Blessed

Chapter One

Jacky stared at the white stick, she felt strange. She should feel panic and horror, but all she felt was shock. She bit her lip while she looked at her phone again. The big red letters seemed to scream at her, "3 DAYS LATE". She sighed, and stood up slowly. She tossed the stick into the bathroom trash bin. She walked around her humble apartment in a daze.

Jacky remembered with somber humor what her doctor had told her years ago when she had first gotten on the pill, "Remember, only abstinence is 100% effective!"

How long ago had that been? Seven, six years? She stopped as she reached her small office. She glared at the small desk and gray filing cabinet that sat gathering dust. Jordan had insisted that having an empty room was a waste of space. The irony was not lost to her. Now the room would have a new purpose. It would have to be the nursery.

Jordan.

She groaned. They had not spoken since Valentine's Day. Suddenly she hated society. If it had not been for this country's inexplicable obsession for having a day that made single people miserable, she would have dumped him days before when they had had the argument that shredded their 6 month relationship apart. They would not have had sex on Valentine's Day, and she would not be in this situation.

Her hand reached towards her abdomen, and it lingered there. She briefly wondered how big it was. She was only a couple weeks pregnant. She crossed her fingers as she remembered that one-fourth of pregnancies ended in miscarriage. Guilt tried to emerge, but she pushed it down.

Right now was not the time to be emotional. Emotions lead to rash decisions and a decision that lead to a lifetime consequence should not be taken under emotional duress.

Option one was to accept the pregnancy which lead to two different possible outcomes. She would either miscarry or end up with a child.

The second option was to abort the fetus. Not only would she be free to continue her life, she would not have to give Jordan the opportunity to reenter her life.

Could she afford to have a child? Yes. She might not be able to afford sending her child to Harvard, but they would be fine.

Was she qualified to be a parent? She had majored in Child Development. Her career revolved around children. She certainly knew a lot of facts about their development, and had the confidence to counsel parents. In theory, yes, she was qualified.

Did she want a child? Her heart throbbed painfully. No. Not now, and not with him.

She closed her eyes and breathed in deeply. She focused on the warmth of her stomach against her hand. She waited for a maternal instinct to take over. Is that not how women said they felt when they found out they were pregnant? That they felt in incredible love for their unborn child that couldn't be shaken off?

After a couple moments, she opened her eyes in resignation. What was the magic number? Eight. Eight weeks. She had six weeks left to decide. She reached for her cellphone, which she had placed in her pocket while in a daze.

She glared at the red letters again, before closing the period application. She scrolled down her contact list and she mumbled, "No, we. We have six weeks to decide."

She waited nervously as the phone rang. Ring. Ring. Ri-

"Hello?"

She took a deep breath before answering shakily, "Jordan?...It's Jacky. We need to talk."