Monday Surprise (860 words)

Monday was “Girl’s Day Out”. Kim and Diane, best friends since third grade, established the day, when their husbands demanded at least equal, or preferably more, time than the time the best friends spent together. That was why they were out shopping when Kim fainted in their favorite clothing store. Luckily, Diane was right beside her when she fell and managed to keep Kim from hitting her head as she went down.
“What happened? Is she okay?” one of the store clerks said as she came running over, having seen Kim fall. “We called 911; the ambulance should be here in just a few minutes.
“I don’t know,” Diane answered honestly, as Kim started coming around. “Kim, are you okay? Why did you faint?”
“I don’t know. I have been feeling a little light headed lately. I made an appointment with my doctor later this week,” Kim responded.
“Well, you are going to see a doctor today. They called an ambulance.”
“I don’t want an ambulance,” Kim protested.
Diane told her she was going in the ambulance since it was already at the store, and since she couldn’t explain her lightheadedness or the reason she fainted.
Once the paramedics arrived, they got her on the stretcher and into the ambulance, out of the public’s view, and let Diane ride in the front passenger seat. Then the one in back with Kim started asking her a million questions about her health past and present, who her doctor is, and about just everything. While he was questioning her, the medic drew a couple vials of blood and started an intravenous line.
At the hospital the nurse directed them to a room, and followed just a couple minutes later. She gave Kim a hospital gown and a sheet, telling her to take everything off and put the gown on open in the back, and that she would be back. Meanwhile, Diane was questioning her. “No, I don’t know why I’ve been light- headed or why I passed out.” Kim replied. Just then the nurse came in and started asking all the same questions the paramedics did. “Diane can give you the answers. I have to go pee.”
“Not by yourself you don’t but I do need a urine sample,” the nurse told her, “I’ll walk you to the bathroom, here’s a specimen cup. If you feel like you are going to pass out again there is an emergency call line next to the toilet. Your friend can walk you back to your room.”
“Okay, fine,” Kim answered, “Can we just go?”
As Kim hurried down the hall in front of Diane and the nurse, the back of the flimsy hospital gown blew open; Diane hurried quickly up behind her to hold the hospital gown closed. On the way back to her hospital room, Diane held her hospital gown closed. Once she was back in bed she put the nurse call light on. She and Diane talked while they were awaiting the nurse’s return. When the nurse came back, she checked Kim’s vital signs and then labeled the urine specimen cup. As she left, the nurse said the doctor would be in soon.
Close to 30 minutes later, the doctor knocked on the door and entered the room. He introduced himself and asked a question “What was the first day of your last menstrual cycle?”
“June 5th,” Diane answered quickly, expecting to hear Kim to echo the same date. They had both been on the same cycle since the first started menstruating in the sixth grade. But she didn’t hear Kim say anything and when she looked at her, she saw her friend with her eyes wide open and slowly shaking her head.
“You are pregnant,” the doctor said.
“No, she can’t be, she’s on the pill,” Diane told the doctor.
”No,” Kim said quietly.
“I’ll leave you alone,” the doctor said, “You can get dressed and the nurse will be around with your discharge instructions. Congratulations.”
“No, what do you mean no?” Diane asked Kim as she started getting dressed.
“I stopped taking it last month. Jim and I decided we wanted to get pregnant, so I stopped taking the pill about a week before my May period. He told me not to say anything to anyone, including you, because he wanted to be the first to know. Of course we didn’t expect to get pregnant this quickly. He is not going to be happy when he finds out, you found out before him.”
“Found out what before me,” Jim was standing in the door way, having been directed to her room by the nurse. “And the nurse says she bee here in just a minute.”
“Well,” Kim hesitated, “we’re pregnant.”
“Really, already, you just stopped taking the pill. Can it really happen that fast?” Jim went to Kim and held her hands looking into her eyes, “you’re sure?”
“That’s what the doctor said,” Kim replied.
“I love you,” Jim said and kissed Kim. Diane feeling out of place, one of the few times that had ever happened to her being around Kim, and quietly went to wait for them in the corridor.

860 Words