Violets in Bloom

Adrian Kellie stared at the calendar on her kitchen wall and then she stared at the calendar on her phone. Both calendars told her the same thing, the date. She tried not to think of the date today because if she thought what today was she would panic and she didn’t want to panic. After all, there was no need to panic. What’s a few days? It had only been a few days she thought. 

Two months ago Adrian met the most handsome, intelligent, hard working, romantic man she had ever known. Keith David was all that and more. She almost didn’t go to the party. Her friend, Jackie had invited her to one of her boring office parties. Someone was getting promoted or something. Adrian really didn’t want to go but since she had nothing else to do on a Saturday evening but watch her Lifetime movies and eat popcorn she decided to go. After all, at least she would get some free cake. They always had good cakes at those parties and good  food. Adrian picked out her go to black dress with the white lace around the hemline and paired it with her low black heels. She was almost 6 feet tall and was used to wearing lower heels so she wouldn’t tower over all the good looking men, if there were any. She’d been to about half a dozen of these parties at her friend’s Jackie’s job and never ever has she met someone remotely interesting. But, nonetheless she went to support her friend. Adrian pulled her long brown hair back into a bun and to add some sparkle to her hair she reached for a little headband that sparkled with glitter. She wasn’t there for long before she accidentally spilled some punch all over Keith’s shirt. She must admit she wasn’t watching where she was going and pow, she bumped into Keith and in an instant his white button down dress shirt had a huge pink stain on it right on his chest. She apologized for being a clutz and from that minute on they talked until the party was over.

Well, there is nothing I can do about it now. Adrian thought. 

The phone rang and jolted Adrian out of her thoughts of doom and gloom and uncertainty.

“Hello.” 

“Hey, girl!” Her friend Jackie’s voice greeted her on the other end of the phone.

“Hey, what’s up?” Adrian asked.

“Well?” Her friend asked, holding her breath.

“Well, what?” Adrian asked knowing good and well what she was talking about. 

“Don’t play with me. You know well what. Did you get it?” 

“Yes, Jackie I got it but haven’t done anything with it yet. I got it last night on the way home from work.” 

“I’ll come over if you want for support.” Jackie offered.

“Sure, I could use some support. Come over around 8. I’ll cook dinner for us.” Adrian said as she hung up the phone.

Adrian really didn’t want to know the answer to the biggest test that she would ever take in her life. She didn’t know how to feel or what to feel. She didn’t know how she would feel with the results. All she knew was that she was 3 weeks late and she could be pregnant by a man she barely knew. Why did she sleep with him on the second date and it was barely a date. 

“So, when can I see you again?” Keith asked Adrian as the night was winding down and most of the people at the party had left or were getting ready to leave.

“I’m free next week.” Adrian said hoping that he didn’t think she had nothing to do but look at movies on Lifetime and Netflix. That was true though but he didn’t need to know that just yet.

“Cool, me too. Give me your number and I will call you and we can make a date.” Keith said  as he took out his phone and typed in her number.

“I can’t wait.” Adrian said as she walked out to her car.

“Girl didn’t you hear me ring the bell?” Jackie said tapping Adrian on the shoulder.

“I’m sorry but you know I gave you a key for emergencies only not to be walking up on me.” Adrian laughed.

“Yeah, yeah, well, I didn’t know if you were dead or alive. I rang the bell like ten times, okay maybe 3 times and you didn’t answer so I used my key because I knew you were expecting me. What smells so good?”

“That would be dinner and you know that is no excuse for you using my key. I should take it from you.” Adrian laughed.

“Oh do I smell fried chicken?”

“Yeah, Jackie it is fried chicken, cornbread, greens, biscuits and gravy.” Adrian said walking towards the kitchen.

“All of my favorites. It’s like a Sunday dinner on a Wednesday.” Jackie laughed as she grabbed some plates to set the table.

“Did you take the test yet?” Jackie asked her friend.

“No, I thought I would wait until after dinner.”

“How would you feel if it was positive?” Jackie asked.

“Well, I always wanted to be a mother. I remember me and my sisters and even my brother playing house when we were little and I always said one day I wanted real babies, a nice house, husband, two car garage, you know the “American Dream” so to say. But, you know how life is and you don’t always get what you want how you want it and when you want it. I never had the baby or the marriage when I had planned. Now, I thought that I was too old to have a baby so I just put it in the back of my mind as something that wasn’t going to happen.”

