9. Aspen
CHAPTER 9
Aspen
I t’s only a day or so before I start to feel off. I’m exhausted because I can’t sleep. I miss Micah. Miss the way he talks to the baby when he’s sitting there and making the point that I need to take better care of myself. Miss the way he annoys the hell out of me but yet takes care of me.
What the hell is wrong with me? The man is annoying as hell and if I had to guess he took off because he didn’t want to care so much.
I’ve got this. I don’t need him. I don’t need anyone but myself. Thank you very much.
I shuffle out into the office and then out the door to Bayfront Beans. I need a quick hit of something and I can have caffeine-free coffee and although it’s not the hit I need, it will do.
I stand for a moment and study the menu, lost in my own head and exhausted beyond belief.
“Can I help you?” The server asks me and I turn to look at her, surprised when she’s wavy and her face slips in and out. Her voice sounds like it’s coming from a tunnel and my mouth falls open, shocked. “Are you alright?”
My heart races and I move to sit in a chair, holding my head. “I-I don’t know. I don’t feel very well.”
“Are you sick?” She asks, backing away a little bit to give me air.
Shaking my head, I mumble through suddenly-numb lips, “I’m pregnant. Not sick.”
“Oh, congratulations!” But I can’t hear through the buzzing in my ears and I put my head down on the table, feeling the cool wood on my cheeks.
“I’m gonna call for someone. It’s okay!” And then it feels like everything goes black.
I wake up later in the hospital again, with the same doctor staring at my chart. He glances up at me from over top of his glasses. “I’m not surprised to see you again. You seem like the kind of woman who’s gonna push it no matter what.”
“What’s wrong?” I whisper through suddenly-dry lips.
“You’ve been stressed and working too hard if I had to hazard a guess. I know you said before that you’ve got your own business and that’s highly-stressful but I feel like there’s more and you’re floundering a bit.”
I sit up straight and my lips tighten. “I’m fine. I probably just forgot to eat dinner yesterday and I need to take better care of myself.”
He nods. “I’d say that that’s true. But I’m not sure that you can be trusted to do it at this point. Your blood pressure is up which could lead to pre-eclampsia. You’re dehydrated. You’re pale and shaky and exhausted if I had to hazard a guess.”
Hanging my head, I groan under my breath. “I’m sure you’re right,” I whisper. “I just haven’t been able to sleep.”
“Fine. Now you’re going to have to stay here. We’re going to observe and make sure that everything is alright. And if you’re good in the morning, you can go home but you’re going to have to take it easy for a little bit. Until you get yourself all straightened out. Okay?”
“But what about my cat?” I wail, tears in my eyes.
“Call a friend and have them feed the cat.”
I don’t know who to call. But my phone rings and I pick it up, ignoring the glare that the doc gives me. “Hello?”
“Aspen! I got here early and thought we could meet up. Maybe have a drink.”
I squeeze my eyes shut. “Ummm. I can’t do that. I’m kind of in the hospital right now. Maybe I can meet you tomorrow. At my house,” I sigh when the doctor glares at me harder.
“You’re where?! Oh my god! Are you alright? I’m on my way!” I stare at the phone when the dial tone is all I hear.
The doctor sighs. “I’ll tell them to get a room ready for you. Maybe you can have this friend check on your cat.”
Grimacing, I lie back and groan. “Ugh,”
I close my eyes and feel myself floating briefly, so tired that I can barely move.
“Aspen! Oh my god! Are you okay? Did you get hurt? An accident?”
Harmony rushes in the door and I grimace. “Ummm. No. I’m actually pregnant. And I got a little dizzy. The doctor is over-reacting.”
“You’re pregnant?” Harmony screeches to a stop and eyes my belly. “Oh my gosh. You’ve been wearing baggier clothes lately but I just thought you gained a couple of pounds and wanted to hide it. Why didn’t you say anything about this? This is so exciting!”
“I didn’t want to say anything right away and then the dad and I have been kind of ….arguing a lot.”
She snorts. “Sounds like you and Micah!”
I flush and twiddle my fingers and she gasps, “No! Micah? Oh he’s hot and grumpy!”
“He’s not that hot,” I grumble.
She snorts. “You can’t say that with a straight face, girl. He’s hot.”
“I have to stay in the hospital overnight. Can you look in on Princessa for me? I’ve got her food in the cupboard. She gets her wet food tonight. Mixed with a can of water because cats tend to get dehydrated. But she’s sweet and she will be good as long as you’re feeding her.”
“Of course I’ll help you. Just give me your keys and I’ll take care of everything.”
I hand her the keys and smile, relieved. “Thank you so much. I hate asking this of you.”
“Don’t worry about it. I loved Princessa when I met her.”
“Thank you. I really appreciate it.” Tears sting my eyes. “I didn’t realize so many things could go wrong.”
“Hey.” She hugs me tight and grins. “This is just a little bump in the road of pregnancy and motherhood. You got this.”
A nurse comes in wheeling a chair. “Let’s go, miss. We’ve got a lovely room with a view of the park for you. You’re gonna be just fine.” She glances over at Harmony. “I’m sorry. Visiting hours are wrapping up. You can see her tomorrow and hopefully take her home if her blood pressure goes down.”
Harmony gives me another hug and smiles. “I’ll see you tomorrow, babe. Bye! Get some rest.”
I watch her go out the door and the nurse smiles. “Let’s go. We’ll get you situated and resting and you’ll be just fine.”
“Thank you.”
She wheels me out of the room and upstairs. “You’ll see your friend tomorrow.”
“I need to see my fiancé! Now!” I struggle up out of the best sleep I’ve had in awhile. Exhaustion and the chilly room made me so tired I couldn’t keep my eyes open.
“Sir! Visiting hours are not open yet! You can’t go in there!”
The door swings open and I groan when I see Micah standing there. “What are you doing here?”
He slams the door in the nurse’s angry face. “Are you kidding me? Harmony called me to let me know that you were in the hospital! You’re having my baby and you didn’t think that it warranted a phone call when you were admitted last night?”