Sunny closed her eyes briefly. “The girls — my… the children I care for — they need to get to school, and their father is at practice. I can try to be there in an hour?”
“That’s fine. Come directly to the office. We’ll be expecting you.”
When she emerged from the pantry, Sunny found both girls seated at the kitchen island, Hailey drowning her pancakes in syrup while Maddie watched with disapproval.
“That’s way too much, Hailey! Daddy says sugar makes you crazy.”
“Does not!”
“Does too!”
Their bickering provided a welcome distraction as Sunny considered her options. Liam’s parents were visiting friends in Florida. Beth would be here later for cleaning, but that would be too late. As if summoned by her thoughts, Sunny heard the front door open, followed by Beth’s cheerful “Hello? Anyone home?”
Relief washed over her. Beth had come early. The universe had thrown her a lifeline.
“We’re inthe kitchen!” Sunny called, then turned to the girls. “Finish up quickly, okay? Beth is going to take you to school today.”
“Why?” Maddie asked immediately, her fork pausing midway to her mouth. “You always take us.”
“I have a… doctor’s appointment,” Sunny replied, technically not lying. “Just a check-up.”
“Are you sick?” Hailey’s eyes widened with immediate concern.
“No, sweetie,” Sunny reassured her, ignoring another cramp that tightened across her lower abdomen. “Just a regular check-up. Everyone needs those.”
Beth appeared in the doorway, her keen eyes immediately registering something was wrong. At sixty-two, the housekeeper had an uncanny ability to read situations, honed by decades of working in family homes.
“Girls, I brought those stickers I promised,” Beth announced, skillfully diverting their attention. “They’re in my bag by the door if you want to pick some for your folders.”
As the girls scrambled away, Beth stepped closer to Sunny. “What’s wrong, dear? You’re white as a sheet.”
Sunny’s carefully maintained composure wavered. “I need to see my doctor. Right away. I’m… I’m pregnant, and something doesn’t feel right.”
Beth’s expression shifted from surprise to immediate concern. “Go. I’ll handle the girls and explain to Liam if he calls.”
“Don’t tell him yet,” Sunny insisted, grabbing her purse. “It might be nothing. I don’t want to worry him during practice.”
Another cramp seized her, stronger than before, and she couldn’t hide her wince.
Beth placed a steady hand on her arm. “Go now. Call me when you know something.”
The drive to the medical center passed in a blur of anxiety and hope battling fordominance in Sunny’s mind. She recited statistics she’d read about early pregnancy — how common spotting could be, how many women experienced cramping and went on to have perfectly healthy babies.
Yet beneath those rational thoughts, a dread was taking root.
In the sterile waiting room, Sunny tried Liam’s phone again, unsurprised when it went straight to voicemail. He never kept his phone on during practice.
“It’s me,” she said after the beep, struggling to keep her voice steady. “Call me when you get this, okay? It’s… it’s important.”
A nurse called her name before she could say more. Sunny followed her through a labyrinth of corridors to an examination room, mechanically answering questions about her symptoms, her cycle, the date of her positive test.
Dr Chen arrived moments later, her kind face serious as she reviewed the intake notes. “Let’s take a look and see what’s happening, Sunny.”
The examination was gentle but thorough. Sunny fixed her gaze on a small crack in the ceiling tile, counting her breaths as the doctor worked, saying little. The silence stretched, becoming its own entity in the room.
Finally, Dr Chen took off her gloves and sat on a rolling stool, wheeling it closer to where Sunny now sat upright on the examination table.
“I’m very sorry, Sunny,” she said quietly. “There’s no heartbeat.”
