She got up, went to a kitchen drawer, and pulled out a pad. She handed it to him.
He read, “For Oliver to do,” followed by twenty entries. This was all he needed on his plate.Hetook a deep breath.Dear God, give me strength.
* * *
Elise came into work at three and still couldn’t stop thinking about Finn. But her obsession affected her work and the reshoots weren’t going smoothly.
“Let’s do one more take,” John had said. There was a hint of frustration in his voice and she didn’t blame him.
The scene took place on a hilltop in Rockford. Her character had absconded up there to clear her head. Elise sat on a log, focused on the camera then put her head in her hands and cried. The tears were not crocodile ones.
She managed a passable performance of her dialogue.
“Cut.” John seemed happier. “That’s it for today. I’d like to treat all of you for dinner after we go back to the set.”
Almost everyone was available. Once they were at main site, Elise headed straight to the medical trailer, which was next to hers, knocked and was told to come in. “Hey, Joan, you got a minute?”
The very pretty doc who was fascinated by film looked up. “Is it the migraines again?”
“Not exactly. I’ve been sick to my stomach. It goes away and comes back so I could film today. I threw up all morning, though.”
“Migraines make you nauseous.”
“I did have a slight headache but I thought it was from vomiting.”
“Then let me check you out.”
Joan passed a thermometer over her forehead until it beeped. “No fever. Which usually means no infection.” Then she rubbed her hands together to warm them and felt her glands; she peered into Elise’s mouth. “Say ah.”
She placed the clothes pin like device on Elise’s finger to check her breathing, then she attached the plastic blood pressure cuff and pumped. “Huh. No problem with your vitals.” She stepped back and crossed her arms over her the white coat she wore with shorts. “I can’t see anything wrong. I can take blood and send that out for analysis if you want but first let’s do one more thing.”
Joan opened a cabinet and took out a small package. When she handed it to her, Elise’s insides clenched. “No need for this test, Joan. I have a long history of infertility. I tried for three years to get pregnant.”
“Insemination?”
“Yeah, but the natural way too with men I cared about. I never used birth control and I never got pregnant.”
“Have you been sexually active while we’ve been filming?”
“Only twice and the last time was just a week ago.”
“Then humor me. Go pee on this stick.”
Elise wasn’t sure she could do that. It was hard to get her hopes up. But shit, now that Joan had brought it up, if the sickness continued she’d never stop wondering if she could bepregnant. Begrudgingly, she took the package with shaky hands and stumbled into the bathroom. She did what she had to, came out and handed the stick to Joan.
They waited in silence. When Joan smiled, Elise tensed. Then she said, “You’re pregnant.”
Elise froze. “Not possible. I want to do another test.”
“Be my guest.”
After the second one, Elise held onto the stick herself. When it turned blue, she burst into tears.
* * *
“I like this place,” Fiona said when she and Finn settled at a table at Magnolia’s for an early dinner. They’d had a lunch picnic in the park, walked around a bit, then gone to a movie before they came here. The restaurant was big, with well-spaced tables and the best acoustics. Which was fortunate because at the other side of the room there was a table set for ten.
“I like it, too.” Finn squeezed her hand. “We don’t do this kind of thing often enough.”
