The Best Friend Problem

by Mariah Ankenman

  Pru looked up from the puzzle blaster game she’d been playing on her phone to the nurse calling her name. This was it. Today was the day. Well, not the day, but the important first step day. Over the past week, she’d been working with her roommates on their upcoming winter weddings, and at night she’d narrowed down her pro and con list to one winning donor.

  I’m the one who’s really winning.

  Because she was on track to get her baby. Hopefully. If everything worked out. Today she was here to have some blood work done and get her hormone levels checked.

  “Come on back.”

  The nurse smiled as Pru rose from her seat and moved through the waiting room door into the back where the exam rooms were located.

  “Okay, Prudence, I’m just going to need weight and a urine sample, then we can head into the room.”

  After stepping on the scale and taking a moment in the small bathroom to pee in a cup, Pru followed the nurse into an exam room where she had her temperature and blood pressure taken. Next, she was sent to the phlebotomist to have her blood drawn and finally, back into the exam room to wait for her doctor. All the while, her heart raced. It was happening—she was on her way to becoming a mommy. She knew there might be hurdles and failures ahead, but right now the excitement outweighed any impending disappointment.

  She sat on the high exam table, the crinkle of the sterile paper filling the quiet room with each tiny movement she made. Plans and dreams came to life in her head as she stared at the various posters displaying the female reproductive system, with the sharp sting of antiseptic and cleaner assailing her nostrils with each anticipatory breath.

  A light tap sounded on the door.

  This was it! Her journey was about to begin.

  “Come in.”

  The door opened and Dr. Richardson stepped through. The middle-aged woman smiled.

  “How are you today, Prudence?”

  She smiled back at the doctor helping her achieve her dreams. “I’m fine, thank you.”

  “Great. I understand you’ve chosen a donor.”

  “Yes, it was a tough decision, but I think I picked the perfect candidate.” She hoped. The probability of her screwing up as a parent at some point in her child’s life was a guarantee, but she hoped she would at least start out on the right foot with a perfect donor selection.

  “Wonderful.” Dr. Richardson smiled. “Let me just have a look at your chart and we can see how everything…”

  The doctor’s words fell away, her dark brow furrowing as she glanced at Pru’s chart.

  “Huh, there appears to be a slight issue.”

  Her heart jumped into her throat, clogging the airway, making it impossible to breathe. Dreams started to crash around her, shattering before they’d even had a chance to actualize.

  Calm down, she simply said issue not impossibility. You don’t know what’s going on. Chill out and ask.

  Sucking in a deep breath, she listened to her inner self and pushed down her fear. Clearing her throat, she tried her best to sound cool and collected as she asked, “Was there a problem with one of my tests?”

  Please say no, please say no, please say no.

  “No.”

  Oh, thank goodness.

  “No problem, but it appears from your urine sample and blood work that you don’t need a donor after all.”

  What? Of course she needed a donor. How could she not need a—

  “You’re pregnant.”

  “I’m…what now?”

  “Pregnant. Just a few weeks along. When was the start of your last cycle?”

  She struggled to think of anything at the moment, let alone the first day of her last period. She was pregnant? Somehow, she had the cognitive ability to open up the cycle app on her phone and relay the important information.

  “Okay.” The doctor wrote something down on the chart. “So, conception likely would have happened two weeks ago. Have you had any new sexual partners?”

  Two weeks ago? Then that meant…

  Oh no.

  No, no, no, no, no.

  She didn’t know why she was bothering to do the math or was surprised by the realization. There was only one person she’d had sex with in the last year. One person she’d celebrated with, gotten drunk with, thrown caution to the wind with. And, now she realized, in her inebriated state that night, had forgotten to secure some form of birth control with.

  There was only one option. Only one answer.

  She was sitting in a fertility clinic, pregnant with her best friend’s baby.

  Pru sat in her car in the parking lot of her apartment building. She didn’t remember driving here. She didn’t remember leaving the doctor’s office. After Dr. Richardson came in and dropped the baby news on her, she’d gone blank. Going through the motions, listening to explanations and instructions, then somehow, she’d arrived here. At home.

