Pregnant with my two best friends

Chapter 8

Her dad brings home three different brands of pregnancy tests, they all come out positive. Emma cries, so much so she becomes hysterical. This is crazy, she’s only eighteen. And Chris, he wasn’t even eighteen yet when they were doing it. Heck! He isn’t even eighteen now.

Her dad holds her the whole time, telling her that everything will be okay, all the while panicking himself. Emma, her sweet Emma. This can’t be happening to her. She has her bright future in front of her. She has Princeton. He can try pushing her gently towards not keeping the baby, but there will still be consequences in every choice she’ll make. Emma might get afflicted with guilt for the rest of her life.

When she has her other children, she might get consumed with the thoughts of the one that she has let go. And what if, what if there’re complications in the procedure. These things, you cannot know for sure. Emma may not be able to have babies anymore, even worse, she might die. Even the decision of aborting will not be as easy as he thought. He’s a man, he’s just… too practical.

And then there’s adoption. Which he cannot even deal right now. To think of his daughter carry the baby for nine months before giving it away repulses him. Emma can never do it; she has a very tender heart. She can never give away her flesh and blood. It will just ruin her completely.

But he just loves his daughter very much, he just wants her to live her life. To go to Princeton. A baby. A baby can keep her away from all that. So, her dad slowly walks to the living room. He grabs his phone and makes a call to his chief, asking for a day off. Family emergency.

The next day, Emma sits beside her dad in his car to Manhattan. Both of them couldn’t sleep the night before. Emma cried the whole night her eyes are puffy now; her dad spent his night playing and re-playing every scenario of ‘what ifs’. It was good at first, to look for all possible options. But her dad got so wrapped up with the options, it became counter-productive. In the end, her dad was back to square one, only incredibly tired.

He takes her to a clinic on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. It’s nice and very private. Emma’s never been there, but they take her insurance. Now they have a slight problem, the insurance is under Alan since he’s married to her mom. Her dad then tells her not to worry about it, he will talk to Alan himself in private. The man is very reasonable and very fond of Emma. Great, just another person she’ll disappoint.

The whole process has been a blur for Emma. She’s noticed nothing and just sits there in silence. From time to time, she’s aware of her dad squeezing her hand. When it happens, she looks up and smiles to him. But then she’s back to closing off, too scared to face the Ob-Gyn.

Her dad, though, has been a trooper. He pays attention, making sure to listen when her name is called. When her name is finally called, he informs her softly. He then waits until Emma gathers all her wits about her again before guiding her to the doctor’s office. Inside, he introduces himself as her stepdad and asks the doctor if he should leave. Emma is having none of that, though, she practically begs him to stay. So, the doctor lets him.

Which is better, since Emma has become non-existent. So, her dad answers most of the doctor’s questions for her. The doctor then asks Emma to take a couple of tests, the ones that are more accurate than the home test ones. While they’re waiting for the result, her dad slowly broaches the subject of abortion. The doctor then carefully explains. Emma doesn’t really pay attention, but her dad does.

The result comes back, Emma is pregnant. Nine weeks, to be exact. There is still time to think thoroughly about the abortion, should Emma choose to do it. In the meantime, phone calls will have to be made. Which her dad does once they come back home. His first phone call is to Alan, not to her mom. Alan understands the situation, he’s sad and worried for Emma. He too, loves Emma very much. He then agrees to keep the news from her mom for a couple of days until Emma’s calm and ready. But only for a couple of days, he says, not more. The man sleeps with her mom, so her dad cannot fault him.

Her dad then texts Parker and Chris. He tells them that Emma is sick. He doesn’t tell the boys that she’s pregnant, but he does say that they may need to cut their holiday short and come home as soon as possible. He gets the reply faster than he thought, from Parker. Fifteen minutes after that, also from Chris. Both boys say that they are finding a ticket to fly home as they speak. Surprisingly, they don’t ask many questions; they seem to know.

Her dad then comes to her room with their late lunch of PB&J and milk. While Emma’s eating, he tells her that the boys are on their way back home. Then he kisses her forehead, telling her that everything is going to be okay.

***

Mr. Anderson’s first instinct is to hit the boy that stands in front of his door. Hard. But the boy comes. He comes. He once said that he wouldn’t back away, and now he’s here. Mr. Anderson may not tell him the reason why he asked him to come, but he knows that the boy is not stupid. The fact that he’s here makes him commendable in Mr. Anderson’s book.

