• Dave walked the freezing city streets of Queens Village. It was a quarter past nine and he was feeling quite apprehensive about meeting Jessica, a girl he had met a couple of weeks ago at the bar. They never shared anything special, it was nothing like that. To him, she was just a one night stand, a drunken lay. The thought of her, after that night, would never again come to mind. But, this time was different, she called him. Jessica told him that they needed to meet, that she had something very important to say. This scared the s**t out the twenty-six-year-old. All that ran though the young man’s head was that he had the ‘clap’ or, maybe even worse, herpes, something permanent. It was the first thing that came to his mind because he had recently taken care of a pestering penile problem not too long ago. He wasn’t insured, he didn’t have the funds for anymore medication. But, if that was the case, he was ready to embark on a conquest to sleep with every one of his ex-girlfriends who had ever royally ******** him one way or another, call it reimbursement. This meant going all the way back to the ninth grade, they would all feel the wrath of karma for opting to cheat on him. He slightly chuckled at the thought but, it did nothing for the boiling blobs of nervousness bubbling within his stomach.

    Rounding the corner of 5th and Jefferson Ave., Dave lit a cigarette in hopes it would calm his nerves and pounding heart. He watched the paper and the dried tobacco leaves burn down as he took in a deep pull. Exhaling the intoxicating fumes, he watched as taxis and busses zoomed by. His eyes gazed over several old red-bricked apartment buildings and he thought about how longs it’s been since he’s been around this part of the city. He went to school at Queens College in Flushing which, for him, was the closest location to this place. He was a full-time student and a part time Bar-tender who barely made enough to pay his rent.

    When he finally reached the 24-hour diner, he took one last hit of his cigarette and flicked the butt into a nearby ventilation shaft. He then looked through the window and saw Jessica, sitting in a burgundy colored booth in the left-hand corner of the restaurant.

    She looked different from the last time he saw her. Then again, he isn’t hung-over and she’s not the drunken mess she was several weeks ago. Dave checked his wallet to make sure he had cash on him. He didn’t think they came here to get a meal and catch up but, just in case. He fingered through a couple of twenties, making sure he had enough to pay for the both of them before placing the dark-brown leather wallet back into his rear pocket. Once inside, he acted as if he hadn’t seen her through the window- he didn’t know how to approach her. He looked around a bit, surveying the vicinity. He nodded his head slightly to the sound of Alicia Keys’s, “No one”, in the background.

    Dave then slipped off his leather jacket and waited for Jessica to call him over. When she finally noticed him, she waved and gave him a half-assed smile. He couldn’t bring himself to smile back; he just nudged his head up a bit to acknowledge her. He maneuvered around two waitresses who were making their rounds throughout the numerous tables and booths. “Hi” was the only word he could conjure when he reached the table.

    “Hey” She replied. They could barely keep eye contact. She knew she had bad news and he knew nothing good could come from this meeting.

    After taking his seat, he folded his fingers and plopped his elbows onto the table. “Hey look, I’m sorry for not calling you after all this time. It’s just that school and work’s been leavin me with no time, y’know?” Jessica slightly nodded and remained hushed for a moment. Dave turned his attention to the left wall of the restaurant where old photos of antique cars were aligned from their year of production. He took in a deep breath of flavorful air, a grand mix of syrupy pancakes and bacon. Now, on a normal day, the tantalizing aroma would have caused his mouth to water, but not today. The scent of food only made his already upset stomach turn even more. It seemed that everything annoyed him, from the sound of a crying infant in the background, to the cow-like chewing of an old man sitting in the booth next to theirs. It all felt so surreal, the burgundy booth, the black and white checkered tiled floor, and the dimly lit light above them and the mirrored ceiling – that was the worst. Everything was accented with red or white. Along the top corners of the walls, thin strips of neon-red lights ran straight from north to south, he wanted to smash everything.

    Jessica smiled, just a bit, and waved her head, “No, it’s alright. I didn’t expect you to call me, really. It was just a one night thing.” Dave agreed, at least he didn’t have to feel bad about that. For the next several moments, they fell quiet. Not a word was passed between them.

    The silence was only broken by the questioning of a waitress, “What would ya’two like?” They both decided on coffee, “Great, I’ll back with ya drinks in a minute.” The middle-age waitress gave the typical fake smile before walking away.

    “So…” Dave couldn’t ask his question without feeling weird or awkward, “What’s the reason you called me out here? I mean, what’s so important you had to tell me?”He crossed his arms and waited for an answer. Tension had greatly built up inside of him. Dave’s palms were sweaty and he couldn’t stop tapping his foot to the ground. He could have swore he was running a temperature and for some reason, thousands of ants crawled throughout every vain in his body. He couldn’t wait; he had to know what was wrong.

    It took some time before Jessica could say anything. “That night, did you use a condom?”

