Chapter 9
CHAPTER NINE
Scarlett
“ W e’ll just run some tests while you’re here to make sure it’s only food poisoning,” Dr. Boyd tells me.
“What else would it be?” I ask, slightly worried. No other possibility occurred to me. I may be a little overweight by textbook standards, but I’ve always been healthy. The textbook standard is ridiculous though, in my opinion. No, I’m not the thinnest woman out there, but I love my curves. Mama has always told me I have the perfect hourglass shape most women secretly want. And most men too. I’ve never lacked confidence even if the scale doesn’t reflect what the medical field says it should.
Dr. Boyd takes his glasses off to look at me. “I’m just running some standard blood work. I’m sure it’s nothing to be concerned about. When was your last menstrual period?” he asks.
This is June. I think back over May. With all I had going on I can’t remember having one in May. I quickly explain to the doctor I don’t remember, and that I’ve been under some abnormal stress over the last several weeks.
He glances back to his paperwork to jot down something and then smiles. “I want you to rest for now. The nurses will run your labs, and I’ll get back to you. Can we call anyone for you while you’re waiting?”
I think of my parents but quickly ditch the idea. I’m a grown woman and I don’t need my parents to treat me like I’m not, so I shake my head. “I’ve got my cell if I need to reach someone,” I say and hold it up from where it was lying beside me.
He smiles kindly. “All right. I’ll be back with your results soon.”
I lie back on my pillow. I had my period in May, right? I must have. And in all the chaos of moving my stuff back to my apartment from Eric’s house and trying to heal, it was probably just short and light and didn’t occur to me to log it on my phone.
Still, maybe I should call Anna after all. I think back to my night with Zander. But we used protection. And he’s the only person I’ve been with in almost a year. I may have been a little reckless by giving in to temptation with him, but we weren’t unprotected.
I sit in silence for a few more minutes before shooting Anna a text of where I am and asking her to come.
On cue, she calls. “I’m on my way. What do you need? I can be there in about forty-five minutes,” she says.
“I don’t need anything. I just wanted someone to be here. And I didn’t want to call my parents and worry them,” I admit.
“I’m on my way, hunny-bunny,” she says as she ends the call.
I feel slightly better knowing she’s coming. I lie back on the pillows and close my eyes.
True to her word, Anna arrives in no time at all. “You didn’t get any speeding tickets on your way, did you?” I ask jokingly.
“I didn’t. You’d be proud of me. I kept it under the speed limit and between the mayonnaise and mustard the entire drive here,” she says.
I laugh as she parks herself in the chair beside me. “I had a ‘you’ moment earlier,” I tell her.
“Oh yeah?” she asks with her eyes twinkling.
“Yeah. These two handsome firemen brought me to the hospital, and I ended up asking if they were married because you live in my head,” I say laughing with her.
“So, were they?”
“Oh, um, one of them is happily married. The other one, Slade I think, wasn’t.”
She waggles her eyebrows. “Then maybe this food poisoning setback was a destiny wink,” she says.
I guffaw. “I wouldn’t call food poisoning that left me on a cold floor in a strange place while hugging a toilet a destiny wink.”
“No faith in the bigger picture,” she says while shaking her head.
“We can stay at the B and B once I’m out of here. They said they’d keep my room for me. Then, maybe we can explore this town a little more,” I tell her just as a knock sounds on the door.
Dr. Boyd comes in and comes to a stop beside my bed. “How are you feeling?” he asks.
“I’m feeling a little better now that I’ve gotten some fluids in me. Did you get my test results? Can I be discharged?”
“I can discharge you within the hour. I’d like you to finish the IV fluid you’re taking now. But I’d like to go over your test results with you,” he says. I can’t tell what that might mean by the tone of his voice.
He glances from me to Anna. She jumps up. “Right, I’ll just find a vending machine and grab us a couple of ginger ales if they have them.”
