Chapter 12
SAMANTHA
“Thank you.” I took the bottle of water and carefully took a few sips. I didn’t trust my stomach not to revolt.
“Do you feel better?” Medusa asked.
I closed my eyes and took stock of my body and its rebellion. So far, everything felt like it was settling down. My stomach was no longer queasy, but I was feeling shaky. “I do,” I said. “It must have been breakfast this morning.”
“Or you’re pregnant,” she teased. “My older sister was like that when she got morning sickness. She would be fine, and halfway through the day, she was blowing chunks without warning.”
It was a graphic, gross way to describe things, but it was pretty accurate. Then the first part of her statement stepped forward in my brain. Pregnant. No. Couldn’t be. “I’m good,” I said.
I pushed myself off the floor and very slowly made my way to the sink.
“You still look a little pale,” she said.
“I’ll be fine.”
“Well, if you get sick tomorrow, you better be taking yourself to the doctor,” she joked.
I was splashing water on my face when it hit me. Mitch. One time. No way could I get pregnant after one time having unprotected sex. That was just wrong and unfair.
In the moment, pregnancy never crossed my mind, although it probably should have. I had been doing the shot, but I couldn’t remember when my last one was. Was I overdue? I rarely got periods when I was on the shot, but then I distinctly remembered getting one about six weeks ago.
I froze as everything started to fall into place. It couldn’t be. No way was fate that cruel. I reached for a paper towel and dabbed at my face. I stared at my reflection in the mirror. Could I be carrying his baby?
“Sam?” Medusa said with concern. She stepped forward and put her hand on my shoulder. “Do you need anything? Are you feeling sick again? Maybe you should sit down.”
“I’m okay,” I whispered. “I think.”
“You think?” she asked.
“I think, I don’t know. I just—I don’t know.”
She stared at me and I saw the moment she understood. “Oh.” She rubbed her face. “Oh! Okay. Alright. What can I do?”
I wasn’t going to cry. I was made of tougher stuff than that.
This was not the end of the world. It probably wasn’t even real.
I was psyching myself out. It wasn’t abnormal to be late.
We were on the road and I wasn’t sleeping and eating right.
I was under a lot of stress with the job.
It was just one of those things that would fix itself.
“I don’t know,” I answered.
“How far along do you think you are?” she asked gently.
“Oh god,” I groaned. “I can’t be. No.”
“Take a deep breath,” she said. “Do you know if you are?”
“I don’t know,” I said. “I could be. I mean, I shouldn’t, but I suppose I could.”
“What do you need me to do?”
“I need a test,” I said. “Like right now. Do you think the PX would have tests?”
She laughed. “Oh, I guarantee you they do. Been there, done that more times than I care to admit.”
“I don’t have my purse, but I can pay you back. Do you think?—”
“Yes,” she said. “When?”
“Right now,” I said. “I have to know now. Right now. I can’t. Oh my god. This can’t be happening. This is not okay.”
“Hey, relax,” she said. “You are not the first woman to be in this position. If you are, we’ll figure it out. Do you have a boyfriend?”
I shook my head. “No.”
“Okay, that’s cool. No judgment. I’ll run over there. Do you want to stay here, or should we go back to the hotel?”
“I’ll wait here,” I said.
“Do you feel sick again?” she asked.
“No. I just, well, I’m afraid I might get sick again. I don’t want to puke in front of everyone. They’ll know. Everyone will know.”
“Okay, I’ll leave you here if you’re sure you’re okay,” she said.
“I’ll be okay.” She started toward the door. I panicked and grabbed her hand. “Wait!”
“What’s wrong?”
“You can’t tell anyone!” I said. “Please, don’t tell anyone about this.”
“Hey, your secret is safe with me,” she said.
“When you’re buying the test, will they ask questions?” I asked.
“Not if they want to stay pretty,” she said. “Like I said, it’s not unheard of.”
“What if they ask?” I wondered. “What will you say?”
“No one is going to ask. No one knows me here. And it would be really weird and strange for anyone to ask me something so personal. It’s cool.
Just pull up a seat and relax. Try to get that water down.
With the heat and the vomiting, you’re going to be dehydrated.
I’ll grab a Gatorade and something salty. ”
“Thank you, Medusa,” I said. “You’re very kind. I appreciate your help.”
“Don’t worry about it,” she said. “I’ll be right back.”
She left the bathroom and I moved to deadbolt the door. I didn’t care I was shutting down the only women’s restroom on this side of the tarmac. There weren’t a lot of women around anyway.
I slid back down to the floor when another wave of nausea hit me. I’d already been all over the floor, so sitting down again wasn’t a big deal. It was better to sit on the dirty floor than hug that toilet again.
I didn’t want to be pregnant. It wasn’t that I didn’t want it, but I just didn’t know what to do with the information.
I knew there was only one potential father.
What would he say or do if and when he found out?
He’d be furious. He’d think I did this on purpose.
Why in the world did I let myself get caught up in the moment?
I was smarter than that. After it happened, I did briefly consider the repercussions of my one-night stand.
Briefly. I was thirty and should know better.
“Oh shit.” I thought about my dad and what he would say.