    Every other roaming thought within Dave’s head was purged away by Jessica’s question. Pictures of that night, of what he could remember, flashed throughout his mind. Spit from messy kisses and sweat consumed his memorize of that night, along with other bodily fluids. He remembered, though sloppy, the sex was somewhat intense. She had a tight grip and strong legs; she nearly suffocated him when he was on top, the way she knotted her legs around him. He still had lines of welts from her nails which dug into his chest when she straddled him. She must have had a fetish for cowboys because she obviously knew what she was doing. They must have gone through seven or eight different positions that night. Before he could dwell any deeper within his mind, Dave tore himself from the stream of flashbacks. How much did we drink that night, he thought to himself.

    That was it. That was all Dave needed to hear, did he use a condom. Well, if he had something, he had something. Hopefully it was curable; otherwise, he’ll be looking through his old phone books. “I was drunk,” was his first response. He knew he didn’t use one, “I honestly don’t remember. But, I don’t think I did.

    Jessica’s slight frown remained the same. After hearing his answer, she closed her eyes and nodded in agreement, “I don’t think you did either.” Her dark green eyed gaze fell to the table, causing several strands of long brown hair to mask her face. She ran her tongue over her bottom pink lip before biting it, an annoying habit of hers. She wanted to say something but she didn’t know how. Moreover, she didn’t know how he would react.

    Dave narrowed his eyes, he was confused, “What do you mean?”

    Before Jessica could answer, the waitress came back with their order, “Here you two go, two coffees. Enjoy!” as she wobbled off, Dave turned his attention back to Jessica.

    Jessica reopened her eyes and said, “I’m pregnant.”

    Dave remained motionless, only blinking a couple of times. Why didn’t the thought of her being pregnant come to him first? He didn’t think it would happen to him. He had come accustomed to a lifestyle where sleeping around was a hobby and so far, having slept with so many women, no issue of this sort had come about. He was shocked yet, strangely calm. His eyes fell to the table after a long moment of staring blankly at Jessica. He proceeded to take a sip of his coffee before looking back to her. “So, what are we going to do? Wait, how do you know it’s even mine?”

    “Waddaya mean, is it ******** yours?” Jessica retorted. Several customers from the surrounding tables and booths stopped and stared at the commotion she had just caused. She looked around, more mad then embarrassed, and shouted, “Mind’ya business!” Everyone turned back to their meals and cursed under their breaths. After a moment or two, she calmed herself down and spoke in a lower tone, “You’re the only one I’ve slept with since that night.” She saw that Dave was about to ask another question but she interrupted him before he could say anything, “And, you’re the only one I’ve slept with several weeks prior to that night so don’t go thinkin that it maybe someone else’s from before you because it’s not.”

    Dave sat back on his seat and ran his hands through his dark blades of hair. “Fine, so then, what do we do?”

    Jessica shrugged and softly shook her head, “I don’t know. It’s not like I’ve been pregnant before…I’m scared.”

    Dave didn’t know how to deal with this. In all honesty he, himself, was scared. He felt he should comfort her somehow but, didn’t know what to do. He hesitated at first but proceeded to take her hand into his. She looked up at him, a little surprised. “Do you think you’re ready for a child? I know I’m not. We each have our whole lives ahead of us, having a kid right now will only ******** everything up.” He tried to speak as gently as he could, “Look, I know you’re scared, so am I.” He paused to take a breath, “I think an abortion is our best option.”

    Jessica was speechless. Shocked and confused by his reaction – she thought the total opposite of his character- she didn’t know what to say. She thought he was cold, uncaring of anyone’s feeling but his own and that he would jump straight into the idea of having an abortion. But, his warming speech proved otherwise. He eased into it and showed he had a heart. Instead of saying anything, she sat there and took his words into consideration. She was only twenty-four, and being a pregnant med-student wasn’t part of her agenda. She knew Dave was right.

    For the next hour or so they continued to talk, this time conversation flowed more easily. They mainly discussed their situation and even shared a laugh or two. When they left, they exchanged a hug and their numbers, Dave intended to keep it this time around. The two didn’t leave as a couple or as lover but as friends. When they parted ways, they waved goodbye and said that they would call. As Dave made his long cold walk back to the subway, he reflected on how the night ended. He thought of so many other, more probable, outcomes and how yet, in ended the way it did. It didn’t matter though, he was happy and he was sure Jessica was too.

    As he lit another cigarette and took in his first drag, he watched a stop light turn from yellow to red. He blew out the think cloud of smoke, which mixed in with the cold night air, at the lights direction. He observed how the fog swirled into random waves, changing form, and going every which way and how it obscured his vision of the stop light. At that moment, narrowing his eyes, he smiled and chuckled to himself. He realized how life was the same exact thing.