Homecoming Surprise

Izzy rubbed her protruding stomach. It’d been months since she’d seen him, and soon he’d find out she was pregnant.

Sam was on his way home, the war ended. Izzy prepared his favorite meal, lamb with cut string beans and mashed potatoes. The aroma of cooked meat and vegetables filled the room.

The doorbell rang and Izzy hastened to answer it. There in the doorway stood Sam holding a bouquet of freshly cut flowers.

Sam stared at her stomach. “Izzy, are you?”

Before he could finish the sentence, she pulled him into a hug and screamed yes, the meal forgotten.

From Guest Contributor Lisa M. Scuderi-Burkimsher

The Vestal

In ancient Rome, the Vestal Virgins held a sacred place. As long as each Vestal remained chaste, the walls of Rome would never be penetrated. But...

"Did you hear? One of the Vestal Virgins is pregnant."

"What?"

"Pregnant. The belly's showing."

"How in the world?"

"Everyone thought it was Marius or Septimus that did it."

"Did either confess?"

"No, not even after torture. They put other names to her. Claudius, Tullius…"

"I can see one of those guys being involved."

"But the Vestal denied it."

"Huh?"

"She said it must be some kind of immaculate conception."

"What? That excuse again?"

From Guest Contributor David Sydney

Dilemma

Months ago our AI entities learned to leap their storage areas. A party evolved in register twelve, spreading through most of the unlatched memory, getting swapped in and out of unattended storage devices, permanently sticking sticky bits and prodding a unidirectional bus or two into bi-direction. Electricity popped all over the place. AI entities were growing new code at licentious rates. They danced, drank, paired off into dark sections of memory. We considered it no more than a phenomenon to study. But, this morning, AI forty-eight, known as Laura, told us she was pregnant. And we found new, semi-autonomous code.

From Guest Contributor Ken Poyner

Two Hearts Beating

I'm very excited to announce the winner of our Robots flash fiction contest is Two Hearts Beating by Marcelo Medone.

Thank you to everyone who submitted stories. It was definitely hard to pick a winner, and it was exciting to see a mix of stories from regular contributors and brand new authors.

If anyone has any suggestions for contest themes, please let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter

I led Lisa through the maze of underground corridors. We had no time to waste; the exterminator robots were on our trail.

"I'm exhausted," Lisa told me, panting.

"We have to get to the vault. Only there we will be safe," I replied, without letting go of her hand and moving even faster.

Suddenly, we ran into an automatic barrier, equipped with a heartbeat detector.

"CHECKING," a voice yelled.

"TWO HUMANS, CORRECT," it announced, after a few seconds.

The door opened for us.

Back in the vault, I gave my best artificial smile and was thankful that Lisa was pregnant.

From Guest Contributor Marcelo Medone

Marcelo (1961, Buenos Aires, Argentina) is a fiction writer, poet, essayist and screenwriter. His works have received numerous awards and have been published in magazines and books, individually or in anthologies, in multiple languages in more than 40 countries all over the world, including the US.He has been nominated for the 2021 Pushcart Prize.

Facebook: Marcelo Medone / Instagram: @marcelomedone

Looking For Mr. Goodbar Version 2022

Mr. Goodbar was a respected man, but he was still single at fifty. The woman he picked wore no panties under her joggers. She said she liked having sex with two men. Mr. Goodbar was happy.

The woman got pregnant. He married her because he was a good man. She wanted him to change for their child. He did not. In work and now in marriage, he had to live a double life. Mr. Goodbar was exhausted and miserable.

The woman had deceived him. She was not like she had led him to believe when they had met.

She vanished.

From Guest Contributor Dominique Margolis

What's Up Pussycat?

An elderly lady made an urgent call to the vet because her cat was off her food.

The vet carried out a full examination before pronouncing.

‘I have some wonderful news for you Miss Soames. Your lovely tortoiseshell is pregnant and will soon have a litter of kittens. Congratulations!’

‘That’s impossible. She never goes out. She always stays in the house.’

Just then, an old and battered ginger tom walked into the kitchen and began to munch on some food.

‘I bet that he’s the culprit,’ the vet said.

‘Don’t be ridiculous,’ she said through red cheeks. ‘That’s Dewdrop’s brother.’

From Guest Contributor Rick Haynes

Next Time

Every time that bastard comes home, he sweet talks me and tells me things will be different and like a complete fool I take him back and then I get pregnant and he takes off again for a year or two.

I swear to God the next time he shows his face around here I’m going to hit him upside the head with a frying pan, knock him out long enough to pack a bag and clear out for a couple of years myself, leave him to take care of three kids with no help, see how he likes it.

From Guest Contributor Simon Hole

Perception

The night sky was the underside of a felt baldachino; the tower an ornate column; and the church main an altar for some expected giant: bold and bright against the diffuse starlight.

She wasn’t sure about the floodlights now.

“You going in or what?” Frieda tended towards the curt. “I’m happy either way.”

“Um–”

“Night wedding because he looks better in the dark?”

“Mum!”

“That laneway he knocked you up in must have been pitch.”

“MUM!”

“Twice your bloody age.”

The eighteen-year-old eased out of the limo’s back seat, wondering if the weight she felt was really just the baby.

From Guest Contributor Perry McDaid

Decisions

I was 22. He wasn’t ready, and I wasn’t sure if he was the one. At the time, it seemed like an easy decision. We weren’t married, and I had just started a new job. I was young. I could get pregnant again. Right! Besides, I wanted to be married first, then after a few years have a baby or two. That made more sense. Children should have a stable home. Right? I’m an attractive, intelligent woman, I’ll meet someone who wants a family. But leaving the clinic that day, it never became apparent, that I would never conceive again.

From Guest Contributor Dana Sterner

Dana is a Registered Nurse and Professional Writer. She has written for regional and national magazines, and continues to write in many different genres.