“So you would be happy?” Jackie asked

“I don’t know. I want children but I wanted it all. I wanted the husband, the house, the purple picket fence, the dog named Zippo and the family SUV.” 

“Well, so you could be happy or not is that what you are saying?” Jackie asked her friend, gulping down a swig of white wine.

“I just don’t know. All I know is that whatever the results it will change my life in one way or another.”  Adrian said.

“Well, you might as well get this over with.” Jackie handed Adrian a pregnancy test and half smiled.

“I guess you are right. Let’s do this or let me do this is more accurate.”

“I usually don’t do this.” Adrian said to Keith as she opened her front door.

“Do what?” Keith asked as he kissed her on the nape of her neck.

“This here. Inviting a man up to my place after only 2 dates or in this case one and a half dates since we didn’t even eat dinner.” Adrian said as she moaned a little because he had found her sweet spot on her neck.

“Well, what makes you think that I have ever done this either after one and a half dates?” Keith asked, taking off his jacket.

“Well, you just look like the bad boy type.” Adrian laughed.

“Let’s see how bad we both can be.” Keith said, pulling Adrian into a passionate kiss.

“Are you done yet?” Jackie shouted at the bathroom door.

“Almost hold on.” Adrian screamed back.

Adrian came out of the bathroom and closed the door behind her. She sat next to her friend on the couch and they waited.

“How long does it take?” Jackie asked.

“It says it takes 5 minutes.” Adrian responded, biting her nails.

“”Who would have thought that we would be sitting on my sofa at 40 years old waiting for a pregnancy test.” Adrian asked, looking at her friend and rolling her eyes.

“ I know. But, here we are.” Jackie said, pouring herself another glass of white wine.

“How long has it been?” Adrian asked, looking at the clock on the wall. She was probably the only one on earth who still had a clock on the wall in the kitchen. 

“I think 2 minutes.” Jackie responded.

“I should have set a timer.” 

“Adrian, don’t tell me that you still have that old, old egg timer from 1950?” Jackie said laughing so hard that she almost choked on the wine.

“As a matter of fact I do. It was my grandmother’s and I am going to keep it and might be buried with it. So, shut up talking about my timer.” 

“Adrian, I think that time is up.” Jackie said, glancing at her phone.

“I know.” 

“Well, are you going to go and see what it says?” Jackie asked anxiously.

“Before I do I need to tell you that whatever it says I will be happy. If I am pregnant I will be happy.”

“But, if you aren’t you will be more happy right? Girl, you know that it is not exactly the right time for you to be pregnant. You just got promoted to vice president and you are supposed to go overseas in a few months. If you are pregnant then you might not be able to do all that.” Jackie said standing up from her seat on the couch.

“I know all of that. But, this might be my last chance to be a mother.” Adrian said.

“Besides, if I am I can find a way to work it all out.” Adrian continued.

“Okay, okay I got you.” Jackie said nodding her head,

“Jackie, can you do me a favor? I am too nervous to  look at the results. Can you go and tell me what it says?” Adrian asked her best friend.

“Okay. I will.” Jackie walked towards the bathroom and opened the bathroom door. She picked up the test from the counter and read the results. 

“Well, what does it say?” Adrian shouted towards the bathroom door.

“Umm, it says that you aren’t pregnant.” Jackie yelled back.

“Are you sure?” Adrian said.

“Yeah, I am sure.”

“Bring it out so I can read it.” Adrian said.

“Ok, but I need to use the bathroom first. I will bring it out when I am done.”

Adrian can’t know that she is really pregnant. But, I can’t keep it a secret from her for long but maybe just enough time for her to dump Keith. I didn’t know that he was married when I hooked them up. She doesn’t even know that I hooked them up. She thinks that they met accidentally. She never suspected that I pushed her and made her spill her drink on him to get them talking. I knew that they would hit it off. But, I didn’t know that they would hit it off so well that on the second date they would end up in bed and I really didn’t know that he was still married. The jerk told me he was divorced. He wasn’t divorced, only separated for half a minute from his wife. They got back together ten seconds after he went to bed with Adrian. She doesn’t even know. If she knew she was having a married man’s baby it would hurt her heart. That’s why she can’t know right now. I know her body will tell her eventually but she needs some time in between to get rid of Keith. And she will when I tell her that Keith has moved to England. That’s why I had to convince his boss to give him that assignment for a year. I didn’t know that Adrian would be pregnant though when I did it. I just wanted him away from her. That’s why I have to do this.

