Pink Lines

Bridget sat up from a dead sleep. “No, not again,” she covered her mouth as she ran to the bathroom. She knelt in front of the toilet as the nausea overcame her, and she heaved forcefully. “No no no this can’t be happening,” she muttered to herself. As she sat on the cold bathroom floor, sweat dripping from her face, she decided she had to know. She crawled over to the sink and opened the cabinet below. Rifling through empty bottles and cleaning supplies, finally her hand landed on the thing she was searching for. She pulled it out and read the box instructions carefully.

After everything in her stomach had been expelled, she stood up and sat on the toilet. She reached between her legs with the plastic stick, and set it on the counter while she finished peeing. “This cannot be happening,” she said aloud again.

As she stood in front of the sink washing her hands, she glanced down. One pink line so far. One is good. One is normal. One line is the goal. But she knew it has only been a minute, and the test takes at least five. She walked out of the bathroom and poured herself a glass of water. As she brought it to her lips, she caught a whiff of chlorine in the tap water from her apartment sink. The smell made her gag. She put the water down without taking a sip.

Back in the bathroom, she picked up the stick. It had been 3 minutes. There was already a second pink line starting to appear next to the first. “Fuck.” She grabbed her phone and texted Jack immediately.

B: Hey, are you still coming over after work?

J: Yeah, I was planning on it ;)

B: Okay, good, I have some news

J: Oh? What kind of news?

B: It’s better if I tell you in person. I’ll see you later <3

She put the phone down and glanced at the stick once more. The two pink lines were glaring at her. The test line was thicker and brighter than the control line. It was practically screaming at her. She put it down on the counter and walked back to the kitchen.

As she opened the fridge, looking for something, anything, she could eat or drink that might stay down, she was reminded of all the symptoms she had been having for the last couple of weeks. The nausea, the heartburn. The weirdly strong smells that no one else could smell. It all made sense now.

“Fuck. What the fuck am I going to do.” She slammed the fridge door closed and turned to lean against it, sliding down to the floor. She put her head between her knees and took some deep breaths. “It’s okay. It’s going to be fine,” she muttered. Jack is a good guy, he would be a way better parent than Robert. Bridget had been staunchly in the Child-Free camp for over a decade, as the thought of having a child with Robert was rather repulsive. She was already taking care of one man-child, she didn’t want to add any actual children into the mix.

She and Jack had talked about having kids. The thought of raising a kid with Jack was actually something she thought she could manage. She knew he would step up and do his best to be a great dad. But they had both agreed that now wasn’t the time. It was a future plan. Not now.

________________________________________

Bridget opened her apartment door to find Jack waiting in the hall.

“Hey, tell me this news, because I’m starting to spiral,” he chuckled nervously as he stepped inside the apartment.

“Well, um, so...” She began, but couldn’t seem to find the words. What if this isn’t want he wants? What if he leaves? What if she has to do this alone?

“Spit it out, babe, you’re making me nervous,” he rubbed her shoulders and raised her chin to meet his eyes.

“I’m pregnant,” she stammered, not even realizing the words had left her mouth.

“Oh. Oh...My...God...” he stuttered, trying to process what she had just said.

“I know we didn’t plan to start this soon,” she began, trying to bring him back down to earth.

“No, sorry, I’m not upset. I’m just... surprised.” He pulled her toward him and wrapped his arms around her in a big bear hug.

“Yeah, me too. Shocked, actually.” She wrapped her arms around his torso, feeling his head rest on top of hers.

“We've got this. We can do this. It’ll be fine. So we’re a little ahead of schedule.” he smiled at her as she pulled herself away from his hug to look into his eyes again.

“We've  got this,” she repeated, as if to convince herself this was true. He pulled her into a hug once more, and they rocked back and forth for a moment.

“Should we wait to tell people?” Jack asked, rubbing her back with one hand.

“Yeah, lets wait. I need to see a doctor to confirm this is real, and even then I don’t want anyone to know until we’ve passed the first trimester. You know, in case anything...” she trailed off, but he knew what she was getting at.

“Okay. So we keep it on the down-low for now, and see how things go. Can I get you anything? Water? Diet cola?” he asked, trying to be helpful, which was the only thing he could think to do in this moment.

“NO!” she yelled. “I mean, no, thank you. I haven’t been able to keep anything down all day, and the thought of drinking diet cola is making me woozy.”

“What!? But it’s your favourite,” he seemed surprised by her reaction.

“Yeah, I know, but pregnancy does crazy things to your body. So for now, no diet cola. Thanks though.” She hugged him again, he leaned down and kissed her cheek.

“I know you’re scared, but you’re going to be a great mom.” He said with all the confidence of someone who didn’t have to carry a pregnancy the next nine months.

“We are gonna be great,” she said with a smile. At that moment the nausea took hold, and she let go of Jack to run for the toilet once again.