"I think I'm pregnant," Hanna, Hugh's girlfriend, whispered during break on Monday.
"What makes you say that?" Hugh,now sixteen asked in disbelief.
"Yesterday, I went shopping with some friends. When I tried the latest Burberry perfume, it made me nauseous." Haanna said. She tucked some errant strands of her red hair behind her ears and her green eyes sought out Hugh's. "And my breasts feel different."
"Let's not jump to conclusions. Maybe you got some stomach problem?"
"I'm gonna get an EPT," Hanna told him.
"But we always use protection."
"Not when we did it at Carl's party," Hanna reminded him.
"I swear someone spiked the punch," Hugh sighed. "I felt weird after drinking it."
"Me too," Hanna said.
"Didn't you take the morning after pill?" Hugh asked. "You said you would when I called you the next morning."
"My grandma got hospitalized, remember? I just forgot."
"Oh yeah."
"What if I am pregnant?"
"It's your decision," Hugh said. "I'll support you either way. I suggest you take the EPT before anything else. Buy it at a store you never go to."
"Okay."
She did the test twice and it came out positive.
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One evening, the following week when Hugh was with his mother, Hanna called.
"I've made up my mind."
"Are you keeping the baby?"
"Yes," Hanna said. "This morning, I went for a walk, and tripped on something. I found myself grabbing my belly. I was terrified of falling and hurting it."
"So you want the baby?"
"It won' t be easy but I'll manage. I couldn't give it up for adoption. It would be too hard, especially after carrying it for nine months. I would if I really had to, though."
"Have you told your parents?"
"No."
"I'll tell my mom tonight, and my Dad, granddad and step mom when I get back," Hugh promised.
"Okay."
So, after saying goodbye and hanging up, Hugh went to talk to his mother.
"Mom, I've got a confession to make."
"Okay sweetie. Lets talk in the living room," Rose, with concern and gentleness, said.
Soon, the two were seated.
"Mom, my girlfriend is pregnant," Hugh said to get it all over with.
Rose took a deep breath.
"Are you sure she's pregnant?"
"She took the EPT twice," Hugh explained. "She was gonna take the morning after pill, but her grandmother got hospitalized and she forgot."
"Have you told Amita, your father, and your grandfather?"
"No."
"She'll need to see a doctor right away," Rose told him. "Does she plan to keep the baby?"
"Yeah."
"How about giving it up for adoption?"
"She's not gonna do that either."
"It won't be an easy road for either of you. What about your education?"
"I could go to college part time and work to support the baby. Hanna could do the same as she'd stay with her parents."
"Looks like you've thought it through at least a tiny bit."
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"Pre-Pregnant?" Charlie repeated when Hugh, upon returning from his mother's, told him the news.
"Yeah."
"Didn't you uh...you know...?" Charlie asked.
"We forgot one time. That's all it takes." Hugh, like Hanna didn't want to get into the story of the spiked punch.
"Are you sure it's yours?" Charlie blurted out.
"Yeah! What do take Hanna for?"
"Does she plan to keep the baby, abort or put it up for adoption?" Amita asked.
"She's keeping it. My plan is to, when I graduate from High School, go to college part time, and work part time to support the baby," Hugh explained. "Hanna could do the same thing while we both live at home."
"When's it due?" Alan asked.
"She hasn't gone to the doctor."
"She should go," Alan suggested, still reeling from the idea of being a great grandfather.
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Eventually, the six adults that is Hanna's parents, Amita, Charlie,and Rose, and the parents to be met at the Craftsman one evening to discuss how things would go when the baby was born.
"The baby is due in late June, so Hanna should be able to finish the year," Jane, Hanna's mother said. She looked like an older, wrinkled, graying version of Hanna. "And she'll have the summer to bond with the baby before school starts up again."
"What about Hugh? How will he take responsibility?" Hanna's father, Daniel asked, rather sternly. "Babies aren't cheap."
"My wife and I will pay child support on Hugh's behalf," Charlie told him. "So he can focus on his studies and finish them. That way, he'll provide a better life for the baby."
"Here is the figure my husband and I came up with," Amita handed Daniel and Jane a piece of paper.
"How did you come up with it?" Daniel asked, upon seeing it.
"We calculated how much we spent on our four year old when he was a baby. Then we accounted for inflation, and divided that figure in half," Charlie replied.
"My dad is a mathematician," Hugh explained.
"I'll send the checks with Hugh every month once the baby is born," Charlie promised.
"What about Hanna's education?" Amita asked with genuine concern.
"She'll go to a local college, and live at home," Jane said. "We'll pay for a nanny."
All the adults, while disappointed that their plans for the young people wouldn't come to fruition, were determined that they two teens would still have a good future.
TBC