I expected to feel like a different person when I stepped out of the building, although I didn’t know why. Yes, the doctor had inserted a stranger’s sperm into me, but it wasn’t like the little swimmers had even reached my egg at this point, so there was no reason to feel different. Plus, even if one of the assholes did make it to the finish line, it would be weeks before I had symptoms.
The fact that I’d gotten through all the intensive exams with no one even suspecting what I’d done ten years ago was the one major relief about all this. Even though the people working in the underground had assured me no doctor would be able to tell I’d previously been pregnant, I’d still worried they were wrong. Getting thrown in jail for a couple decades would have been the icing on the cake of my body not belonging to me.
I paused one step out of the building so I couldpull out my phone, relief washing over me when I saw the missed texts from Trevor.
I’M HUGGING YOU MENTALLY. YOU’VE GOT THIS. YOU’RE STRONGER THAN THEY ARE AND DON’T FORGET IT.
Then, an hour or so later, he’d sent another one.
I’M BRINGING DINNER. I’M THINKING CHICKEN PAD THAI FROM OUR FAVORITE PLACE. IT’S OUT OF THE WAY, BUT YOU DESERVE IT.
Quickly, I typed a reply.
YOU’RE MY HERO. LOVE YOU.
Then, on impulse, I typed another text.
I’M COMING TO YOUR PLACE. I NEED A CHANGE OF SCENERY.
I started walking, and only seconds later, my phone vibrated.
SOUNDS LIKE A PLAN.
Despite the horrible events of the day, knowing I was going to see Trevor lifted my spirits, and there was a slight bounce in my step as I started for home. The clouds had become more ominous while I was in the office, and I’d only made it a few blocks when a fat raindrop landed on my arm. I looked up, frowning, then smiled at the dark gray clouds hanging over me. My grin widened when thunder rumbled a few seconds later.
I picked up the pace, hoping to make it past the courthouse to one of the several businesses in the square before the worst of it hit. More raindrops fell, beating me on the head, arms, shoulders, and back, and pinging against the sidewalk as they grew infrequency. Thankfully, I’d reached a small clothing boutique just as the clouds opened up and was able to take cover.
Once inside, I stood at the open door, watching as the storm began to rage. It was intense, pounding on the city like it was trying to wash it away, and I couldn’t help thinking about the story of Noah’s Ark from theBibleand how God had used the flood to rid the Earth of evil. What if He did that now? What if, by some miracle, the rain continued and the water rose, and everyone who thought this law was right was suddenly gone? It would be a miracle, no doubt, but possibly too little too late since I’d just been inseminated. Even if everyone was washed away, I might still get pregnant. But it would be worth it to save other women from having to go through this. Even if I had to go through a pregnancy, I would be happy no one else would have to endure this humiliation and injustice.
“Hello there!” called a peppy voice.
The smile the clerk shot me when I turned was as bright as her greeting had been, which contrasted sharply with both the gloomy day and my mood. She looked so happy, so hopeful, and it suddenly occurred to me that she was expecting me to spend money.
“Sorry.” I returned her smile with a sympathetic one. “I was just looking for a place to ride out the storm. I’m sure your clothes are beautiful” – I waved to the racks around me – “but I can’t afford to buy anything right now.”
The woman’s smile faltered but didn’t fade completely. “I get it. Really. It’s nice that the government is giving aid to small businesses, but I don’t know that it’s going to work. I mean, if no one can afford to buy anything, what are we even doing here?”
God, I really didn’t want to get into a conversation about the shitty economy right now.
I worked my face into a sympathetic expression. “I’m sorry. I’m sure it’s hard.”
“Thanks.” Her smile widened. “And stay as long as you need to. It’s really coming down out there.”
“Thanks.”
She went back to arranging the already neat jewelry displaynext to the register, while I shifted my focus back to the open door. There was a slight overhang protecting the store from the water pounding against the sidewalk, but it was coming down so violently that little droplets still made their way inside. I watched them ping off the sidewalk and jump through the door, landing on the hardwood and creating a puddle that, if not taken care of quickly, would probably distort the old wood. I was about to say as much to the woman behind the register but got distracted when a figure appeared through the heavy rain, hurrying toward the store.
I stepped back when a woman rushed inside.
“Holy shit, it’s coming down!”
She was dripping wet, her hair plastered to her face and her mascara running down her cheeks, while her clothes clung to her body, emphasizing the bump at her midsection and making my stomach lurch. It was the woman from the Department of Fertility.
Within seconds, there was a puddle under her, and when the shopkeeper rushed forward, a blanket that still had the tags on it in her hands, the pregnant woman let out a light laugh.
“Sorry for this!”
“Not at all,” the other woman said, unfolding the blanket.
