Hey babe, wanna go out tonight?” Toni’s low voice rumbles through the wall phone in Cheryl’s hand.
The redhead starts to panic. “No, my beloved. I—I can’t.” Her heart thuds.
“And why not? Cherbear, that’s the third time this week you’ve rejected me! I just want to go out for a drink,” Toni complains, her voice crackling through the receiver.
Cheryl’s heart flutters. “I—I know, TT. I just can’t do that right now.”
“Well, any chance I could come over and…convince you?” Cheryl hears Toni’s smirk through the phone.
“No!” Cheryl says quickly, turning the cords in between her fingers. “Don’t come, I look awful. Look, I’ll call you later.”
“Cher—"
Cheryl slams the phone against the wall in a fret. She paces back and forth a few times. “What am I going to do?”
Veronica puts a hand on hers. “Cheryl, calm down.”“How, Veronica! How am I supposed to act calm in a situation like this?” Cheryl stops pacing. “I need to check again.”
Veronica rolls her eyes. “Cheryl, that would be the fourth time this hour.” She eyes the empty water bottles on the counter. “You’ve drank so much I think you’re making me need to go pee.”
Cheryl sits down, breathing hard.
“And besides, the last test was clear as crystal—two lines,” Veronica says to her friend. “You’re p—“
“DON’T say it.” Cheryl rests her head in her hands in distress. “I don’t understand how this could’ve happened…”
Veronica raises her eyebrows.
“Okay, I understand how it literally happened, but…” Cheryl trails off. “I tried so hard not to miss a pill, it must have happened when I went to Nana’s cottage last month, I didn’t bring enough for the days.”
Veronica speaks slowly, trying to sooth her. “You have options, Cher. You know that, right?”
Cheryl scoffs. “Options? This is Toni’s and my baby, I’m not going to abort it—her, or…him,” she says, detached. “Oh, lord. I can’t believe this is happening to me.”
“I didn’t just mean abortion,” Veronica tells her. “You could choose adoption.”
“And have my baby given to a complete stranger?” Cheryl whispers. “I can’t do that. This child is an heir. Heir to the Blossoms, heir to the Serpents—“
“So how are you going to tell Toni?”
Cheryl cringes. “I don’t know…I’ve been refusing alcohol all week, you’d think she’d notice.”
“Are we talking about the same Toni? When you got a haircut she didn’t notice until it was time for you to get the same cut again,” Veronica says, laughing.
Cheryl’s mouth breaks into a small smile. “That’s my Toni for you.” She turns her head up to Veronica’s face. “I don’t want to be alone, V.”
