Total pages in book: 25
Estimated words: 23140 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 116(@200wpm)___ 93(@250wpm)___ 77(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 23140 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 116(@200wpm)___ 93(@250wpm)___ 77(@300wpm)
Suddenly, I feel horribly nauseous. My whole body heaves and I rush to the bathroom, making it just in time to throw up in the toilet. I rinse off my face, trying to wash away the dizziness and then gargle a bit, to rid myself of the bad taste in my mouth. Ugh, where did that come from? I write it off as an unfortunate mix of ethnic dishes and head back to the living room.
Edna shoots me a sympathetic glance.
“You okay?” my friend asks.
“Yeah. I think it was just one of the dishes. Probably my potato pancakes. That’s mostly what came out when I threw up.”
“Ew, thanks for that,” Edna says with a squeamish look. But then turning serious, she asks, “Has this been happening frequently or is this a one-time thing?”
“No just today,” I reply immediately. But the I remember that I woke up in the middle of the night earlier this week and threw up as well. “Oh wait, scratch that,” I add. “And one other time this week. Weird.”
Edna shoots me a strange look.
“Kitty, I hate to ask this, but could you maybe be pregnant?” she ventures. I shake my head.
“No, definitely not,” I say quickly. “Clay and I always use protection!” But then my face colors and my head droops. “Well, at least most of the time.”
“Ohh, Kitty,” my friend says sympathetically. “You know what that means.”
I shake my head.
“I know, it’s bad. I know. But sometimes the moment gets really hot and we just get so carried away. We simply can’t wait to get a condom on, and he enters me without it. And oh my god Edna, it feels so good raw and unprotected,” I confess.
“But Kitty, you might be pregnant now!”
“No, I don’t think so. It’s the food. It was definitely the food. Whoever heard of eating chana masala with baklava anyways? It’s just a bad mix.”
But Edna shoots me another sideways look.
“Girlfriend, stay here, drink some fluids and relax. I’m going to get you a pregnancy test from the corner store, and then we’ll know once and for all.”
I pause.
“Is that really necessary?”
“Yes,” my friend says firmly. “I ate the chana masala, baklava, and the soda bread too, and I’m totally fine. Plus, I had a beer on top of that, so if anyone should be sick, it’s me.”
I smile at her weakly.
“Okay,” I say in a soft tone. “I’ll be here when you get back.”
With that, Edna grabs her purse and takes off, leaving me in the silence of my apartment. OMG, am I pregnant? My hand creeps to my belly and covers the soft roundness there. Somehow, I already know the answer: I’m having Clay’s baby, and I’m thrilled at the thought. But what will he think? After all, he’s a thirty five year old man who goes to sex clubs on the regular, and maybe a child is totally out of the question. Maybe he won’t want me or the baby, and my heart sinks before spiraling into despair.
8
Kitty
After the lunch with Edna, I trudge home to stew. What am I going to do now that I’m pregnant? And how do I tell Clay? But I went straight to bed before getting up this morning for a shift at A Mouthful of Sweets. It was a hellish eight hour shift, and now I’m beat. I’m alone too because Sansa took off early. My boss is ready to pop at this point, and really shouldn’t be working at all.
The sun has finally set and the large hand of the clock inches past 8 o’clock, meaning the candy shop is officially closed. I turn over the hand-painted ‘Open’ sign to the ‘Sorry we missed you’ side and begin to lock up. As always, I turn down the lights and switch on some tunes to set the mood. Then, I let out a happy sigh of relief, knowing I now get to enjoy the peace and solitude of the shop. Staying busy is important when you have news like mine, but right now, I just want to turn my brain off for a little while.
I return all the displaced chocolate bars to their proper shelves and reorganize the lollipop stand by size and color. I take a mental inventory of what items look low before heading to the back room to grab some licorice for our new display. I hum to myself, making my way to the storeroom. The black licorice runs out on almost a daily basis, as it’s a rare find in the States. Sansa made such a good call when she decided to import these babies from Europe.
I’m balancing a few boxes of candy carefully in my arms when I hear the jingle of the welcome bell hanging on the front door of the shop. Hmm, weird. Did I forget to turn the lock again? I swear, after that first time with Clay I’ve been more careful, but maybe I forgot again.