The Best Friend Problem

by Mariah Ankenman

  “Wait…Finn?”

  “Why are there no words to go with these stupid instructions!” the voice bellowed down the hallway to the open front door.

  Yup. She knew that voice. That was definitely her best friend.

  “Finn?” she called louder into the apartment. She was pretty sure it was him, but she wasn’t stupid. She hovered in the apartment hallway with her roommates, ready to run if her ears were playing tricks on her.

  “Pru?” Finn’s voice called back to her.

  “Oh for the love of—” Lilly shoved her phone back into the pocket of her black slacks. “Pru, what is Finn doing here?”

  She shrugged, as clueless as the rest of them. “How should I know?”

  “He is your best friend,” Mo said. “And the father of your unborn child.”

  She scowled at Mo. Yeah, but he never came over without informing her, and though they had keys to each other’s places for emergencies, he’d never used his before.

  She entered the apartment and marched down the hallway to discover Finn in her bedroom surrounded by…

  “What is all this?”

  A large, empty cardboard box lay on her bed displaying the picture of a beautiful crib with a happy baby smiling in the middle of the perfectly put together furniture. The contents of her bedroom looked nothing like the picture on the box.

  Pieces of wood and screws were strewn about the floor. A screwdriver stuck out of Finn’s back pocket as he crouched over a large white piece of paper with some sort of building instructions printed on it. And then there was Finn, looking stressed and worried, like a kid who got his hand caught in the cookie jar ten minutes before a nice healthy dinner.

  He grimaced, lifting one shoulder. “Surprise?”

  “Finn, what are you doing?”

  He stood, paper still clutched in his hands as he faced her. “Um, I bought you this crib. I mean, I bought it for the baby. I bought the baby a crib. It was on sale, and I saw it and just… I don’t know. I wanted to put it together while you were at work and surprise you with it, but the instructions don’t have any words, just pictures, and I can’t make out what half of these damn doodles mean.”

  She shook her head, the tiredness weighing down her limbs replaced with vibrating annoyance. Heat rose on her face as she took in the situation. His heart was in the right place, she knew that, but sometimes Finn overstepped his bounds.

  “I never asked you to buy a crib.”

  His brow rose. Okay, maybe she said that a tad bit harshly, but she was exhausted and didn’t have the energy for this right now.

  “I know. I wanted to buy it. To surprise you.”

  Tears threatened, but she willed them back. Damn pregnancy hormones. “Look, Finn. I know you like taking care of people and all, but this is my thing. This baby…” She placed a hand over her stomach, watching as his wary gaze followed her movement. “I’ve planned for this baby. It may not have happened the way I wanted to begin with, but everything from here on out I have a plan for, a system. It’s too soon to buy a crib.”

  The first trimester was the most dangerous. So many things could go wrong. She’d only told her roommates and Finn about the baby. She didn’t plan on telling anyone else for at least another two months. And shopping for anything was out of the question until after the first appointment. When she could have a solid confirmation that things were going well.

  She. Had. A. Plan.

  “I just wanted to help,” he said, voice unsteady as he glanced around the room.

  “I don’t need any help.” This wasn’t how it was supposed to happen. This was her baby. Mine.

  Mo’s hand reached out. “Pru, sweetie—”

  She brushed off her friend’s touch. A storm of emotions churned inside her. She had to leave now, before she lost it in front of everyone. What was going on? Why was she feeling this sudden panic, this fear? A ringing filled her ears, bile rising in her throat. Pushing past the worried faces of her roommates, she ran to the bathroom, slamming the door and crouching by the toilet as the tears flowed.

  What was wrong with her? All Finn had been trying to do was something nice for her, for the baby. Why did she turn into such a raging bitch and go off on him like that?

  …

  Finn started to go after Pru, but Lilly stepped forward, holding up a hand.

  “I think she needs a minute,” the tall, poised woman said with a soft, understanding smile. “I’ll go stand outside the door in case she needs anything.”

