Zick began to imagine a future in her mind, where she, their daughter, and Don walked with smiles on their faces, holding hands.
Frowning, she surprised herself, imagining it would be a daughter.
"Maybe there will be a son. I don't know yet, but I suspect Don would be happier with a son. What if he doesn't want a daughter?" Zick started crying again.
She'd only known about her pregnancy for less than two days, and her mood swings were unbearable. She'd cry constantly, then stop and think intensely about something, only to start crying again.
She was a complete mess.
Fortunately, after a less-than-enough night's sleep, the long-awaited day arrived.
The girls had arranged to meet at a larger restaurant with private rooms where no one could interrupt their conversation.
Zick, unable to hold it in any longer, arrived almost an hour before the scheduled time.
Fortunately, their room was emty, so she could wait inside for her friends.
The moment Sophie and Diana entered with smiling faces, Zick burst into tears. The women, surprised by her behavior, quickly approached her, trying to find out what had happened, but Zick couldn't stop.
All they could do was hug the crying girl tenderly and wait for her to calm down. Fortunately, the closness of her friends allowed her to recover quite quickly.
Wiping the remaining tears from her face, Zick took a few deep breaths and looked at her patient friends.
"I don't know what to do...Few days ago, I noticed something was wrong with me. Because of work, I wasn't treating my body well, and I thought it was because of that, but when I made an appointment with the doctor and answered a few of his questions, he suggested I...buy a pregnancy test." Zick practically whispered the end of her sentence, and Diana squealed with joy.
"You're pregnant! Congratulations!"
"What congratulations?" Zick interrupted her uncomprehending friend. "I don't need any congratulations, just some help. Tell me what to do now, or I'll go crazy. What if Don doesn't want the baby? What if he tells me to leave, or worse, get rid of it? I have no idea how to go about it. All I can do now is cry." Tears appeared in the girl's eyes once again.
"Zick, first of all, you need to calm down. We won't achieve anything by crying and grieving." Sophie lightly patted the girl's shoulder, preventing another burst of tears. "Didn't you think about using contraception before?"
This question caused Zick to freeze like a computer system. After an awkward silence, the girl innocently looked at both women.
"Are you using contraception?"
The sentence returned to the women with double force. Both of their eyes widened, thinking about their actions, and then froze.
"Not really" Sophie muttered, wondering if she would need to buy a test.
"That's why I'm pregnant too!" Diana, as usual, dropped her bombshell in an awkward manner. With a smile on her face, she looked at Sophie and Zick, who were staring at her open-mouthed.
"I'm happy about the baby. You don't have to comfort me," She added.
Zick was the first to recover from her shock. "Since when? Why didn't you say anything?" Completely forgetting about her situation, she wanted to learn as much as possible from her friend, who, as always, had her head in the clouds.
"It'll be almost two months. But I'm keeping it a secret from Tomas for now." She replied, visibly proud of herself. "Although I think he's starting to suspect something. I don't have morning sickness, but I've started having cravings."
"Wait a minute." Sophie stopped Diana from continuing the conversation with her hand and covered her face with her other. "You mean you've been pregnant for TWO months and you haven't told us?"
"There just wasn't time for that. You know what's been going on all this time. How was I supposed to burst out with the happy news that you're going to be aunts?" Diana innocently spread her hands.
"She has a point," Zick nodded. The women exchanged glances and then burst out laughing.
"There's something wrong with us," Sophie said after a moment, wiping a tear from her eye. The situation visibly calmed down, and the women began to discuss the matter calmly.
"For a moment, I even considered leaving it all and disappearing. I have the brains and the money...it wouldn't be difficult...ouch! Diana!" Zick hadn't finished speaking when she received a punch in the arm from the visibly angry woman.
"That was your plan? Have you considered what Don would do if he found out you were gone?" She growled at her.
"He'd probably find someone better," She muttered quietly.
"Bullshit!" Diana's cry surprised both women. "How can you even talk like that about your man, who loves you so much... How would you feel if Don suddenly disappeared?" She asked, visibly moved by her own words. "Would you find someone better?"
"NO!" Zick, terrified by the thought, only now realized something.
She couldn't run or hide. She simply had to tell the truth.
She looked at both women gratefully and hugged them tightly. After long conversations, they could finally order some food, laughing at each other every now and then and making silly jokes.
Talking to the girls really helped Zick calm her sensitive nerves. However, after returning home and taking a long bath, it was time to talk to Don.
He called her every day at the same time, no matter what he was doing. This was their routine when he was away from home.
Today was no exception. Right on time, Zick's phone started ringing.
She hesitated, realizing it was a video call. She hadn't quite managed to shake off the redness in her eyes after a long, tearful cry.
However, mustering her courage, she answered and, with a faint smile, stared at the screen, which displayed the silhouette of her beloved man.
"How are you, honey? Have you eaten? Have you rested a bit? Have you met the girls?" As always, Don bombarded her with questions, and when he finished, he waited patiently for her answers.
He was clearly typing something on his laptop and hadn't yet looked in his direction when Zick began her reply.