Robotic Truths

“Kate, will you please come outside?” Hollered a rather friendly voice. I quickly obeyed, not wanting to be rude to our hostess. 1

My heart beat frantically in my chest, like a caged animal threatening to break free. An electric current coursed throughout my blood stream, forcing all the small hairs on the back of my neck to stand on end. Anger growled at the base of my throat, making its way to escape from the thin line made from my lips. I was fighting a losing battle of self-control. Soon, I would snap.2

“Do you wanna take another pregnancy test? I have one in my bathroom.” Said the blonde stranger, prying into the deepest, most secretive part of my life.3

My dark eyes darted in the direction of my girlfriend. She leaned guiltily against the side of the apartment building, smothering any chance of deadly eye contact.4

“No.” I stated as politely as I could. “I already took one.”5

“And what did it say?” Asked the overly anxious stranger, her husband perched at the end of his fold out chair.6

“Positive.” I mumbled through gritted teeth. My hand went to my slightly swollen womb subconsciously, a tight knot forming within it.7

“Well, like I said, I have one in my bathroom if you want to retest. False positives do happen-“8

Right then, the read headed stranger cut off his wife. “Yeah, Angie here thought she was pregnant a couple of times due to a false reading-“9

However, his fuming wife cut him off in return. She spoke quickly, attempting to correct any of the mistakes Robby had made in his retelling. I found myself casually tuning them out, kicking at a pile of dirt my foot happened across. Without hesitation, I chanced another look at my suddenly shy girlfriend, Ellie.10

She must not have been prepared for my sudden action. Anger and betrayal swam from the depths of my heart and blurred my vision with hot tears. Blinking them away, I watched as she fidgeted, unable to look away. Emotions that couldn't be hidden any longer forced their way into every joint of my body. My hands balled into tight fists, gripping my basketball shorts while my jaw ached as it clenched shut.11

“Kate. Kate.” Repeated Angie, God only knows how many times.12

Tearing my eyes from the suddenly relieved Ellie, I snapped back to reality. “Yeah?” I questioned.13

“You need to go to the doctor, find out for sure. They’ll do a blood pregnancy test. Now, it’s my understanding you don’t want your dad to know?” She said, more as a statement than a question.14

My eyes immediately shot back to the unusually quiet brunette who had found something interesting to stare at in the sky. Still, her jaw clenched under the pressure of my betrayed eyes. Speaking was well beyond the limits of my capabilities at this point. I simply nodded, which edged the conversation forward. Exactly how much had my beloved let slip? I decided to find out.15

“I think it’s best he didn’t know, given the situation.” I stated, staring her in the eyes. My heart ached, shattered and my stomach twisted. 16

“The situation?” Angie asked, curiosity burning in her eyes.17

Good! This woman had no idea how the unborn child came to be! Finally, I saw my opportunity to take some control over the situation I had been tricked into. Still, part of the truth streamed from my lips. I hate being put on spot. I can’t lie so I answer everything honestly, like a damn robot. “Well, ya see,” I began. “My da has Cancer-“18

“Oh really?” Robby broke in. I was beginning to think that interrupting was something he couldn’t help. “What kind?”19

“Prostrate.” I answered without thinking, butchering the word. Of course, he quickly corrected me and everybody shared a laugh at my expense. I’m sure my cheeks flushed a rosy red.20

Then, Angie went on about all of the medical problems that ran in her family and how her dad had just defeated Colon Cancer. Well, yippee for him; that did nothing to help my father. The thoughts in my head chased one another around in endless, deadly circles as I secretly prayed for this all to end.21

“Is there more to the situation?” And the string of questions continued shooting at me.22

“I just don’t want him to worry anymore than he has to. My mum ran out on us after convincing my da to take a job offer here-“23

Once again, Robby butted in. “Where does she live now?”24

“In our home state of Kansas.” I said matter-of-factly.25

I think he almost choked as he fought back a laugh. Yet, he couldn’t stop the goofy grin that appeared on his thin face. “You’re from Kansas?” He asked, seeming almost astonished. 26

I nodded, waiting patiently for the Dorothy and Toto jokes that always came soon after people learned of my origin. Of course, I didn’t have to wait long. I allowed a small, false smile to force its way to my lips. Humans are so predictable.27

After that passed, I continued on with my explanation. “My da never really let that go and soon, my little sister had to join her. She has a lot of medical problems and Louisiana doctors suck. Oh, my mother is a slut and is about to celebrate a year with another man.”28

Apparently, Ellie’s friend couldn’t take it anymore. Shock lit up her entire face. “Are they still married?”29

I resisted the urge to reach out and smack her in the forehead while screaming DUH! Why else would it matter? Instead, I inhaled deeply and nodded , yet again.30

From there, she rambled on about how I could go to the parish emergency room and tell them I don’t have insurance. They’ll run the tests and whatever else it is they do. Then, I just have the bill mailed to Ellie’s or their house. My dad would never have to know. It sounded like a pretty decent plan, except for one thing. Where in the hell is a broke, jobless college girl going to find the money to pull off such a stunt? Daddy’s insurance always paid for everything, even my last, nearly three hundred dollar emergency room bill.31

Finally, we issued out hugs and said our good-byes. I thanked Angie for the advice and the friendship she offered. I informed her that I would get her number from Ellie on the ride back home. However, the car ride home was uneventful. The only noise that could be heard were the voices coming from the backseat. Ellie’s mother and little brother had tagged along on the trip to take advantage of the apartment complex’s swimming pool. 32

Soon after we dropped them off at the house, we made a trip to Wal-Mart. Being the Army girl I am, I carried all of the heavy stuff and we were soon on our way back home. I stared aimlessly out the dark window, not actually seeing anything at all. The silence between us was deafening. Once we got home, I immediately changed into night clothes and crawled into bed. She did the same. We each stayed on our side of the bed, with our backs to one another. Finally, I closed my eyes, ready to welcome sweet dreams. Instead, I woke up to find myself crying into Ellie’s shoulder, remembering everything about the night that brought all of this on.