  He wanted to refuse her, wanted to run after Pru and make sure she was okay, but he knew Lilly was probably right. The woman usually was. So he nodded.

  Once she left, he glanced around the room. Looking at his supposed surprise with fresh eyes. Of course Pru was mad. She hated surprises. He knew that.

  He’d just been at such a loss over what to do, he’d acted without thinking. Gone and bought a damn crib thinking it would somehow help this weird situation they found themselves in.

  “Don’t beat yourself up too much.” Mo spoke gently.

  He glanced up to see the short woman smiling at him.

  “I screwed up.”

  She nodded. “Yeah, but you were trying to be sweet. That’s gotta count for something.”

  He sure as hell hoped so, but… “I just wanted to help. To do something to make this easier on her, and I failed.” He kicked the abandoned pile of crib parts next to his foot, tossing the useless directions on top of the wood. “I can’t even put together a stupid baby crib. How am I going to…”

  But he couldn’t finish the question because he didn’t even know what he was seeking answers to.

  “What?” Mo asked. “Be a dad?”

  Yes. No. He didn’t want to be a dad. Pru didn’t want him to be the dad. She wanted to do this on her own, and he was fine with that. How could he be a good father when he couldn’t even put a goddamn crib together?

  “I’m not trying to be a dad. Pru doesn’t want that.” He didn’t want that. “I just want…to contribute in some way. To help.”

  And maybe to alleviate some of the crushing sense of responsibility His mom and dad had told him time and time again that if he ever got a girl pregnant, they expected him to participate fully as a parent, but that wasn’t what Pru wanted. Years of conditioning and his own damn conscience warred with the wishes of his best friend, and he didn’t know how to make it all stop.

  Mo laughed, blond and pink curls bouncing. “You’ve been friends with Pru for how many years now? You know she doesn’t easily accept help of any kind.”

  Yeah, he knew.

  “So are you really doing this for her?” Mo tilted her head. “Or is this for you?”

  What the hell did that mean? Of course he was doing this for Pru. What did he have to gain from spending hours staring at stupid scribbles that made no sense and cursing at a pile of inanimate wood? This was to help Pru. Nothing more.

  “You two got yourselves into a very strange situation here, Finn.” Mo shook her head, stepping closer. “I’m not gonna lie. Even I could never imagine a situation like this. But it’s here. It’s happening, and I think you both need to sit down and have a real conversation about it all.”

  “Pru and I are fine.” He ran his hands through the hair on the top of his head. “She’s just freaking out because of baby hormones or something.”

  Mo arched a brow, and shame immediately filled him. Okay, that was a stupid thing to say, but he was so far out of his element here he didn’t even know which way was up anymore.

  “Sorry. I didn’t mean that. You’re right. I should have known better. Pru doesn’t like help. I shouldn’t have bought the stupid crib.” He started to gather the pieces of wood and screws, tossing them into the box on the bed. “I’ll just—”

  Mo’s gentle hand on his arm paused his frantic movements.

  “Finn, it was a sweet gesture, and I know this situation is hard on you, too, but just remember to be open and honest with her. Okay? Everything will work
out in the end.”

  His rapid heartbeat slowed with the optimistic woman’s words. He let out a small chuckle, slowing but continuing to gather the bits and pieces of the failed crib. “Thanks, Mo. But I don’t think this situation is going to turn into the happily ever after you have in mind.” Over the years he’d come to find Mo was an eternal romantic. It was cute. Kind of naive, but cute. “Pru and I will be fine, I’m sure. But we’re just friends.”

  The small woman patted his arm. “Keep telling yourself that, big guy. The harder the fight, the sweeter the fall.”

  She gave him a quick hug before heading out of the room. He continued to pick up, packing everything into the box as he ignored Mo’s denial. He and Pru were friends. Nothing more. Just because they’d had sex once and she’d gotten pregnant didn’t mean their friendship had to change. He didn’t want to be a dad, and she wasn’t asking him to be one. Win win. Right? So he made one tiny little mistake. From now on he’d ask her what she needed for the baby before going ahead and getting it.

