37Rachel was shocked. Her mouth was frozen in an "O" form, like that cliché proposal. She smiled, and started crying. "Oh wow. Yes, of course I will!"
Randy smiled, got up, and they shared a passionate kiss. "I love you," he said afterword. "I really do."
"I know." She smiled. "I love you too," she added, "of course I do."
"Well," he said, "I should let you get some sleep."
"Yeah. I'll see you tomorrow though." She smiled. "Fiancé."
"Oh, right!" he slipped the ring onto her left hand. "That's better. Now, go get some sleep." He smiled. "I'll see you tomorrow, my angel."
"Goodnight," she said, and walked inside.
Rachel sat in Hollywood Video on August 15th. It was eight days after her birthday-turned-proposal. It was a hot day, and it was also a day that the air conditioner spontaneously broke. She was really hot, which didn't help the fact that she felt like throwing up.
The seconds ticked by, seemingly slower because the heat made it feel that way. She felt like she would die; until, suddenly, she had to dash to the bathroom.
After that, she realized something. It all added up, all of the facts. Now she dreaded work that day coming to an end. She would have to tell Randy something that would change their lives.
…
Randy picked her up from work around 5:30. She got in the car, her mind far, far away from this planet.
"Hey," he greeted her as she got in.
"Hello," she said, and gave him a light smile.
"Is something bothering you?"
"No, I'm fine," she said, even though she wasn't.
"So, what do you want to do today?"
"I dunno. Anything you want to. But can we go home first? I'm hungry." This also was a false statement. But not really, she was kind of hungry. Not very much, though.
"Sure," he said. He sensed the tension in the air, and they went home, not very many words spoken after that.
They got home and Randy's dad wasn't home yet, so they went in his house. Rachel made a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch, just so she could convince him that she actually was hungry. They sat down at the table. "So…" Randy said. Rachel didn't respond, she just took a bite of her sandwich. "Rachel, what's bothering you?"
"Randy," she said, and took a deep breath. "Randy, I think I'm pregnant."
Randy just stared at her. "What?" he asked.
"You heard me."
"Did you…did you get a test?"
"No, not yet."
"Well," he said, "we might want to do that." Why did it suddenly get hotter in this room?
"Yeah." Now that the hard part was over, she relaxed a little bit.
There was silence until Randy said, "Well…what are we going to do?"
"Get a pregnancy test?"
"Well..yeah. But I meant after that. What if you really are pregnant, Rach?"
She shrugged. "Then we'll have a baby," she said ever-so-nonchalantly.
Randy swallowed. "Why is this so easy for you?"
"What do you mean?"
"You act like it's no big deal."
"Well," she said slowly, "it is. But we've got to face the facts and buckle down. I mean, this was gonna happen eventually, right?"
"Yeah, I guess so. I guess it's just…surprising."
"Not really. You know that we didn't use protection."
"Yeah," he said. "Yeah, but I didn't think it would turn out like this. You don't think that you're gonna be that cliché, do you?"
"No, not really." She finished her sandwich and they sat there and talked, until finally they decided they better get a test before his dad got home. Randy said he would go, and she could stay here and watch TV. Rachel understood that he really just needed time to think—this had come as more of a shock to him.
So she stayed home and watched TV, and Randy came home about thirty minutes later. He gave her the test without speaking, and she went in the bathroom and did what she had to do. A few minutes later she came out and handed it to Randy. Randy looked at the result and said, "So, is this good?"
She said, "It is if having a baby is good."
He smiled. "You know, I'm still really nervous about this."
"Don't worry, I am too. But at least I won't have to leave now."
"What?" he asked. "You should go home to your mom, shouldn't you?"
"Well," she said, "I'm over eighteen, so I don't technically have to go back. I'll have to call her and explain everything." Randy agreed.
That night she explained everything to Clarissa. She was a bit mad a first, but she agreed to Rachel's preposition—that she wouldn't leave, she would stay here, and she and Randy would raise their baby together. "You know what you have to do now, though, Rachel. You have to call your mom."
"I know," she said.
A few days later, (five to be exact) Rachel picked up the phone. Her nerves were high and she was a little shaky as she dialed her mom's number.
Ring. Ring. "Hello?" her mom asked.
"Hi, mom? I just called to say I'm not coming home." Rachel proceeded to tell her everything that had happened. How she had known him before, how they got together here, and what else happened. After a long time trying to persuade her mom to let her stay, she reluctantly agreed and made her promise that she would visit often. And after she hung up, a new period of Rachel's life started.