Pregnancy Prank… Oh, Yes, I Did.

I’m usually on the boring end of pranks, the I-See-What-You’re-Up-To-And-I’m-Not-Falling-For-It end.  Today however?  Oh, I was on the Let-Me-Act-My-Butt-Off end!

A couple of months ago, it occurred to me that if I was going to pull a pregnancy prank, it was going to have to be now or never.  Secretly scheming, I mulled over my plan with one of our work assistants, our receptionist and my boss, Dianne.

Q: The prank?

A: To act like my water had just broken.

Both Dianne and I had approximately 10 minutes to spare this morning.  Within earshot of a few other coworkers, I asked if she’d mind checking my hair for some split ends as I am planning to have a pregnancy photo shoot on Monday.  She agreed and so I sat down in her chair.  Once seated, she draped me for a trim while we engaged in discussion about her upcoming vacation and my hopes for successful pregnancy pictures.

What nobody realized was that while she and I were chitchatting, all the while I was dumping a styrofoam cup of water into my lap, shrouded by the cutting cape.  And not just a little water.  No, a lot of water.  A puddle, if you will, of water.  And I was sitting in it.

Once I had hidden the cup, she had pretended to trim enough and our scene now seemed believable, I half-sprang out of the chair with a look that said, “Did I?  Should I move any further?  What the…?”

Dianne played along, “What?  What did you do?  What happened?  Oh my gosh!  Oh my gosh!”

I finished getting out of the chair and she took my cape off, revealing a very soggy bottom.

Me, “…I don’t think I just peed myself…”

*Pause for dramatic effect with a good, shocked look on my face.*

“…I’m just going to go to the bathroom real quick…”

At this point we had onlookers and everyone was asking if I was alright as I rushed off with a terrified look on my face.  Counting for a few seconds behind the bathroom door, I heard Dianne say, “I think her water just broke!”

And that, my friends, is exactly why I had her in on it.  If Dianne believes it, everyone believes it (which is precisely what happened).

*Commencing salon buzz.*

Exiting the bathroom with a face that was all business, I insisted, “I think I need to call Brian.”

While I was dialing Brian, one of my coworkers was nice enough to clean the chair, bending down to sniff it and see if it smelled like urine.  Dianne assured my coworker that my water breaking wouldn’t smell like urine, but still enjoyed stepping back to watch her Lysol the whole thing.  Everyone heard Brian (who was in on the joke) on speaker phone as I told him that he needed to come pick me up because my water had just broken.

Time stood still as every single client dropped her gossip magazine to watch the chaos unfold.  There was a quiet frenzy in the air.  With no one yet to call our bluff, our receptionist inquired, “Is there anything I can do?”

Me, nodding, “Yes, could you call [and cancel] my clients for the rest of the day?”

Someone asked me if I was feeling any contractions.

“Not yet,” I replied as I turned on the blowdryer and began drying my jeans while “waiting for Brian.”

Eventually my boss and I busted out laughing and little by little everyone realized that, no, my water had not broken and, yes, we got ’em good!

Even though I blew myself dry for, like, ten minutes, my britches felt damp for hooooouuuuurs.  Totally.Worth.It.

(I was told by both Brian, our receptionist and our assistant that even though they were each in on the prank, my acting was convincing enough that they all were nervous that something was wrong and that my water might really have broken!  High fives all around!)