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Telling myself I was overreacting, I got dressed and then grabbed my purse to head out to the closest pharmacy. I bought a pregnancy test from two different brands and brought them home and set about taking them. Both Naomi and Ruby had had accidental pregnancies. Ruby had had two. I remembered at the time thinking how could that be possible? And now here I was, thinking I was so responsible, and I was taking a pregnancy test. Two of them, actually.
I followed the instructions and then set the sticks out on the boxes that they came in to wait.
"There's no way I'm pregnant." I nearly threw both the tests away because it was inconceivable.
"You're being ridiculous, Betts." I reached out to swipe the tests into the wastepaper basket but stopped short when I saw one of the tests had two lines.Oh, God.
I checked the other stick. It didn't have lines. It had a single word.
Pregnant
I sank down on the toilet seat lid. I felt completely numb. My brain was void of any thoughts. This was so inconceivable that my brain couldn't wrap around the reality of it.
What was I going to do?
I finally roused myself out of my catatonic state and went to find my phone. At times like this, I needed my very best and oldest friend in all the world. I dialed Analyn's number, hoping that she wasn't too busy with Reed or the baby.
"Hey, girl. I was just thinking about you."
"Do you have plans for today?"
"What's wrong?" Leave it to Analyn to notice something wrong in my voice.
"Could you come over?"
"Of course. Now?"
"If it's not too much to ask."
I could hear her moving. "I'm on my way. What's going on?"
"I'll tell you what I can when you get here."
Twenty minutes later, I let Analyn through my door. By then I was overwrought, shaking at the thought that from this day forward, my life was completely changed. I was pregnant with my boss’s baby. A boss who had no interest in marriage and family. The guy could barely handle the son he had. Granted, he seemed to be trying now, but he'd been an absent father for so long. I knew for sure that this was not what he wanted.
Analyn wrapped her arms around me and gave me a hug, comforting me even though she didn't yet know what was happening. She led me over to my couch and we sat down.
She took my hands in hers. "What's going on, Betts?"
For a moment, I just stared at her, not being able to articulate the words out loud. Maybe if I didn't say them, they wouldn’t be true.
Of course, that was ridiculous. "I'm pregnant."
Analyn's brows shot up to her hairline in shock. But she quickly schooled her expression back into compassion. "I didn't realize you were seeing anyone. Your shaking hands tell me that he's not excited by the news."
“I'm not really seeing anyone. Not officially, anyway." Even if Taylor hadn’t dropped Dean off with Todd, I couldn't be sure that Todd and I would have developed a relationship beyond occasional sex.
"I just took the test today, so I haven't had time to tell him."
Analyn squeezed my hands in support. "Are you worried how he'll respond?"
"I don't know if worry is the right word. I mean, I know he's not going to be thrilled about it. He's a confirmed bachelor who is estranged from his teenage son."
Analyn's jaw dropped. "You’re talking about Todd Marshall?"
This time, I gaped. How did she figure that out?
"We heard through the grapevine that his ex-wife dropped his son off on his doorstep. And you work for him, so I just put two and two together."