  Pregnant, but not in the way she expected. Not in the way she’d planned.

  It happened. It’s done. Plans change.

  This was a pretty damn big change.

  Nothing to do now but move forward. Put one foot in front of the other and make a new plan. First step of the new plan was getting out of the car.

  She opened the door, sliding out and shutting it behind her. Step one accomplished. Now onto step two: entering her home and telling her friends.

  “Come on, feet.” She glared down at her motionless appendages covered in a pair of comfortable black pumps. “Move. You know how it works. First right then left. Or left then right. I don’t care how you do it, girls, just get a move on.”

  And now she was talking to her feet like a weirdo. Could she claim pregnancy brain this early on?

  After a moment of silent pep talks, she finally mustered up the courage to make the twenty-foot walk to her complex door. Forgoing the elevator—because she already felt suffocated enough as it was, no need to add a tiny moving death box to the situation—she hoofed it up the two flights of stairs. The brisk incline made her already racing heart pound louder, the sound filling her ears until all she heard was the relentless beating of her consciousness screaming:

  I’m pregnant! I’m pregnant! I’m pregnant!

  Reaching her apartment door, she flung it open. The words blocked out every other ambient noise.

  “I’m pregnant!”

  Wait, had she screamed that out loud? A quick glance to the shocked expressions on Mo’s and Lilly’s faces confirmed, yes. Yes, she sure had.

  “Well.” Mo tilted her head, blond hair dyed with green and pink streaks this week, spilling over her shoulder. “That was fast. I thought you had to do some tests and stuff. Can they tell right after turkey basting you?”

  A groan escaped her lips. She shut the door—slammed might be the more accurate term—and flung herself into one of the kitchen chairs.

  “How many times do I have to tell you? There’s no turkey baster involved. It’s a medical procedure performed in a sterile environment with hospital-grade equipment. Not kitchen utensils.”

  Flopping her purse down on the table, she pulled out the folder on pregnancy the doctor had given her. What medications were safe to use, what to look out for, general nutrition information, a whole host of things she already knew because she’d done her homework. But apparently, they gave the same packet to all expecting parents.

  Expecting parent.

  She was going to be a mommy! She might be in a tailspin right now over the exact way it had happened, but the shining light in all of this was that she got her wish, her dream. She had her baby. Or would have, in nine months, technically.

  “And besides, I didn’t have the procedure,” she continued. “Because yes, I did have some tests to run, and those tests revealed I’m already pregnant.”

  “Wahoo!” Mo pumped her fist into the air with a smile. A smile that faded after a moment. “You don’t look happy. Why don’t you look happy? I thought this was what you wanted?”

  “It is, but…”

  �
��But it didn’t happen the way you planned,” Lilly confirmed.

  “Plans are overrated.” Mo shrugged. “I say, go with the flow.”

  “And that’s why you don’t handle the business finances or schedules.” Lilly gave Mo some serious side eye. “I assume she’s upset because of who the father is.”

  “What? Why would she be upset the dad is…” Mo’s jaw dropped. “Oh my God, it’s Finn! It has to be!”

  Pru didn’t know if she was insulted by her friend’s gleeful smile at discovering the truth or relieved that she didn’t have to reveal it herself.

  “Of course it’s Finn. Who the hell else would it be?” It wasn’t like she had a long list of lovers. Or any other than him recently. “And I’m not upset.” She glared at Mo. “I’m just… This…this wasn’t the way it was supposed to go.”

  Mo shrugged. “Plans change.”

  She knew. She’d said the same damn thing to herself ten minutes ago.

  “What am I going to do?” She slumped, head falling to the hard oak table. Ouch!

  “Have you told him?” Lilly asked gently.

  She tilted her head to the side, tugging on her hair as she avoided eye contact with Lilly. “No. I came straight home after finding out. What was I supposed to do, text the guy who never wants kids with ‘Hey Finn remember that one night we got kinda drunk and crossed a line in our friendship? Well, guess who’s going to be a daddy!’ Oh, this can’t be happening.”