He would stand by my side, but he would probably be just a little disappointed.
He’d love a grandson or a granddaughter.
He’d be over the moon and I had to admit it would be nice to have a baby, but alone?
On my own? I wasn’t sure I would be able to raise a baby and do my job.
I was always traveling. That was no life for a child.
I could always get a job with an airline or maybe see if I could work at Pensacola on a regular basis.
My townhouse would be big enough. I had an okay backyard. My brain was spinning with all the things that would change. That was when I realized I already knew what I was going to do if the test was positive. The baby was mine.
I would have my dad. I could do this. Maybe I wouldn’t even tell Mitch. After the end of the season, it wasn’t like I would see him again. He had a final year on the Blue Angels. He would be traveling. The other inspector would be back. There was almost no chance I would ever see him again.
“You can do this,” I whispered. “I can do this. We’ll be okay.”
A wave of nausea hit hard. Not wanting to take any chances, I crawled back to the toilet. I took a few deep breaths and tried to calm my stomach. “Please,” I groaned. “No more.”
“Sam!” I heard the door handle jiggle. “Sam, it’s me.”
“Hold on,” I groaned.
She was back way too soon to have made it all the way to the PX and back. I got up and slowly moved to unlock the door. She stepped inside. “Again?” she asked.
“No, but it felt like it.”
“I’m so sorry, but there’s some drama happening,” she said.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“I heard some of the guys arguing,” she said with a grimace.
“What guys?”
“PitA and…”
“And?”
“Dice,” she muttered.
“Mitch?”
“Yes. If I go out there, I’m going to have to intervene and that could get messy.
I don’t want to get into the middle of that dogfight.
Those two have been circling each other since PitA joined the team.
I don’t know why Mitch didn’t speak up earlier.
We do have a say in who joins and who doesn’t.
PitA is a great pilot, but sometimes his personality can rub people the wrong way. ”
“Gee, you think?” I snorted. “That guy is crass and rude and just kind of obnoxious, but I also see a little boy inside him. He admires Mitch. He wants to be just like him and that’s why he’s always following him around.”
We heard shouting and footsteps run past the door. “Oh shit,” Medusa said.
She pulled open the door again. We could hear shouts that sounded very reminiscent of a schoolyard fight. “Oh shit,” I repeated her sentiment.
It didn’t take much to figure out who was fighting. My queasy stomach was forgotten. I jogged after Medusa to where the sounds were coming from.
“Oh shit,” Medusa said again. “Get in there and stop them!”
I wasn’t sure who she was talking to. There were several people standing around watching Mitch and PitA fight. Several of the guys that worked on the base as well as a few from the Blue Angels crew were all watching the fight.
“Hey!” I protested when a couple of the guys jumped on Mitch. That was not a fair fight. I stepped forward to help when Medusa pulled me back. “They’re ganging up on him!”
“You get in there and you’re going to get hit,” she warned. “You cannot get hit, and you know why.”
“Stop it!” I shouted at the men. “Stop it right now!”
I stomped my foot like that would help get my point across. If I had a garden hose, I would have turned it on them. Thankfully, I didn’t have to do anything.
“That’s enough!” The loud, booming voice cut through the crowd like a hot knife cutting through butter.
Mitch shoved PitA away from him. The men that had been trying to pull Mitch off or hold him down quickly stepped back as well. I noticed there was a trickle of blood dripping from his nose. He didn’t look bad. PitA’s yellow T-shirt was torn, and his face looked a little bruised but nothing major.
“Get out of here!” the CO shouted and glared at the men.
“Let’s go,” Medusa said. “We don’t need to be here for this.”
I caught Mitch’s eye. He looked furious.
There was no way he could be pissed at me.
Whatever this was, it had nothing to do with me.
I shook my head before walking away with Medusa.
I might not have to worry about telling him anything.
He might very well find himself thrown off the team.
I didn’t know Honcho all that well, but I knew he ran a tight ship.
This fight was going to result in some serious fallout.
“Has that ever happened before?” I asked Medusa.
“No.”
“Is that bad?” I asked the question I knew was stupid, but maybe I was wrong.
“Oh, that’s very bad,” she said. “How are you feeling?”
“Fine. I mean, I’m freaking out, but I’m fine.”
“Why don’t we go back to the hotel?” she said.
“I have to get a test,” I told her. “This isn’t something I can sit on. I have to know one way or another. Now that it’s in my head, it’s going to be the only thing I can think about until I know.”
“Okay, you go back to the hotel. I’ll go get a test and take it to your room. Are you rooming with anyone?”
I shook my head. “No.”
“Okay, go to the room and I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”
“Thank you,” I said and couldn’t help but look over my shoulder. “Do you think they’re okay?”
“It’s going to take a lot more than a few fists to take either of those guys down,” she said with a laugh. “This might be good. This fight has been brewing since the end of last year. I just hope Honcho doesn’t send them both packing. That would kill the team.”
“Me too,” I replied.
I headed to the hotel alone. I didn’t hate Mitch. I didn’t want him to get kicked off the team. I hoped like hell he was okay. The urge to run to him and check out his injuries was strong. I couldn’t do that. I could never let on that we were anything more than coworkers.