Amy, who has big news.

I wasn't sure what I wanted. The conversation started casually, but both of us were obviously tense. We made small talk, until I asked, "What's new with you?"

"Well..." Amy paused, "I'm pregnant? That's new."

I literally dropped the phone. Paralyzed for a moment, the blood drained from my chest into my feet. After I fumbled the receiver back up to my ear, Amy was in the middle of "Hello? Hello?"

"Yeah! I'm here. What?"

"Yeah! So, I was feeling kind of down, so I went to the doctor and well... yeah. I mean, I was a getting pretty careless about birth control, though I should have been making guys put on a condom anyway... it was bound to happen."

"Guys should wear condoms on their own." I carefully recited. "You shouldn't have to remind them."

She chortled on the other end. "I don't remember you volunteering anything the last time we fucked."

Her words sent a new shock through me. "Do you... could I be? Oh jeez." A thousand images raced through my mind. This was the kind of thing that tests a man. Would I turn out to be a coward, hide away? Would Amy, fiery, magnificent Amy, turn out to be a common extortionist? What would my parents think?

"I always balance a couple of guys at the time. By now I'm about five months along. That means it was right before graduation. Listen, I didn't even plan on telling you. I decided that I wanted the baby right after I found out. But it's not like you made a commitment to being a father or anything. Is that wrong? It felt better to let you keep living your life. But you called, and I'm not going to keep it from you either."

I didn't know what to think, but I wanted desperately to do the right thing at this moment. Did Amy wanted me to be a father to her child? Should I ask her to marry me? Didn't she plan on doing this alone, should I just walk away? The obvious answer came out of my mouth: "What do you think we should do?"

"Why don't we get dinner sometime? I was never much for the whole, you know, dating thing, but it would be nice to see an old friend."

"Deal." We arranged a time and place.

Before we hung up, Amy added one more thing.

"I'm glad it was you. Some other guy might have, like, invoked his ancient rights and married me at gunpoint."

"Dragged you back to his cave."

She laughed.