Page 56 of Pregnant in Pennsylvania

“I’m glad you did.” I squeeze her hand. “Are you going to be okay?”

She nods. “Oh yeah, I’ll be fine. I’m used to rejection. I’ll just keep walking everywhere, and maybe even try to stop eating so much junk food.” She grins. “Hey, maybe I’ll even have my own makeover montage. Lose a few more pounds, figure out how to dress better…”

“You’re perfect and beautiful exactly as you are, Jen,” I tell her. “Change to make yourself better, to improve as a human, not because you don’t think you’re good enough.”

“That sounds tricky.”

I nod, sighing. “It sure is, and I’m speaking from experience.”

Jen rises. “Okay, I have to go. I just needed to talk to someone about Rob.”

“Thank you for telling me.”

“Thank you for being awesome.” She grins at me. “Even if you are a little lame.”

I toss a paperclip at her. “Now you’re just trolling me.”

“Bye!” Jen calls, and is gone in a whirl of teenaged angst.

I sigh. I really do like that girl—she’s smart, sweet, and beautiful, but I think sometimes she has trouble believing it about herself. The last one especially.

I plow through another thirty minutes of paperwork, and I’m anticipating the end of the day—there are always a few last-minute stragglers, someone with a question, a crisis that needs to be handled.

Sure enough, as I’m getting ready to lock up and leave, Tina enters the main office and heads toward my office door. So, I sit back down, toss my purse on the floor near my feet so I can feel it vibrate if my phone happens to go off while we’re talking.

“Hi, Tina,” I say as she comes in and closes the door behind herself.

“Hi, Mrs. Thomas,” Tina says, hesitantly taking a seat.

“So, how did things work out for you?”

She sighs. “I…um.” She blinks hard, tears in her eyes already. “Sorry. Um.”

I pass her the Kleenex box. “It’s okay, honey. Take your time. Say what you need to say.”

She nods, takes a moment to find some semblance of composure. “I took the test that Ms. Pearson helped me get, and I…it was positive. I was pregnant.” She sighs. “Um. Iampregnant.”

I blink hard. “Wow, okay. So…your sister couldn’t or wouldn’t help you get to a clinic?”

She shook her head. “No, it’s not that. She took me. I was in the clinic, and the nurse was telling me all the facts and stuff, and I just…I couldn’t.”

I cover her hand with one of mine. “You couldn’t go through with it?”

She shook her head. “No, I just…I couldn’t. I had this image of a little baby, and I…I couldn’t.”

“So you’re keeping it?”

She blinks hard again, but tears slide down anyway. “No, I’m going to carry the baby to term and place it for adoption.”

“Oh my god, Tina…” I’m actually stunned speechless for a moment. “Why—how did you come to that decision?”

She shrugs. “I just couldn’t go through with an abortion, but I also know there’s literally no possibility I’d be able to take care of a baby on my own. I…um. I told my parents, and I told Jake. I told them I’m pregnant.”

“Wow, so…how did they take it?”

“About as expected across the board. Jake offered money for an abortion, but said he’s leaving for college no matter what. So, I can put him on the birth certificate if I keep it, but he wants nothing to do with me or the baby. I told him I was having it adopted, and he was like, whatever.” She sniffled. “I guess I never realized what an asshole Jake is.”

“A crisis will often show a person’s true colors.”