodding. “It is weird because he’s a red-blooded male, so it’s super fucking strange. But that aside, yeah, if you haven’t had sex, then you can’t exactly be pregnant. I don’t know, Olls. Have you been seeing another man on the side?”
I gasp.
“No never! How can you even say that?”
Janelle shrugs.
“Because immaculate conception isn’t real, girlfriend! It’s how Jesus was conceived, but the rest of us are human, and not gods. So if it wasn’t Jason, then …”
Her voice trails off but I fix her with a look.
“I’m not cheating on my boyfriend.”
Janelle looks like she wants to say something, but just bites her lip and nods.
“Okay, okay. Do you know when your next period is?”
I think.
“Next week, I think? I’m probably not pregnant. I probably just ate something bad, or it’s my reaction to the vaccine. It’s nothing. You’re overthinking things.”
She nods.
“Yeah, probably. Just take a pregnancy test, and you’ll know for sure then. Okay girlfriend, I’ve got to run, but relax, okay? Remember, we’re not the Virgin Mary, so it’s probably nothing anyways.”
With that, we hug goodbye, and I take a few gulps of water as I stride to my next class. But as the professor drones on and on, I don’t hear any of the words because what if I am pregnant? But how can that even be?
After lecture, I head out to my car and stop at the drug store to pick up some pregnancy tests, just to be safe. When I get home, I head right for the bathroom, and pee on an indicator, expecting nothing. In fact, I almost don’t bother looking at the results because I know what the answer will be. After all, my buddy’s right. Immaculate conception doesn’t happen to real people. It’s just something that occurred in the Bible. But my entire body goes limp when I see the results on the test because there are two stripes, which means that I’m expecting.
I slump to the floor, my knees weak from shock. What? How can this be? Even crazier, who’s the father of my child if I haven’t been with a man? Of course, I’ve been making love to Jason in my dreams at night, but that can’t be it because it’s pure fantasy. So who is it, and what’s happening?
10
Jason
I check my phone. Still nothing from Olly. It’s been two weeks of radio silence, and she won’t answer my calls or texts. I don’t get it. The woman I love has completely ghosted me, but why? What did I do? What happened to cause this?
From inside my truck, I watch her cottage. I’ve been doing this since I first spotted the beautiful woman in Millbrook, but now it’s different. I had her and lost her, and I need to know why.