Dr. Boyd waits on her to shut the door before flipping a couple of papers on his clipboard. He stares directly at me. “The tests came back, and they show you’re pregnant, Miss Shepard. Aside from being dehydrated, everything else is normal.”
I’m sure I’ve misunderstood him. “I’m what? I think you might have the wrong chart. There’s no way,” I start as denial replaces shock.
He glances at the results in his hand once more. “I had them check twice to be sure. It seems like you’re about six weeks by the levels of HCG in your blood.”
My lips part in shock. “Um, I…” I trail off as realization hits me in the face.
Dr. Boyd casts a knowing look my way. “I take it you know when this happened. Do you have an OB/GYN you see for annual checkups? I can always get you connected with Dr. Ray here. She’s wonderful.”
“Um, yes, could you give me her information, please?” I ask.
“Certainly. And, Miss Shepard, congratulations. From where I stand, babies are a beautiful blessing. I hope you feel the same once the shock wears off. Is the father…” He stops and looks at me with brows drawn together, concern now evident on his face. “You weren’t hurt by the father, were you?”
I glance back at him. “No. The father of this baby was the perfect gentleman. No worries there,” I assure him.
He looks relieved. “I’m glad. I’ll leave Dr. Ray’s information on your table. If you need anything else, please let me know. I’m happy to help if I can.”
I nod my thanks as he leaves the room. My head drops back to the pillow once more. I’m still propped up with a little tub beside me. I feel queasy, but not in a way that I feel like I’ll throw up again. In a my-whole-world-is-about-to-change way. I’m having a baby…and with a man I barely know who wants nothing more to do with me. Wonderful.
Anna comes back through the door to find me covering my face with my hands. “What is it, Scarlett? What did the doctor say?”
“I guess you were right about the destiny-wink thing.”
Her brows furrow in confusion. “What do you mean?”
“I’m pregnant,” I blurt out, still shocked.
“By Mr. Hottie-Tottie-Grumpy-Photographer?” she asks.
I nod. “I haven’t been with anyone else, Anna.”
“Didn’t you use protection?”
“We did. We used a condom. But he pulled it from his wallet. What if it was expired or had a hole in it somehow? That’s not really the best place for them to be kept. Anything could happen to affect it,” I say, starting to ramble.
“What will my mama say? She’s the epitome of a saint. She’s never done anything she wasn’t supposed to. And Dad…oh my gosh. He’ll know I’m not a virgin anymore. He’ll think I sleep around,” I say as I feel shame try to pull me under.
“No, ma’am. You’re not doing this to yourself. You are a good person. You didn’t mess up. I still say this is destiny. I don’t know how it will play out where your grumpy baby daddy is concerned, but I got you. Auntie Anna’s got you too, baby,” she says near my stomach.
“When do you get to spring this joint?” she asks.
“As soon as that bag is empty. He wants me to finish the fluids,” I tell her.
“Sounds good. We’ll leave here, then grab some food now that we know it’s not food poisoning, and go back to that B and B so you can rest. But I want details now. You said he was good, but he must’ve been damn good,” she says giggling.
“Anna!” I say, not sure if I should laugh or cry.
“I speak the truth, my dear. And you love me for it,” she says.
“I do love you, Anna. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“Lucky for you, you never have to find out because you’re stuck with me. But now, you’re stuck with someone else too. You’ve gotta tell him,” she says seriously.
“I do. But he may send me packing. The heartbreak he experienced…he doesn’t want a relationship. And I’m guessing a baby isn’t in his plans either. But you’re right, I need to give him the chance to be a father to his baby. I have no idea what to expect. I’m scared,” I tell her.
“Don’t be scared. This may be one destiny wink that brings you more happiness than you ever thought you’d have,” she says excitedly.
I smile. Or it may lead to more heartbreak, except now it’s not just my heart on the line. It’s my baby’s too. And for them, I hope he can rise to the occasion, whether I’m in the equation as his significant other or just as a co-parent. Time will tell, and right now, I understand more than ever…all things that are meant to be, will be.