A Weird Spur of the Moment Short Story
“Are you sure you’ve done it right?” Gabriel asked the bathroom door. He was lying on his roommate’s bed, chatting to her through the wall as if they were sat opposite each other. After living together with each other for so long, conversations between the pair whilst one of them was on the toilet had become a part of everyday life.
“Gabe, in all the books you’ve ever read, have you ever come across a different way of peeing on a stick other than, well… peeing on a stick?”
“Well, I don’t know, do I?” Gabe replied quickly. “This isn’t really my area of expertise, Chase! Menstruation, and… ovaries and the like…”
“Oh, Gabe, I’d have thought you’d have a theoretical knowledge… even if you don’t take the practical class.” He couldn’t see her face, but Gabriel imagined the large smirk on Chastity’s face that she often wore when she made jokes about Gabriel’s love of books.
“Very funny.”
“I thought so,” Chastity replied airily. “Besides Gabe, this whole pregnancy thing is new to me too. And I must say, if it’s going to be as fun as making the child I’m in for a hellish nine months.” She groaned comically at this last sentence.
“It wasn’t that bad, was it?” he said worriedly. Gabe really wasn’t sure. He’d never been with a woman before. He knew all too well that Chastity, somewhat disagreeing with the virtue her parents had hoped to install in her given her name, had enjoyed the company of many men throughout her life.
“Not bad for a gay guy,” she chuckled, and Gabriel blushed slightly - he was glad Chastity couldn’t see him at this moment. “The last few shots really livened you up, I reckon.”
“I still can’t believe we ended up together. There’s an anti-alcohol advert right there - “warning, may cause heterosexuality and cause you to pounce on your best friend.” Gabriel even laughed as he said this, more so because of the unlikelihood of the situation than anything. “My father wouldn’t have believed it… he always hoped we’d end up together.” Gabriel said reminiscently. His thoughts soon turned to his father, and the familiar wave of regret washed over him that he had never revealed his true self to his dad.
“Still,” Chastity said, “your mum’s probably turning in her grave.”
“She didn’t hate you!” Gabe lied as he snapped out of his deep thoughts of his dad.
“Gabriel, she called “the bike” when she thought I couldn’t hear her!” Chastity said indignantly. “She was hardly the most tactful of women, Gabe!”
Not being able to defend this, Gabriel remained silent. Half a minute later, the watch on Gabriel’s arm began bleeping.
“It’s time,” he said rather of matter-of-factly given what was coming next.
He sat upright, waiting. At first, nothing happened. Then he heard Chastity walk over to the door. It seemed to take her forever to turn the handle, but eventually the door opened. Chastity stood in the doorway smiling.
Waving the pregnancy test in her air, she chuckled. “Gabe… what have we got ourselves in to?”