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Kimber
“Areyoupregnant?”
They stared at each other for a long time. Kimber tried to rationalize what was happening, but her mind went blank. Dana broke from the shock first and reached for Kimber’s hands to pull her to her feet.
“I don’t understand,” Kimber muttered. What the hell was happening? Her insides growled as the gnawing hunger grew.
This had to be a dream she hadn’t woken up from even though it felt like she was awake… right? Was she? Patting her face with her jellied fingers, she pulled at her hair and squished her lips together. It felt real.
“What are you doing? Kimber, what’s going on with you?”
“It’s been like, I don’t know, five days,” she muttered. “I can’t be pregnant in five days.”
Hesitantly taking her by the arm, careful not to touch the smears of jelly all over her, Dana led her to the couch and helped her sit. “Maybe it’s really bad gas.”
Kimber nodded. “Maybe it’s a tumor. That’s it. I have a tumor.”
“Maybe it’s your period. I always bloat really bad when I have mine.”They both looked at Kimber’s belly. Dana blinked and shook her head as if she couldn’t believe what she was seeing. “When is your period due?”
Kimber poked at her very hard bellybutton. “Um… two days ago?”
Dana jumped off the couch, disappeared into the kitchen and returned with a damp cloth. She handed it to Kimber for her hands. “See? It’s just period bloat. That’s all.”
That was some bloat.
“I don’t know, Dana. If this is bloat, I’m going to rip in half soon!”
Her face skewed. “Maybe you should take a pregnancy test just to be sure.”
Shaking her head, Kimber scrambled to find an explanation that made sense. “I had sex for the first time in months five days ago. I’m not pregnant. Even if I was, is an at home test even accurate that early?”
“You can’t be this far along in five days, Kimber. Come on. There must have been someone else.”
“No! There wasn’t. My belly was flat last night!”
Dana’s expression morphed salaciously. “You hooked up with an Irish guy while on assignment? Is that why Jim fired you?”
Getting up, Kimber grabbed her phone and angrily began tapping on the screen. “No, he fired me because Pel Cappa is a complete asshole who lied about me.”
“I heard Roxanne is going to interview him over Zoom.”
Figures. “What do you want on your pizza?”
“You’re ordering pizza?”
“I’m ordering two and also two pregnancy tests because I sure as hell am not taking one alone.”
Meeting Dana’s pretty brown eyes, Kimber nearly burst into tears again. She was so glad her friend had shown up. She’d fallen asleep on the couch completely normal last night. And this morning she’d woken up with the appetite of a Sumo wrestler and a bowling ball inside her abdomen. This wasn’t something a person went through alone.
And since Ethan had no interest in reaching out…
Finishing her order for the delivery service, Kimber went into the bathroom to change into more comfortable clothes. Stripping naked, she almost looked at herself in the mirror but chickened out. Flickers of fear washed through her. She didn’t want to see her belly up close. Not yet. Dressing quickly into pajama pants and an oversized hoodie, she washed her face and tried to pull herself together.
When she entered the living room, Dana had taken two small ice cream containers from the bag she’d brought and two bottles of iced coffee. Handing Kimber a spoon, Dana sat close on the couch and dug a spoonful from her ice cream.
“You want to tell me about this guy?”
Kimber’s heart hurt. How could she be so broken over a man she never really had?
