Best Friends Don't Kiss

“Ugh. I think there’s something wrong with this wine,” I say and move the glass away from my face. “Seriously, it smells fucking awful.”

And then I gag again.

And again.

Until the gagging becomes too intense that I have to sprint to the hall bathroom and freaking puke.

“Do not even take a sip of that wine!” I shout toward the kitchen as I stand up from the toilet and splash cold water on my face. “Just the damn fumes from it made me puke!”

But when I make my way back into the kitchen, both Desi and Claire are just staring at me.

“What?” I question. “What’s wrong?”

“Ava, honey,” Claire begins, “when’s the last time you had your period?”

“Excuse me?” I ask on a laugh. “That’s a bit of a ridiculous question, don’t you think?”

“Uh, no.” Desi snorts. “You’re all emotional and weepy and puking, and your boobs look crazy big right now.”

“That’s because I’ve been eating my feelings.”

Claire shakes her head. “Honey, I don’t think that’s what’s going on here.”

“You guys seriously think I’m pregnant?” I retort. “You do realize that Luke has been gone for four freaking months, right? How in the hell would I get pregnant? The immaculate conception?”

But even the words coming out of my mouth don’t do anything to reassure me.

And when I start trying to remember when I last had my period…I can’t remember at all. Like, at all.

“Oh shit,” I mutter. Then my eyes go wide. “Wait, that would be crazy, right? I mean, that would mean I got pregnant the night before Luke left on his mission. Which, like, what are the odds?”

“How about this?” Desi offers and wraps an arm around my shoulder. “Let’s go grab some dinner for tonight, and while we’re out, we’ll get a pregnancy test. Just so you can take it and see.”

All I can do is shrug and nod.

I mean, the chances of it being positive are probably one in a freaking trillion, but yeah, why not just take the test so I don’t have to wonder?Less than twenty-four hours later, I find myself sitting in my gynecologist’s office, my legs in stirrups and a paper gown covering my body while Desi and Claire sit in the chairs against the wall, both of them grinning at me.

“I’m not pregnant,” I say and roll my eyes.

“Three pregnancy tests would disagree, my friend,” Desi retorts, and Claire just keeps on smiling.

Thankfully, three soft knocks rap against the door, and Dr. Marlow walks inside, promptly ending comments from the peanut gallery in the corner of the room.

“Hi, Ava,” she greets. “It looks like you’re here because you got a positive pregnancy test?”

“Yeah.” I nod. “Though, I would bet money on the fact that it’s wrong.”

“Okay.” She smiles and slips on a pair of medical gloves the nurse hands to her and sits down on a stool that’s positioned close to the exam table. “You’re just going to feel some pressure,” she says and begins her exam.

“When was your last period?” she eventually asks, looking up to meet my eyes.

“I think I had one last month,” I comment, and she tilts her head to the side.

“You can’t remember?”

I cringe and shake my head.

Once she takes off the gloves, she lifts the paper gown away from my belly and palpates my lower stomach with her bare hands.

“Betty, could you slide the ultrasound machine over?” she instructs the nurse. And a few moments later, she squirts some cold gel on my belly and begins to roll the probe over my skin.

“Well, Ava,” Dr. Marlow announces with a soft smile. “The test was right. You’re pregnant.”

“What?” My eyes go wide and turn to the side to look at the screen of the ultrasound.

“There’s your baby,” she says. “And by my calculations, I’d say you’re around four months along.”

Four months along? I do the math in my head and instantly know when it happened—our last night together back in June.

“You’re kidding.”

“Nope. Not kidding.” Dr. Marlow shakes her head on a laugh. “Do you hear that?” she questions, and mere seconds later, the whooshing sounds of a heartbeat fill the room. “That’s your baby’s heartbeat.”

“Holy shit, Ava,” Desi says through a quiet laugh. “You’re literally one of those people. The ones that don’t realize they’re pregnant until the baby’s head is popping out of their vaginas.”

“Desi!” Claire retorts and reaches out to slap Desi on the arm.

Normally, their bickering commentary would be entertaining, but right now, I’m a little too shocked to think about anything besides one thing—I’m pregnant.

Luke is in freaking outer space, won’t be back for another two months, and I just found out we’re going to have a baby.

Holy hell.

Well, at least you know why you’ve been so freaking emotional lately…Happily Ever After December

AvaI feel like I’ve been waiting an eternity for this day to come.

I stand in a small crowd of family members. Every single person here is waiting for one of the five astronauts who went on this mission to officially arrive home.