Page 45 of Doctor Daddy

I didn’t believe it the first time. That could not be right. I was not pregnant. I refused to be. I took the second test. I wanted it to be wrong too. I didn’t want to believe those two stupid blue lines. I sat on my bed and cried. I didn’t want to be pregnant. I certainly didn’t want to be pregnant with Mark’s baby. After this weekend, I simply didn’t feel like I could trust him. How was I supposed to trust him with a child?

I tested Angela. “Are you available for lunch?”

“I am. Burritos?”

“Sounds good. What time?”

I confirmed that I would be there when she suggested two. I was really happy Angela agreed to meet me for lunch. We met at our regular burrito shop.

I was a weird combination of starving, but I also didn’t feel like I could eat anything. My stomach was in knots. I only had a few spoonful’s of soup for breakfast. Part of me wanted to get the biggest burrito they had, but I didn’t want to puke it up later, so I settled for a regular with all the fixings.

“I haven’t heard you talk about your secret doctor lately.”

I scoffed. “Well, I think that ship has passed. He seemed a little too eager to keep me a secret, and the other day I saw him on a date with another woman.”

I didn’t mention anything about how much attention he paid to Mimi while we were at the lake. Angela didn’t know that Mark was my secret doctor. And I wasn’t about to give away who he was now.

“Oh, Brooke, that sucks.”

“Yeah. So, if he was keeping me a secret, how many other women was he dating?”

“Shit, you don’t think he’s married, do you?”

I shook my head. “At least I know for certain he’s not married. But I don’t know how many side chicks he’s juggling. And I did not agree to be a side chick, and that’s what it looks like I’ve been this whole time.”

Angela looked sad for me.

I was sad. I took a deep breath, preparing myself to spill the news.

“Okay, I don’t want you to be mad at me, but.” She started before I could say anything. “I’ve been accepted into a graduate program. It starts in August. I’m moving to Chicago.”

The bottom dropped out of my world for the second time that day. I had been counting on Angela to be my support system.

I blinked a few times as I continued to stare at her in shock.

“But we just sent in those applications,” I pointed out.

“Yeah, about that.” She looked off to the side with a sheepish expression. “I’ve been sending in applications for a while. I could help you apply to this program. I bet you could still get in.”

“Chicago?” I asked. I didn’t want to be left here. I would be totally alone. There was no way my parents would be supportive of this situation I was in. And I never wanted to see Mark again.

“What if I don’t get in?”

“You could still come and work in Chicago. You’re always trying to get away from here. Hell, you went to college in a different country just to get away.”

I scoffed. “Yeah, two different countries.”

Angela laughed. “I totally forgot about that semester in France. Look, Brooke, let’s finish and I’ll come home with you and show you the program’s website. You can put in your application tonight.”

“What about the essay part? And getting references?”

“Use the essay we just worked on. And they haven’t asked me for any references. It would be so much fun. We can get an apartment together. We can be study buddies.”

I smiled and felt hopeful for the first time since I saw the double blue stripes on my pregnancy test.

Angela wouldn’t get mad at me for getting knocked up. She would understand and help me figure it all out. But first, I had to move to Chicago.

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