  Curly, multicolored hair filled her vision as Mo crouched beside her.

  “But it is happening, isn’t it, little zygote? Who’s got a funny conception story? You do, you adorable little one. Who was the strongest swimmer? You were, yes, you were.”

  “Mo, stop talking to my stomach like it’s Bruiser or I will put black dye in your shampoo.”

  “You. Wouldn’t. Dare.” Her roommate snapped upright, gathering her cherished locks in her hands. “And anyway, I was just trying to lighten the mood. This is a good thing, Pru.”

  “How?” She sat up, staring at her friend. “How is this a good thing? Finn doesn’t want kids. He’s never wanted kids. He’s always said so. How is he going to be happy about this?”

  “Because you’re happy.” A smile warmed Mo’s face as she reached out to grasp Pru’s hand. “You two are friends, and friends are always happy if one of them gets their heart’s desire. Think of how happy it will make Finn to know he gave you what you wanted most.”

  She really wished she could look on the bright side of this like Mo, but the woman was an eternal optimist. She never saw the downside to anything.

  “While he might not be as delighted as Mo might assume,” Lilly said, gripping Pru’s other hand, “I do agree that Finn will be happy for you. I know we are.”

  A sheen of moisture blurred her vision. Hormones already? No. Just amazing friends. She blinked back tears, so ridiculously grateful she had these two in her life.

  “But he never wanted to be a father.”

  “And he won’t be.” Lilly nodded. “You wanted to be a mom and you’re willing to do it alone. Why should that change?”

  Why indeed? There was nothing saying she and Finn had to get married or anything. It wasn’t medieval times.

  “But what if he thinks I tricked him? I mean, to get pregnant.”

  Both women laughed. She didn’t find it funny. It was a legitimate concern.

  “Pru, honey.” Mo patted her hand. “You are a terrible liar. You couldn’t trick a cat into a paper bag.”

  Hey! She could, too. Probably. Maybe. If there was catnip in there, she was sure the furry beast would go in.

  “Did you tell him you were on the pill?”

  She shook her head at Lilly’s question. “No.”

  “Did he mention anything about condoms or protection of any sort?”

  Another shake. “We, um, had a few shots at the bar and kind of got so wrapped up in…things, I guess it just slipped both of our minds. To be honest, I didn’t even realize we forgot the condom until today. When I found out. I guess drinking like we were twenty-one-year-olds on spring break wasn’t the best decision.”

  Mo whistled. “Bad decisions make great stories.”

  Fantastic, she could tell her future child they were a drunken mistake. That wasn’t how she planned this to go. The idea had been to sit them down one day and explain how she wanted them so much she carefully selected their donor, not got drunk and jumped her best friend.

  “You were both drunk, you both forgot protection.” Lilly squeezed her hand. “So, no one trapped anybody. And Finn wouldn’t think that anyway, sweetie. You know he wouldn’t.”

  True. The errant thought must have come from her panic or shock. Finn knew her better than anyone. He’d know this was as much of a shock to her as it would be to him. Once she finally told him.

  Oh crap, how the hell was she going to tell Finn?

  “I have to tell him.”

  “Duh.”

  She glared at Mo, who held up a hand in surrender. “Sorry, just pointing out that this would be too big a secret to keep. Secrets are like cancer—they spread, infecting every ounce of goodness and light in a person. They’re evil.”

  It wasn’t like she could keep a secret from Finn anyway. She never could. And certainly not one this big.

  “I should text him, find out when he’s off shift.”

  Because there was no way in hell she would drop this bomb on him at work. She wasn’t a monster. They needed to talk about this. Really talk, without his fellow firefighters present or the risk of him getting a call and running off to an emergency.

  She had no idea what they were going to do. She wanted to be a mom and Finn had never shown any burning desire to be a dad, so maybe this would work. She could carry on her plan of single motherhood like always, just with a donor she was familiar with.

