Second City.

“Don't you use condoms?” Adrienne stood with her back resting against the vanity in the bathroom. In her hand was the pregnancy test Bristol had passed off to her no more than a minute ago. From his sitting position on the closed toilet seat, Mike giggled like a giddy girl, typing away on his phone.

“Well, apparently they’re not one-hundred percent effect unless you actually take them out of the box.” Pacing the hallway, Bristol crossed her arms over her chest as she felt her heart begin to flutter. It had been quite possibly the longest three minutes of her life. She had made Mike and Adrienne promise that no matter what the test results were, they would not speak a word of it to Dan. That was her job. Stopping in front of the door, Bristol looked pleadingly at Mike. “Has it been three minutes?”

“Was I supposed to be timing it?” He asked.

Frustrated, Bristol let out a grunt as she turned on her heels and continued to pace. The second an excited shriek escaped from the mouth of Adrienne, Bristol found the world around her had stopped. “Yay!”

Tossing the stick into the trash, Adrienne ran out into the hall and wrapped her arms around her stunned sister. She couldn’t wrap her mind around it. Was this actually happening? No words could be summed together in her unwired brain as she absently draped her arms around the torso of Adrienne. After they separated, the older of the two found tears of joy streaming down her naked cheeks. Bristol told Mike to leave the bathroom and, the just as shocked male did exactly what he was told. Staring down at the stick as it sat atop an empty toothpaste tube, Bristol absorbed the two bold, pink vertical lines. There is was, as clear as the sky above—she was pregnant.

Looking at the time on her cell phone, Bristol jump to her feet and washed her hands under hot water. “I have to go; I’m supposed to meet Dan in twenty-minutes.”

“Bristol,” Adrienne wrapped her arms once again around her shell-shocked sister. From experience, she knew how traumatic taking a pregnancy test can be only, hers had turned out with a different result. There was not the slightest clue to Adrienne as to what was floating in her sister’s mind. “Everything is going to be just fine. Please, stop worrying.”

Bristol wiped the fallen tears from her cheeks and smiled wide. As she waited those three long minutes, she came to a realization. She wasn’t scared of being pregnant or how Dan would react; she was worried about how her father would handle the news. “I’m not worried. I am so beyond happy, I can’t find words. I’m going to be mom.”

“Are you going to tell Dan?” Mike asked. He was biting his thumb nail as his hip rested against the frame of the bathroom door.

“I don’t think so,” Bristol tried to keep a straight face for as long as possible. “I’ll just wait until I start to get bigger and see if he says anything. That’ll be like, the ultimate way to fuck with him. Ask if I look fat in a dress or a top.”

Adrienne thought the idea was cleaver; Mike didn’t see it in the same light. “Of course I’ll tell him, asshole. I have to muster up the courage first…oh, fuck!” Bristol abruptly stopped talking, her heart nearly fell in to the pit of her stomach. “I accidently ate three of Sean’s pot brownies last night.”

“You ate three pot brownies?” Mike pocketed his phone and laughed. She nodded suddenly feeling like a failing mother already. There was no way she could go to the doctor for another week or so until the drug had gotten out of system. For sure the doctor would take her as some kind of dope-fiend after her blood work was to come back.

“That son of a bitch,” Adrienne bit her lip. “The same thing happened to me while you were living in Philly. Did you find them in his room on a plate? The smell of baked chocolate just irresistible?”

“I would love to see you stoned, Bristol.” Following the two girls out into the front room, Bristol showed Mike her red, polished middle finger as she slung the strap of her tote bag on her shoulder. She dug through it until she found her keys. As Adrienne opened the door for her, they kissed cheeks goodbye and she waved farewell to her sister newest man-candy. She wondered if Mike knew Adrienne was more of a whore than he was.

“Not a word to anyone. If someone calls to congratulate me, I will know it was you and the consequences to follow will not be pretty.” Leaving them in fear would work the best, she thought. And she was serious—Bristol wanted to be the one to break the news she was expecting. More than likely because she feared Danny would hear of it from Mike or Jeff instead of her.

“Promise!” Adrienne and Mike answered in unison as she headed down the hallway. There was holding the massive smile which spread across her red lips as she jogged down the carpeted steps. The day seemed new as Bristol walked outside. She was greeted with a blast of a wispy breeze which blew the curls off her shoulder. Getting into her car and starting the engine, there was one thing she had to refrain herself from doing—telling Dan. As much as she wanted to pick up the phone and tell him the news right there, she knew she couldn’t. Of all the times she dreamed of this moment, Bristol knew she wanted to do it right. She would mix it up; take him to dinner rather it being the other way around. A hint would be given when she didn’t order a bottle of wine.