“Hello, sir,” says the boy.

“Hello, Parker,” Mr. Anderson replies to his polite greeting. “How’s your travel?”

Parker smiles, he appreciates the fashion but would rather see Emma immediately. “The travel is fine, sir. Thank you for asking. How’s Emma? Is she here? May I see her?”

Mr. Anderson smiles back, moving a little, giving Parker a space to walk inside. “Emma is upstairs in her room. Go find her. I’m making some chili. In a while, we’ll have dinner.”

“Thank you, sir. I talked to Chris, already. His plane should be landing in about three hours or so, if there’s no delay. He said, if your door is still open, he’ll come however late,” Parker says, then adds, “I’ll be here the whole time.”

Mr. Anderson nods. “Well, this can actually wait until tomorrow,” he says, contemplating. “Let’s just play it by ear, Chris might be too tired to come tonight.”

“Okay, sir,” Parker says before running to see Emma. In front of her room, he knocks and calls her name softly. “Em, it’s me. Can I come in?”

Emma opens the door as soon as she hears his voice. She throws her body at him and sobs in his embrace. Now Parker knows, if he was not sure before, he is now. Emma doesn’t look sick despite the text her dad sent him and Chris. She’s not tied to her bed nor does she look pale. Her eyes do look puffy, like she has been crying a lot. But other than that, she looks okay. In fact, she might have put on weight a little. Her dad has been taking care of her.

“Park,” Emma says between her sobs. “I’m pregnant.”

Parker nods. “I figure that much, Em,” he says with a soothing smile and a rub on her back. “Don’t worry, I’m here. Soon, Chris will be here too. We’ll tackle this together. Come.” Parker guides her back to her bed, together they climb up. He then wraps his arm around her shoulders and lets her lay on his, all the while soothing her with encouraging words.

Parker tries not to let Emma see his own trepidation. He himself is only eighteen. He’s not ready for this. He doesn’t plan to have kids yet. For Parker, kids have always been in the picture, just not know. 27 will be the perfect age for his first, assuming he’s married to Emma when they are 25. Not now. Definitely not now.

Parker doesn’t know if he can handle this, but he’s a man. He really doesn’t have to do anything aside from supporting Emma. There are options on the table: abortion, adoption, or keeping the baby. All options suck! Parker doesn’t like any of them.

Parker also doesn’t really know what to say, he’s not an expert in this. He’s only eighteen for God’s sake! He’s told Emma over and over again that everything will be okay, and that he will be with her every step of the way. Now he starts to sound like a broken record. So, he stops talking and just holds her. Surprisingly, Emma knows and quietly snuggles closer. They fall into a comfortable silence, just lying there in her bed, hugging each other, waiting for her dad to call them for dinner. And for Chris to hurriedly come over.

***

Chris comes a little after ten, straight from the airport. He’s texted Parker as soon as his plane landed, asking to be filled in. So, Parker told him, that Emma’s pregnant. That he should hurry, because they’re waiting.

Once Chris arrives, he hugs Emma tightly, telling her the same thing Parker did: that everything will be alright, that he will be with her every step of the way. Mr. Anderson offers him dinner. Chris declines with thanks, telling him that he’s eaten. Mr. Anderson then asks if Chris needs to rest a little, it was after all quite a long flight from Japan. Chris thanks him again but refuses the offer. He flew first class, he’s rested enough. It’s time to just deal with the problem, no more delay.

They all go to the living room where Emma sits between Parker and Chris in the couch. Mr. Anderson sits in an armchair, facing them. He tells the boys everything. He also tells them that Emma is now nine weeks into her pregnancy, and that it’s still safe for her to have an abortion. Assuming, they are taking that options. Mr. Anderson then goes ahead and informs the boys that they do have options, they just need to talk about those one by one.

Whatever options that they will choose, Mr. Anderson only asks for one thing: that Emma will not lose her chance to continue with school. That Emma will not lose her future altogether. This pregnancy is a setback, but this will not, must not, ruin her.

“Oh, sir,” Parker says fast. “Of course, not. I will not let that happen.”

“I won’t either,” Chris says as well. “Em is very smart. We won’t let her simply have a high school diploma. She won’t go far with that.”

“Emma wants to be a teacher,” Parker continues. “She can’t be a teacher with a high school diploma.”

“But what should I do, then, Park?” Emma says. “I don’t want to abort it.”

“What?”

All the men now look at Emma with apparent shock.

***