  Problem solved.

  For now, he’d give her space while he regrouped. Get this firewood masquerading as a crib the hell out of here and send her some apology chili cheese fries. Could you get chili cheese fries delivered? He didn’t know, but he was going to find out. Because this failed attempt at…whatever the hell he’d been trying to do just proved that fatherhood wasn’t in the cards for him. He’d let Pru handle baby stuff from now on.

  Everything would be fine, no matter what the sick, tightening cramp in his stomach told him. Things would be okay. They had to be.

  Chapter Nine

  F: You up?

  P: It’s 2 in the afternoon and you are not as funny as you think, Jamison.

  Finn chuckled as he read the reply from Pru. Happy she got his intended joke when he texted her the universal booty call. Honestly, he’d been a little worried. Things had been off with them ever since his dumb ass had decided to surprise Pru with the baby crib. The mess of wood and screws now lay in the workout room at the station, a taunting reminder of his failure, and of why he needed to step back and let Pru take the lead on this.

  This was her thing, her dream. Just because he happened to help in the process didn’t mean she expected him to continue helping. He just didn’t know what to do, how to step up or step back. He knew Pru didn’t need his help, but how did he shut off the voice inside his head demanding he do his share?

  He tapped Pru’s picture at the top of the conversation, hit the phone icon, then pressed the cell to his ear. He’d sent Pru an apology text after leaving her apartment the night before, but he’d only gotten a brief reply. Now, the phone rang twice. He held his breath, wondering if she would pick up.

  “Oh my God, why are you calling me? Why can’t you text like a normal millennial?”

  He laughed, the tension in his chest easing as Pru’s grumpy voice filled the line. Pru hated talking on the phone. She actively avoided it, making Mo and Lilly field all their business calls. If she cared enough to answer, she couldn’t be that upset.

  “We were texting, but my fingers were cramping. Besides, I wanted to call and apologize again.”

  A soft sigh filtered over the line. “You don’t have to apologize. In fact, I was just going to call you.”

  A small weight lifted from his tense shoulders at her words. He hated conflict. Having Pru angry with him gave him a sour stomach no amount of antacid could cure.

  “You were?”

  “Yes, I know you were just trying to help, even though I don’t need any.”

  He chuckled at her insistence. Pru could be stuck on the side of I-25 with no gas and a five mile walk to the nearest gas station and still not admit to needing help.

  “But it was very sweet of you, and I’m sorry I acted…”

  “Like a reality TV star getting voted off the island?”

  “I was going to say ‘a bit hormonal.’”

  “Hey!” He winced when his sharp exclamation woke Bruiser, who’d been sleeping peacefully in his lap. He rubbed the tiny dog behind her ears, lulling her back to sleep. “If I had said that, I’d be in trouble. How come you can say it?”

  “Men should never call women hormonal. Even when they are,” she explained.

  “Double standard.”

  “Yeah? Once women get paid the same as men for doing twice the work, then we can talk about double standards.”

  She had a solid point. “Touché.”

  Glad they seemed to be back to normal, or as normal as they could get for the time being, he asked, “You wanna come over later? We’ve got two episodes of Single Woman Looking to finish.”

  “Tonight?”

  “Yeah. Is that a problem?”

  “Yes, it’s a problem, Finn. A big problem.”

  “Why?” He’d apologized, she’d apologized. He thought they were good now.

  “Oh, man.” Mocking laughter filled his ear. “You totally forgot.”

  “Forgot? Forgot what?”

  “About tonight.”

  Tonight? Did they have plans? He didn’t remember making any. He glanced down at Bruiser, who stirred in his lap. The pup glanced up and cocked her head as if to say I’m your dog, not your social secretary. Okay, so no help from Bru.

  “Oooooo, you are in so much trouble.”

  The relentless giggling, he could do without. She was having far too much fun at his expense.

