When Girlfriends Step Up by Savannah Page

“That’s definitely it. Robin found herself a new piece of meat.”
    “Is he hot?”
    “Where’d you meet him?”
    “Have you shagged yet?”
    “What’s his name?”
    “Is he a lot older than you? Older guys can be really great lovers.”
    “Come on, who is it? Is it serious?”
    I looked to Sophie, tuning out the drones of questions and exclamations. She gave me a sympathetic look and then a short nod of her head. It was time to spill it.
    “I’m pregnant,” I said without warning.
    Silence.
    Not even a single chip was munched.
    “You’re kidding,” Jackie finally said. “You. Are. Kidding.”
    “No, I’m serious,” I said. “It’s all very real and it’s all happening.”
    “Is this new guy the baby’s dad?” Jackie asked.
    “Jackie, there is no new guy.” I was tired of even considering a new romantic interest in my life.
    “Then it’s…” Lara said.
    “Yeah, it’s Brandon’s.”
    And more silence.
    Thankfully Sophie broke in. “We’ve been trying to tell him. We tried calling him but he didn’t answer. He still hasn’t answered, right?” I shook my head. “Typical piece of shit,” Sophie said colorfully.
    “How long have you known, Robin? Sophie?” Lara asked, still shocked. Her face was long, her eyes wide.  
    I told the girls everything I knew and everything that had happened up until that point. It was certainly no secret that I’d done the unthinkable and slipped up with Sophie’s boyfriend at the time. It had been inconceivable up until a couple of days ago that I was actually pregnant with his baby.  
    “No,” Lara interjected at one point, when we were discussing how I’d go about getting a hold of Brandon. “It’s not his baby. It’s your baby, Robin. You can tell him that you’re pregnant, you can work out whatever financial deals you want to, but this is your baby. Ultimately it is your child and if you don’t want him in your life—”
    “Yeah and he won’t want to be in your life,” Jackie added. She didn’t mean to sound hurtful—bad choice of words.
    “Well—” I started.
    “It’s your baby and you’re going to make the decisions for you and your baby. No one else. You don’t need him,” Lara said fervently.
    “I want to give him the chance,” I said timidly. “At least see what he has to say…” I looked to Sophie for help in convincing the suddenly enraged girls that telling Brandon of the news, and maybe even having him play some form of a role in the baby’s life, wasn’t such a wretched idea. He was the father, after all.
    Sophie came to my rescue. “Girls, she’s going to tell him. She has to.”
    A few objections, to which Sophie replied, “Look, if I of all people can look beyond the shallow reasons for not wanting Brandon to have anything to do with any of this, then we all can. Right?” She gave me an effusive look.
    The girls nodded collectively. Lara came towards me and enveloped me in a hug. “No matter what happens, we’re going to help you through this,” she said.
    Everyone nodded and piped in with, “Definitely!” and “Absolutely!” and “Duh!”  
    I looked from Sophie, who was smiling sweetly, to Lara, who had tears forming, to Claire, who was hugging her knees to her chest and glowing, as if she herself were pregnant, and then to Jackie, who was taking a gulp of her Bloody Mary. She smacked her lips. “Girl—” She took another gulp. “You bet your ass we’re here for you. But boy am I glad I can drink. That part’s going to suck for you.”
    I laughed. “Yeah, I haven’t even managed my caffeine withdrawal yet. I don’t even want to think about kissing my cocktails goodbye for the next seven months.”
    “Uh,” Sophie interrupted, snagging two double-chocolate cookies from the tray nearby. “Try seven months plus breastfeeding time.” She handed me one of the cookies as I let out a stiff moan and the girls howled in laughter. “Just eat the cookies and don’t think about what you