The predicament

As Randy exited my house, I closed the door behind him with a soft click. I sighed, leaned against the cool wood, and felt the tears welling up. Then, I started to cry, an ugly, snot-filled sob that shook my entire body. I knew I was in quite a predicament. I loved all three men equally – Vince, Vic, and Randy – however, I loved them very differently. I wanted to remain friends with Vince because of our long history. I knew that I would never have children with Vic even though he loved me; it was bad enough that I was sleeping with him, a married man. And I knew that I loved Randy and still wanted a future with him, but I had been wondering how on earth that would work as I didn't trust him. Even as a grown adult, I still needed to be careful with who I had sex with and how many partners I had at a time, though I still knew that the pregnancy test results would be negative.

I sighed again, dried my eyes with the back of my hand, and pulled out my phone. I texted the ER physician I had seen twice before, Dr. Maddie Jones. I told her that I was overdue for the Depo-Provera birth control injection. Her reply came almost instantly, telling me that she could see me in the next thirty minutes at the hospital. I grabbed my keys, wallet, and water bottle, and booked it to the hospital.

When I entered the ER, I bumped into my favorite nurse, Max.

"Deppgrl! What brings you here?" he asked, a friendly smile on his face.

"Hey, Max," I said, trying to sound casual despite my racing heart. "I'm here to see Dr. Jones. I'm overdue for my Depo shot."

"Ah, gotcha," he nodded. "I'll let Dr. Jones know you're here. And, just to be on the safe side, after I tell her, I'll run a quick pregnancy test. Fastest way to check is a blood draw."

I rolled my eyes, a small smile playing on my lips. "Fine, Max. Just get it over with."

"You got it," he chuckled. Max went to tell Dr. Jones, then quickly grabbed the necessary supplies and brought me into a private room. He efficiently took a few vials of blood from my arm, then headed straight to the blood lab.

When Max got to the blood lab, he dropped my name, and the techs immediately put a rush on the test. Max came back to the room a few minutes later.

"Okay, so usually this kind of test takes a few hours, sometimes even a day to get results," he explained, "but once I mentioned your name, the lab techs said they'd put a rush on it for you."

"Thank you, Max," I said, genuinely grateful. "You're the best."

"Just doing my job, Deppgrl," he replied with a wink.

About forty-five minutes later, Max returned to the room with Dr. Jones.

"Deppgrl, good news!" Dr. Jones announced, a warm smile on her face. "The test came back negative. You are not pregnant."

I sighed with profound relief, a tension I hadn't realized I was holding finally releasing. "Oh, thank God! That's a huge relief."

"Indeed," Max added, already setting up the injection. "And we can get that Depo shot administered for you right now."

"Perfect," I said, extending my arm. "So, how's everything been, Dr. Jones? Max, keeping busy?"

As I chatted with them, Max expertly injected me.

"Deppgrl," Dr. Jones said, once the injection was done, "since you're here, would you like to go ahead and get an STI test done as well? Just to be thorough."

I didn't hesitate. "Yes, absolutely. That would be great."

Max immediately grabbed more tubes for blood, along with a long Q-tip looking thing for a vaginal swab. He drew more blood, this time from my other arm, as Dr. Jones took care of the vaginal swab quickly and efficiently.

"Alright, Deppgrl," Dr. Jones said, as they finished up. "We'll send these off to the lab. Our lab is getting pretty busy right now, so we'll let you know the results in a few hours."

"Thank you both so much," I said, pulling my clothes back into place. "I really appreciate it."

"Of course," Max replied.

"Take care, Deppgrl," Dr. Jones added.

I thanked them again and left the ER, feeling a mix of lingering anxiety and immense relief.

As I drove home, I decided to stop at Aditi's restaurant to order some food. I pulled into the familiar parking lot, the aroma of spices already making my stomach rumble. Inside, I ordered a few meat samosas – crispy, triangular pastries filled with seasoned ground lamb and peas – along with a rich, creamy Butter Chicken, its sauce fragrant with ginger, garlic, and fenugreek. I also added a side of fluffy Basmati Rice and a basket of warm, buttery Garlic Naan.

As I waited, Aditi herself popped out of the kitchen, her face breaking into a wide smile. "Deppgrl! So good to see you!" She came over and pulled me into a warm hug. "Where's Randy tonight? You two usually come together." She asked before she could realize she had asked it.

I sighed, pulling back from the hug. "We broke up, Aditi."

Her eyes widened in surprise. "Oh, my dear! What happened? He seemed so good for you."

"He hurt me, Aditi," I explained, keeping it basic. "And I just don't trust him anymore."

She nodded slowly, her expression softening. "I see. Give him a chance, my dear. Love is complicated."

"This was his second chance, Aditi," I told her firmly. "I refuse to give a man a third opportunity to hurt and disappoint me again."

She just simply nodded, understanding dawning in her eyes. Just then, my food came out, neatly packed in a bag.

"On the house, Deppgrl," she said, pushing the bag towards me.

"Aditi, no," I protested, reaching for my wallet. "I'm going to pay for this."

She laughed, a warm, melodic sound. "Alright, alright! But next time, it's on me."

"Deal," I said, smiling back. We said our goodnights, and I left, food in hand.

I was finally home, and I ate dinner while watching TV, though I wasn't paying much attention to what was playing.

Just as I was finishing up dinner, my phone rang. It was Vic. My stomach fluttered with butterflies, and I quickly answered.

"Hi, mi cara," I said, my voice a little breathless.

"Hi, mi vida," Vic replied, his voice warm and familiar. "How are you?"

"I'm doing better now that we're on the phone," I admitted, a small smile touching my lips. "And I also just went to get the Depo shot."

"Oh," he said, and I could hear the disappointment in his voice. "I'm doing well, but I'm getting busy at work."

"What's wrong?" I asked, sensing his shift in tone.

"I'm just sad that you got the Depo shot," he confessed.

"My body, my choice," I stated, my voice firm but not unkind.

"I agree with that," he quickly replied. "I had hoped to see you tonight, but my wife is expecting me."

"Oh," I said, the hope I hadn't realized I was holding deflating. "Well, I better let you go then."

"Bye, Deppgrl," he said.

"Bye, Vic," I replied, and hung up the phone. I just cried into my hands. I knew that he would always end up with his wife, but after the previous night, I had hoped he'd spend the night with me again.

I dried my eyes and pulled out my phone. I texted Vince.

"You available to come over?" I typed.

His reply came quickly: "What do you need?"

"I just need you, Vince!" I texted back, hitting send.

Almost immediately, his response came: "On my way over immediately."

I cleaned up from dinner, took a shower, and put on an oversized shirt. As I headed downstairs, the doorbell rang. I went to open the door, and there stood Randy.

"Randy, go home," I said, my voice flat.

"Deppgrl, please," he insisted, stepping closer. "I need to talk to you."

"I said, go home," I repeated, my voice hardening.

Just then, Vince's car pulled up, and he quickly exited, heading towards my door. Randy and Vince locked eyes, a tense staring contest beginning between them.

"It's very clear that Deppgrl doesn't want you at her house right now, Randy," Vince stated, his voice calm but firm. "And it's rude to show up at someone's house uninvited."