The obstetrician folded her hands on her desk. “You were right. The DNA tests came back identical to your own.”

Celia nodded. “I knew it. I told you, I’m a lesbian. I’ve never had sex with a man.”

Her doctor still looked dazed. “I had to confirm that you were telling the truth, that you hadn’t received in vitro fertilization or—”

“You mean a turkey baster in the bathtub?” Celia scoffed. “No such luck. So how did this happen?” she demanded.

“Well, there’s not really any precedent in medical science. Not in mammals, anyway. Certain insects, bacteria, and other creatures reproduce asexually. It’s called parthenogenesis, and what happens is—well, I can see you’re not interested in that,” she added, seeing Celia’s expression. “The truth is, I don’t know how it happened. I’ll need to run more tests, consult some other obstetricians and geneticists, before I can even begin to figure it out. Now, are you sure you want to carry to term?”

Celia sighed. “Is there any reason not to?”

“No. The fetus looks fine. No abnormalities, perfectly healthy so far.”

“Then we’re keeping it. My girlfriend and I will raise it together.”

“Very good. Incidentally, your next sonogram is coming up. At that time, we can determine the sex of the baby. You’ll have to decide before then whether you’d like to know the gender in advance.”

Celia shook her head. “What’s the point? You said it was genetically identical to me, right? So it’s a girl.”

The obstetrician smiled kindly. “You’re right.”

“So now I have to start thinking of baby names, huh?”

“Might not be a bad idea. I have some baby books in the waiting room, if you’d like to take a look.”

Celia shook her head. “Lisa and I’ll put our heads together. We’ll come up with something.”

Four months, later, Celia gave birth to Jesus Sue.

Copyright 2006 Amy Frushour Kelly. All rights reserved.

Reproduction by any means prohibited without prior written consent.