A Gift from the Goddess by Dawn Rosewood

Samantha

"Sam, are you there?" Charlie knocked on the bathroom door of the apartment we shared.

My only wish was to pretend it didn't exist until it became real. I sank a little deeper into the empty tub, seeking some protection from reality.

"Sam, you know if we're late we're going to have to put up with Elle picking on us!"  his tapping became insistent "come on, it's only two apresentacions today."

"The door is open," I mumbled, opening the third chocolate bar that would probably turn me into a pig.

Well, I would have the size of one sooner or later anyway.

Charlie opened the door, wide-eyed to find me lying in the empty bathtub, surrounded by boxes of assorted treats that my payment for last night's show had managed to buy.

"What the hell is that?"

She cautiously approached the tub as I nibbled listlessly on the chocolate bar. My friend bent down, picking up the reason for my despair in the last few hours from the floor.

Four pregnancy tests, all positive.

“My life is over.” I sniffled.

"Sam, I... Is this serious?" she stammered, sounding goofy.

I nodded without bothering to look at her.

"But..."

"I did the blood test, the result comes out today, but I couldn't wait"  I explained, settling in the little space I had.

"Who is the father? It's been a while since you broke up with Jack."

I sighed at the thought of my ex boyfriend. It would be much easier if it was him, I knew him, we had a relationship that lasted over a year. But no, I had to make things a little difficult.

“It's not Jack's. You do not know him.

She looked confused by the answer. I've always made a point of introducing all of my romantic involvements to Charlie, with the exception of Theon.

She knew that I had hooked up with someone a few weeks ago and that it was a passing thing since he was just in town on vacation. The only one who really knew him was Elle. It was amazing to enjoy his company,

I just didn't expect that such a silly oversight as the one we had would result in something like this.

"Sam, who are we talking about?" - She sat down next to me, picking up a packet of jelly beans that was on top of my stomach.

“That guy I met at the bar the day we went out together,” I explained.

“I think I understand why so many sweets.

“If it were up to me, I'd be surrounded by tequila, but apparently I can't drink any more.

We sat there for a few seconds in silence, just absorbing the news, but, all too soon, Charlie broke it.

“I know you're freaking out, but we realy need to go.”

Despite feeling reluctant, I forced myself to shower and get dressed for work. I needed to work, at least while I can still dance without having a huge baby bump getting in the way.

Charlie and I took a taxi to the hotel where our first performance was to be held. Afterwards we would go to an Arab restaurant, where apparently they didn't care about the ethnicity of their dancers as long as they knew how to belly dance and dressed in appropriate attire.

I was in the dressing room separating the clothes I would wear in the presentation when Charlie came in, sitting on a sofa already dressed for the presentation, taking advantage of the fact that we had been the first to arrive.

“How long have you been expecting?” she asked.

"I don't know," I sighed, sitting down next to her, "It's been a few weeks since Theon left, so it can't be more than that. But I think I need to go see a doctor or something. I knew one thing was wrong. , but I didn't want to accept it."

“I noticed you were acting weird, but I thought you had the flu from Milly.” She watched me.

“I don't get sick,” I sniffled, “but I also considered the flu, even though my period is a few days late.

"Denial?

“Could be,” I admitted. “I felt cramps, so I thought it was just that, a delay.

"But it was not.

I shook my head, laying down on her lap. I felt lonely, it was ironic to say the least, since technically, I would always be accompanied from now on.

"What do you intend to do?" she asked.

“Well, I'm going to try to dance all night without throwing up on anyone, and then eat the rest of my candy."

"Sam…" she sighed.

“And maybe call Theon and say, 'Hi, remember me? So… I hope you like kids, because we're having one.'” I cringed into his lap. “I'll be lucky if he doesn't disappear."

"He's not going to disappear" she assured me, touching my hair 'and if he does, we'll find a way, you can always ask your father to hunt him down and make him pay alimony."

“If I ask my father to hunt you, he'll take it seriously, you know hunting is his favorite pastime. Last thing I'm getting is alimony,” I joked, feeling a new terror rise in me.

How would I tell my parents this? I would have to tell them at some point!

"Sam, are you crying!?" Why?” Charlie's eyes widened when I got up from his lap, trying to wipe away the stubborn tears that insisted on appearing.

“I don't know, can I blame the hormones?” I forced a smile, trying to change the subject when I heard voices approaching the door “please don't tell.”

I didn't want to talk anymore about how terrified I was about the situation. I just wanted to try to maintain a normal routine. She wrapped me in an awkward hug trying to comfort me, but that seemed impossible to me at the moment.

A baby!