Returning from her day-dream, Bristol played with the engagement ring on the finger of her left hand. Her idea of eloping couldn’t have come at a better time, she supposed. Depending on when exactly she became pregnant, at today’s date, she would be giving birth just one month before her scheduled date to walk down the aisle. As she drove through traffic, Bristol concluded she wasn’t ready to tell family and friends—with the exception of Adrienne and Mike—until after they were married. Drop two bombs at once—that way both their parents would be so overjoyed with the idea of having a grandchild they would be forgiving about the beachside wedding.

She parked a couple of blocks away from the Tiffany store in a lot which had open spots and was cheap. For an odd reason found she had a sudden boost of self-confidence as she strode down Michigan Avenue. Just as he had promised, Bristol found Dan standing outside the lavish store in jeans and a tee. A hat and aviator glasses were used as accessories.

“Hello, beautiful.” Dan greeted. He placed his hands on her hips and dipped his head down to capture her lips in a sweet kiss. Her cheeks glowed a deeper shade of pink than the blush she had put on that morning. “Are you ready to do this?”

“Are you kidding? I’ve been waiting a very long time.” Lacing her fingers with his, the couple headed into the shop. It was Bristol’s first time there, she wasn’t one to step foot into lavish jewelry stores nor was it her style to wear such a flashy stone. Every time she stepped out the door in the morning, Bristol feared the ring would slip off her finger in the middle of a busy street, or a thug on the train would catch sight and claim it as his own. She muttered a low, ‘wow’ to herself, which had also been heard by Dan. They passed several cases filled with some of the most gorgeous necklaces and bracelets—flamboyant rings and precious colored stones.

They were approached by a soft spoke blonde in her mid-forties, offering her assistance. She showed them the location of the rings they were looking for. Already having her mind set on what she wanted, Bristol decided to go traditional, following the style of her traditional ring. Her engagement ring would be set between two platinum bands—she had wanted only one, but it was Dan who encouraged her to go with both. He knew Bristol, and Dan was sure she would regret her decision if she didn’t get both.

Dan’s was the easiest—he too went simple and plain to match hers. It would be a week until they could pick them up. Back outside in the midst of the hot August air, Bristol and Dan slipped their sunglasses on and began their decent south towards State Street. It had taken longer than they had expected at the store and each were jonesing for a good burger and a small Café/Grille by Millennium Park sounded heavenly. As Dan laced his fingers with Bristol’s it felt awkward not feeling the cool band of her ring against his skin. She had left it with the jewelers so they could set it.

It took them ten minutes to walk and when they approached the restaurant, Dan opened the door for her. They were seated at a comfortable table along a long row of windows, giving them a perfect view of Millennium Park across the street. Bristol found herself becoming rather nervous suddenly as she ordered a Diet Coke. Her inner thoughts were battling as she tried to decide when would be the best time to break the news of her pregnancy to Dan. Besides, she wasn’t confident in the tests results anyway. Not until the doctor gave the positive would it actually seen real.

“You feeling okay?” Dan reached out and rubbed the knuckles of his index and middle finger along the flesh of her forearm. He could tell she was out of it, not her usual talkative self.

“Yeah, “she tried to answer as confidently as possible. “Why wouldn’t I be?” Bristol knew he was referring to last night’s problem with her brother. She had woken up feeling so terrible, it was only a reminder as why she had stopped her hard partying ways. Waking up with a pounding head and no recollection of the nights events was no way to go through life.

A burst of adrenaline pumped through Bristol’s veins as she played with the paper from her straw. Looking up from the pattern of the table cloth, she set her eyes on Dan while wondering if she was ready to do it. She still wasn’t sure if she was ready to mother herself, but now she had no choice but to grow up. “Dan, I’m pregnant.”

It wasn’t quite the reaction Bristol had hoped for. Leaning back in his chair, Dan let out the breath which had momentarily become hitched in his throat. His hands ran through his hair before his arms crossed over his chest. No words were exchanged; they sat there in silence much longer than Bristol would have liked to. From the way he was reacting, Bristol could see the end of their relationship. They had never spoken of having children and it took them a month’s break up before he found the courage to purpose. She could only imagine what it would take for him to man up and realize his responsibilities as a father-to-be.

Dan scared her when he slid his chair out from the table. Her heart rate quicken as she imagined him getting ready to head down to the bar where he would drink his fears away most likely pick up an easy chick. But instead, he stunned her. Leaning over the table, Dan cupped her cheeks in his hands and pressed a hard, loving kiss to her unready lips. Tears of relief slid down her face as she wiped them away with the corner of the linen napkin. The kiss was all she needed to settle any doubts in her mind. And the smile that twitched at the corner of his lips made her realize he was ready for the curveball which had just been thrown at him. Dan was many things: a fighter, a lover and a friend, but now, he could add one more quality to his growing list. Dan was a father.