We walk into the Starbucks at two-fifty, holding on to one another's hands nervously. I look around at all the people, some reading, some working on their laptops, some just sitting and scowling morosely at the world of caffeine-dependent workaholics surrounding them as they themselves slurp down their corporate coffee.

There's a red-headed girl who looks to be about sixteen sitting at a table for three, staring intently at the door. She looks at us and we look back at her, and she stands up, smiling. I look her over, the honest face, the anxious smile, and the slight swell in her belly. We walk over to her, nearly tripping over three or four chairs in the process.

"Jenny?"

"Yeah. You must be Jason and Zach." She grins and extends her hand, which we both shake. "It's good to meet you."

"You, too," Blink says, sitting down. "I'm Zach, he's Jason." He nods to me. "Or Blink and Mush respectively, but don't ask us to explain those."

"Um... I won't." She laughs a little in confusion.

"Can I get you anything?" I gesture to the counter.

"Um, maybe just an iced tea? Something without caffeine." She smiles at me. No caffeine. Smart girl. "Thanks."

I go up to the counter and order drinks, wait for them to finish and then come back to the table. "So, Jenny," I say as I sit down beside Blink, "how old are you?"

"I'll be seventeen in just a couple of weeks here. November nineteenth."

"So you're, what, a junior in high school?" Blink drinks his coffee.

"Yeah." She nods and takes a sip of her tea.

"Why do you want to give your baby up for adoption?" I sit back in my chair, hoping she doesn't feel like she's being interrogated.

She clears her throat. "Well... first off, I can't afford to take care of a child. I'm still a kid myself, and I have two younger brothers. My parents can't afford to raise the three of us and another new baby. And then... I told you about how I got pregnant. I just... I don't think I'll be able to love this baby the way it needs to be, and that's not fair. I don't think I'll be able to live with yet another constant reminder of what happened. This baby needs someone who will love it and take care of it, no matter where it came from. I can't do that."

"So why didn't you get an abortion when you found out you were pregnant?" Blink asks, and I elbow him in the ribcage.

She gasps. "That's horrible! I could never do that!"

"Sorry," Blink says, staring down at his coffee cup and appearing not unlike a child who's just been scolded.

"Anyway," I say, sipping my coffee. "So your parents suggested giving this baby up for adoption, and you agreed?"

Jenny nods. "I'd been thinking about it for a couple of weeks before I told them. They brought it up and we decided that giving the baby away would be best for all parties involved." She shrugs. "So we talked to some adoption agencies and then my mom saw your ad in the newspaper and told me to give you a call. So I did. And you both seem really nice, you seem like really decent people."

"Some might say that's debatable," Blink says with a smirk. "But all evidence points to our being decent."

Jenny grins. "I'm glad you have a sense of humor, too."

"You have no idea." I roll my eyes when Blink grins. "So, back to this baby. This is a really uncomfortable question, but I have to ask it. You're clean, aren't you?"

She nods. "Yeah, absolutely. I don't drink, smoke, do drugs, have sex, hell, I don't even drink things with caffeine. Not since I got pregnant, anyway. I mean with the caffeine. The other things I didn't do in the first place. Um, point is, even if I'm not keeping it, I want a healthy baby." She smiles a little. "What about you guys? You're clean?"

I smile. "I'm glad you asked. That's always a good thing to ask. Yes, we are. We have the occasional drink, but that's about it."

"And you're... um... monogamous?"

Blink nearly spits out his coffee and I chuckle. "Yes. We have been for the past thirteen years."

She nods. "Impressive. Wait... how old are you two? If you don't mind me asking."

"Twenty-eight," Blink says, smiling. "We've been together since we were fifteen."

"Aww!" Jenny smiles. "That's so sweet!" She drinks some of her tea and nods. "You two seem like exactly the kind of people I'd want my baby to be adopted by."

Both Blink and I beam. "Thanks," I say, grinning.

"In fact, if you want to go ahead and talk to the adoption agency and start reviewing the paperwork to adopt the baby, you can."

"Really?" Blink's smile is taking up about three-quarters of his face.

"Really."

"We might do that," I say. I stare at her a moment, not really believing this is happening. "Um, well, if you're really serious and you want us to adopt the baby, we'll pay your medical bills and for your hospital stay when you give birth." Jenny nods. "And... oh, um, did you want an open adoption?"

She sits in silence for a minute. "Well... no. No, I don't think so. Like I said, part of the reason I'm giving this baby up is because I don't think I'll be able to handle being reminded. So I think I'd rather have a closed adoption."

"That makes sense," I say, drinking my coffee and nodding.

"But if... when the baby is older, and wants to know where it came from, I want you to tell it. I'll leave my contact information with the adoption agency so the baby can find me if... if it wants to." She smiles, but it seems to be a little bit sad. I think I actually see tears in her eyes. "I don't want you to ever lie to this baby about me."

"We won't," I say, reaching across the table and patting her hand.

"Thanks," she says. "Um... well... that's about it, isn't it?"

"Yeah, pretty much," I nod.

"Wait," Blink interjects. "I noticed you kept referring to the baby as 'it.' Does that mean you don't know what you're having?"

Jenny shakes her head. "I don't really want to find out, either. I think that if I find out, I'll get attached. I'll start thinking of names and all this mommy-baby stuff and I just can't do that or I won't be able to handle it when the baby comes."

"Well, I guess we get to be surprised, then," Blink says, looking over at me with a smile. I smile back.

"I like surprises." I stand up. "Well, I suppose that's-- oh! I forgot to ask you your due date."

"Um..." Jenny thinks for a moment. "April eleventh."

"April eleventh. We'll mark it on the calendar." I help her stand up, and then we all say goodbye. Blink and I head out to walk the four and a half blocks home, hand in hand and grinning like fools.

"So what do you want?"

I look over at Blink. "What do I want?"

"Yeah. Boy or girl?"

I laugh a little. "It doesn't really matter to me. I think that either would be wonderful, and I'll love it just as much either way."

"You want a girl, don't you?"

Grinning, I nod. "Yeah, a little bit."

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

We lay in bed in the middle of the night, awake and content after a round of rather enthusiastic lovemaking. Blink rolls onto his side and stares at me, his finger drawing little lines and circles on my chest. "Mush," he whispers.

"Yeah?"

He lays his head down on my shoulder, draping an arm over my stomach. "In five months, we're going to be parents."

I grin. "Yeah, we are."

"That's so weird to say." He nuzzles against my bare skin and squeezes me a little.

I sigh and kiss his hair, smiling to myself. "Get used to it," I say, and he laughs a little.

We both fall asleep with smiles on our faces, and I think we're both wishing we could wake up and have it be April eleventh.