Chapter 14

"Oh, my god."

It's a good thing Ann told me to sit down, or I would have collapsed on the floor. As it was, I was already there. I just let my head fall between my legs.

"What the hell do I do now?"

"You mean, what the hell do *we* do now."

"What? No offense, honey, but this isn't really your business."

"I was there, wasn't I?"

"Well, yeah, but -"

"I'm dating you, aren't I?"

"Yeah... "

"I'm Ann's friend, aren't I?"

"Yeah... "

"Call me dumb, but I fail to see how this isn't really my business."

"I guess you're right."

"Look, George, I know this is rough on you. It isn't exactly something you asked to be dropped in your lap. But we'll figure it out, okay? You, and me, and Ann, we'll work it out."

She put her finger on my chin and tilted my head up. Such a simple gesture, but even that light touch made me feel a little bit better.

"It's gonna be okay, honey. I promise. I'm here for you."

I could feel the shame on my face. It burned my skin, and made me feel like I could have fried bacon on my forehead.

"With all the crappy things I put you through, sometimes I wonder why."

"Because I love you, George."

A single tear appeared in her right eye and slowly rolled down her cheek. I looked at it, and reached out with my finger to wipe it off her face.

Her face. It was so beautiful, in that moment, leaning against the wall, sitting on the bathroom floor. Steam fogging up the mirrors. The portable phone, its black finish a sharp contrast to the white tile floor that it laid upon. The water that dripped off her hair, onto her shoulders, and down her body.

The whole world froze. In that instant, in that minute -- it seemed like hours, that we had been sitting on the floor -- I finally admitted to myself, and to April, what had been tearing at my heart all this time.

"I love you too, April."

She closed her eyes, tilted her head just barely to the side, and kissed me gently. Then she helped me back up to my feet.

"Does Ann know for sure that she's pregnant?"

"No. This morning, when she woke up and remembered what we'd done yesterday, she went down to Student Health Services and had them do a pregnancy test on her."

"When does she get the results back?"

"Tomorrow morning, probably first thing."

"Well, there's not much we can do until then."

"She's going to meet us on Midway when we show up with everybody else."

"Okay, good. Maybe we can find a way to have a private conversation with her, huh?"

"I think that's a good idea."

I grabbed my towel and began to dry myself off. Ann pregnant? I must have screwed up something pretty bad in a previous life to deserve this kind of karma. We dried off, hung up our towels, got dressed, and went back into the living room, where Jim was just surveying the damage from last night.

"Hey you two," he said, "didja enjoy your shower?"

I half-forced a smile to my face. "Yeah, well, you know what they say: Conserve water, shower with a friend."

"You two didn't conserve much water, by the sounds of it." He grinned at me. I picked up a dishtowel that was lying on the table and threw it at him. April started picking up dirty dishes from breakfast and taking them into the kitchen.