  “Okay, I give. What did I forget?”

  She hummed before answering. “I don’t know if I should tell you and save your ass or let you crash and burn.”

  “Save my ass please. You like my ass. You told me so.”

  The evil laughter on the other end of the phone died. Oops, was he not supposed to bring up things like that? It wasn’t like they could pretend sleeping together never happened. Not anymore. Not with the evidence of it rapidly growing inside Pru’s womb.

  “Your ass is okay,” she finally replied. “I suppose you could say I like it, but it’s not as great as my magnificent breasts.”

  Oh, so they were going to play it like that? Okay, he could joke. But not about her breasts, because she was right—they were magnificent.

  “No argument from me on that one. Boobs beat butt any day of the week.”

  She snorted. “You’re such a guy.”

  “Guilty.”

  “Anyway, much as I’d love to see you get what’s coming to you for forgetting, she would be devastated if you didn’t show up, so I’m going to remind you tonight is your—”

  “Mom’s birthday dinner.”

  “Bingo!”

  Shit. He had forgotten. In his defense, his mother’s actual birthday was in two weeks, but she was going on a cruise with his father so they were having the family celebration early.

  “At least tell me you got her a present?”

  “Of course, I did.” He wasn’t a horrible son, just slightly forgetful. “I bought her that painting of the front range she had her eye on at the People’s Fair this summer.”

  His mother, a retired English teacher, loved collecting local artists’ works. Made gift shopping a breeze.

  “She’s going to love that. I got her some opal earrings from the rock shop up in Estes Park.”

  And his mother would love those, too, because she loved Pru. Having four sons, his mom always doted on Pru whenever Finn brought her over. Which had been many times throughout the years. She liked to comment that Pru was the daughter she always wanted and never had. And now Pru would give his mother another grandchild.

  Wait—did Pru want his parents to know? Another thing they needed to talk about. The list was ever growing.

  “You wanna ride with me?” Because even though it was a family dinner, Pru was considered family and therefore invited. “No need for both of us to drive out to Lakewood.”

  Not that it was far from the city, twenty minutes or so, but why waste the gas if they were both going to the same place?

  “Um, sure. Makes sense.” She hesi
tated for a moment before speaking again. “Do we tell them about the baby?”

  The churning in his gut was back. At this point, he might as well invest in an antacid company. He imagined he’d be buying it by the bucket load for the next nine months.

  “Maybe not right now.” He hurried to add, “Unless you want to?”

  Pru’s heavy sigh filled his ear. “No. I mean, yes, eventually we need to tell them. I want to tell them. I think. But maybe not tonight. Tonight is about celebrating your mom, and I don’t want to…share this with her until we know a little more. Plus, I’m still in the first trimester. They say to wait until the second in case… Well, anyway. Let’s wait a bit longer.”

  Seemed logical to him. And it gave him a pass on explaining to his parents how he’d knocked up his best friend but wouldn’t be assuming the role of daddy, something he knew would disappoint them both greatly. His parents loved their sons, but they would expect Finn to care for his baby as a full-time parent would. How was he going to tell them Pru didn’t want that, and he didn’t want that? It was a very unique and weird situation that required a plan of action. Good thing he had the queen of planning on his side.

  “I’ll pick you up around five?” he asked.

  “Sounds good.”

  “Later.”

  “Bye.” He started to hang up when her voice made him pause. “And give Bruiser two treats for me.”

  He hung up with a huge grin on his face. He glanced down to his pup.

  “Well, Bru Baby, Pru said you need treats.”

  At the word “treats,” two floppy ears perked up. Bruiser abandoned her beloved chew toy and ran to the kitchen, nails scraping on the hardwood floor as she careened into the cabinets.

  “Ouch. Slow down, girl.”

  Bruiser never slowed down. When she wanted something, she raced for it, full steam. Kind of like another beautiful female he knew. They both made him smile.

  …

  Pru clutched the tiny wrapped package in her hands, sliding into the passenger seat of Finn’s car.