IT'S KIND OF A FUNNY STORY

5

I walked past the hostesses and made my way through the restaurant.

Pete sat alone, looking at his watch. I felt myself get giddy and nearly ran to our table.

"Hi!," I greeted him.

His dark eyes lit up when he realized I was the one saying hello. He stood up and pulled me into a hug. He was dressed different from the times I had saw him. He had on a long duster cardigan and a button up shirt underneath. Instead of jeans, he wore a dressier style of pants.

"It's nice to see you again," he said whilst in our hug. I don't think he felt the bump just yet. Maybe he did and just assumed I got fat.

"You too," I smiled sweetly, "how have you been since we last talked? Anything new?"

He just smiled at this and then promptly contorting his smile in several ways. I was confused at first, but then assumed this was for emphasis. I quickly had noticed his adorable gap was gone.

"I got new teeth, if ya couldn't tell," he slickly said.

"I see that. Your pretty lil gap is gone! Either way, you have a very nice smile," I complimented.

"Thank you, thank you. I-I've been good... Who am I kidding? I recently got diagnosed with borderline personality disorder after having a couple of breakdowns. It's been, ah, tough. But I'm trying," he admitted with a weak smile.

I reached across the table to hold his hand.

"I'm so sorry to hear that. It's good that you can be so honest. I appreciate that. You can get through this, okay?," I looked him in the eye as I spoke.

"Okay," he replied softly, "Sorry I made everything so serious. How have you been? Tell me something good."

I felt my heart race. How do I lighten the mood now? Do I even try? No. Fuck it. Here I go.

"I don't know how good this will be," I nervously laughed and took a sip of the water that had been waiting for me, "I'm pregnant?"

I held back a laugh again. It wasn't a nervous one now or a genuine happy laugh. It was one of the laughs people like me do at funerals or when hearing something tragic. I suppose it was just a reaction with no meaning.

"O-oh okay. Wow! Congratulations. When-"

"It's yours-ours. It's our baby," I stuttered out.

He stared at me blankly.

"I don't know how. We used a condom. Multiple condoms. I made sure of that. I wish I could tell you that the dad was someone else, but I'd be lying. I'm aware at how crazy this all sounds, but I'll do my best to explain."

His eyes burned into mine. They were more wild now. I felt frightened a bit. He was like an agility ball. When you dropped it, it bounced in any direction unknowingly.

Suddenly, they softened. I noticed his focus was on my lower half. I couldn't help but to stand and take off my jacket. There, I exposed the ever-growing bump underneath. The dress I wore hugged the curve, purposefully.

He gazed down to my stomach. His eyebrows were scrunched, like he was studying something. His long arm reached out. I took this as he wanted to feel, so I walked to his side. He placed his hand on the left of my belly. It was nearly large enough to fit across the entire circumference of my stomach.

"Is it a boy or a girl?," he finally spoke.

"I won't know until November," I answered quickly.

He nodded and peered down to the floor. He began to cry. His hand slipped from my stomach to cradle his eyes. His body started to shake as he sobbed. I reached as first as I could, wrapping myself around him.

"I'm sorry, Pete. I'm so sorry," I felt myself tear up and let some roll out.

His hand held onto my elbow as he continued to cry. At that second, I knew he wasn't mad at me. No, he was trying to comfort me as well. He didn't have to. I was some random hook-up he had that came to ruin his life. But I was now the mother of his child.

"Ahh, man," he whimpered and wiped his tears, "I'm sorry about that. The tears-they just flowed."

I hugged him tight one last time and sat down again across from him.

"It's okay. It's gonna be alright. You don't have to worry. I can handle this," I touched my stomach, "I have a good job. I can get to appointments. I didn't come here to ask you for anything. Other than if you'd like to be in our lives."

His eyes flickered with emotion now. "Of course I want to! My dad, well, he died when I was young. I always thought that when I got the chance to be a father, I'd try to be as good as him. I want to in their life. Don't think differently."

"Really? I've been so anxious waiting for the day to tell you. More so anxious for you to react badly. I'm not a whore. I never planned to be telling someone I met twice- now three times- that the egg they fertilized was growing inside of me," I couldn't help but laugh at this odd explanation.

He laughed along with me, still sniffling as he did.

"You never seemed like one. I liked that about you, ya know? You're a strong female, who has her shit together. I was surprised when you took a chance on me. And I completely fucked your life up. Fuck, I'm sorry," he apologized again.

"Stop apologizing. Life is just like that. I say it-that it's gonna be okay-'cause I'm hoping it will. But I don't know how it'll really be when the baby comes. Or when he or she is 2 or 10 or a teenager. I never expected to be pregnant. Like ever. I always pictured me and a wife adopting kids."

"You have some bad luck getting stuck with me. Jesus. This is all so weird. How do I tell my mom this? She's gonna be so pissed. And oh... fuck me. I kinda, I'm kinda seeing my ex again. She was with me when we ran into each other. How the hell do I tell her this?," he sighed.

"We will figure it out. I'll be there if you need me. For anything. I guess I'll be like your best friend," I smiled and suddenly remembered why we had met here in the first place, "let me get that chain of yours!"