  Much more familiar with.

  “Do you want to plan out what you’re going to say?”

  From anyone else, that might sound sarcastic, but she knew Mo was serious. Her friend knew her, knew Pru would want to go in with a plan, like she did with all things in life.

  Barring one particular night about two weeks ago.

  “I think it might be wise to jot a few things down.”

  Lilly patted her hand, rising from the table. “I’ll go make you a cup of peppermint tea.”

  She really had the best friends/roommates/business partners in the world. And she was incredibly grateful all this happened during their slowdown season. Then again, she might not have lost her head over Finn during springtime. They would have been so slammed with weddings, she wouldn’t have had the time to go over to his place and lose her self-control. And her panties.

  “Here’s a pen and notepad.”

  She glanced up at Mo and Lilly. Her sisters at heart. Tears welled again, but this time she did nothing to stop them.

  “Thank you both, for…everything. For supporting my original plan, for being excited about this twist, for having my back no matter what.”

  “Of course, sweetie. We always have your back. We love you,” Lilly said.

  “Yeah, we’re the three musketeers,” Mo added.

  She laughed through her tears. “Pretty sure those were dudes, Mo.”

  “Fine, then we’re the Sanderson sisters. Y’know, minus the evil witch part, but totally with the diva Bette Midler part.”

  She stood and opened her arms.

  “Oh yay! Hug time.”

  Mo gleefully threw her arms around Pru, carefully squeezing her. Lilly set down the tea box, dutifully coming over to join the display of affection she rarely took part in. For Pru, because she loved her, and so did Mo, and Pru loved them back with all her heart.

  “Pru?”

  “Yeah, Mo?”

  “Can I rub your tummy?”

  “Only if you promise not to talk to it like my baby is a dog.”

  “I don’t think the baby has ears yet,” Lilly said, pulling away from the hug after her allotted
five seconds of affection.

  “Then I won’t talk. I’ll just send it all my love and positive energy to grow into a big, strong, healthy baby who will be spoiled by its auntie Mo when it’s born. Yes you will be, honey.”

  Mo placed her hands on Pru’s stomach even though there was no bump there yet. And still, a warm rush of happiness settled over her at her friend’s touch. She knew a lot of pregnant women didn’t like people touching their bellies, but to Pru it reinforced the culmination of a dream.

  Her baby.

  Plans had changed, but Pru was lucky. She had the two best friends in the world standing by her side. And, hopefully, another one who—after he got over his initial shock—would be just as happy and supportive of her.

  One thing she knew for sure—this was definitely changing everything.

  Chapter Seven

  Finn shoved the last of the half-eaten pizza in the trash. He was pretty sure it had been pizza at one point. Hard to tell what was really under all that fuzzy green stuff growing on top of the weeks-old meal he’d forgotten about. That’s what happened when you spent days away from home. He’d just finished his twenty-four-hour rotation and now had two days at home to relax and unwind.

  He needed it too.

  They’d been called to the scene of a nasty car wreck. Worst he’d seen in a long time. Night before last, they’d gotten a typical early Colorado snowstorm. Nothing big, just a few flurries and a severe drop in temperature. Happened every November. But the sudden chill and the wet snow had created a black ice situation on the roads. People tended to forget how to drive safely for icy roads over the summer.

  Late in the night they’d gotten a call for a five-car pile-up near the Cherry Creek Mall. Three cars completely totaled, six people sent to the hospital with broken bones, concussions, lacerations, and one poor soul headed to the morgue. Sadly, there hadn’t even been a chance to save the woman. She’d died on impact.

  Damn. Sometimes he hated his job. When he couldn’t help.

  A sharp bark caused him to glance down and see Bruiser sitting at his feet, head tilted in that way she looked at him when she sensed his unease. Her tiny paw scraping his foot like a little doggo pat.

  “Hey, Bru Baby.” Bending down, he scooped her up into his arms, allowing her to attack his face with sweet puppy kisses. “How do you always know when I need love? Such a smart girl.”