Jackie pulled out a pregnancy from her pocket and took the test herself. She knew hers would be negative. She just had to stall Adrian for another 3 minutes and take her pregnancy test to show her and get rid of the real one. 

“Hurry up! What are you doing there?” Adrian yelled through the closed bathroom door.

“Just a minute girl. I think that chicken got my stomach going.” 

“Oh you are just old.” Adrian laughed.

Jackie came out of the bathroom holding a test in her hand. She showed it to her friend and waited for her response.

“I guess that proves it. I am not pregnant.” Adrian said

“You sound sad.” Jackie said.

“I just thought...I just thought I was. I thought I had some symptoms. But, I guess I was imagining things. I guess I was just hoping it would be positive.” 

Two months later Adrian was banging on Jackie's door. She was happy and mad all at the same time. She had been to the doctor. She went to the doctor a few days after she took the home pregnancy test to be sure that the test was accurate but when the doctor came back into that little examination room and told her that she was indeed pregnant Adrian almost fainted. But, she asked how the home pregnancy test was wrong. The doctor said that once in a while they can be wrong but for some reason Adrian didn’t think the first one was. And the only other person who was there was Jackie, her best friend for 18 years. 

“Jackie, open this door! I know you are in there!” Adrian screamed at the peephole on Jackie’s door.

Jackie opened the door and let Adrian in. Adrian took off her coat and  sat down on the chair across from the couch in Jackie’s living room.

“What’s up?” Jackie asked.

“Well, I haven’t seen you in like 2 months. You tell me?” Adrian said 

“Girl, you know I have been busy at work and took that business trip last month and it took longer than I expected.”

“Jackie, I know what you did.” Adrian said looking her friend directly in the eyes.

“What are you talking about?” Jackie asked, trying to act innocent. 

“You know good and well. I found out that I was pregnant the day after we took the home pregnancy test. I was sure that I was. And I was right. When I went to tell Keith at his job his boss told me that he was in London with his wife. Yes, he has a wife. I know you knew that too. I know you know that because me and his boss started talking and your name came up. I didn’t know that you knew him. You  went to college with him and you and him even had a relationship for a year. You found out Keith was married and you convinced him to send him to London to run the office there for a year or possibly longer. Then you lied to me about the test. You knew that I was pregnant. But, you lied to me.  You told me that I wasn’t. I believed you. I didn’t think that you would ever lie to me. But you did. You lied to me and played me on so many levels.”

“You are right. All of it is true. I just thought that I didn’t want you to get hurt after you found out Keith was married.”

“Who told you to play God Jackie? All this was not your business or your life. It was my life. It was my decision to make. You should have just been a friend and supported me but no you betrayed me. You lied over and over and over again. You me in the eye and just lied and kept lying. Didn’t you think I would find out? Or what did you think poor stupid Adrian would never know? “

“I didn’t…” Jackie started her sentence but Adrian cut her off.

“No, you didn’t think I would know.  I guess you thought that I would find out that I was pregnant, that was a given fact but all the extra stuff you did I guess I wasn't supposed to find that out. Did you pee on the stick too, that's why it came out negative?”

“Let me talk…”

“No, you did enough talking and doing. I never want to speak to you or see you again. Our friendship is over. What I do from this day on is none of your business. Do you understand that? I am going to have my baby and I am going to tell Keith about the baby. He is getting a divorce from his wife and she has moved back here. But that doesn’t make a difference. I was going to tell him regardless that he was going to be a father. He has a right to know. Just like I had a right to know and not be multiplied by you. Goodbye and good luck. I am done.”

Adrian slammed the door as she walked out. 

“We’re going to be alright, baby.” Adrian said as she rubbed her baby bump. 

“If you are a girl I think I will name you Violet.” Adrian smiled.