“Sorry, chica. I’ll peek in on your class while you clean up and decide what you’re going to do.”
“Thanks, Sum. You’re the best.”
Summer’s walking away when she stops at the door and turns.
“Hopefully whatever it is passes soon! At least it’s not morning sickness.”
With that, she closes the door behind her, the thud landing hard like my aching stomach just did.
Chapter 29
Holly
As soon as the sub shows up and I give her all of my lesson plans for the rest of today and tomorrow, I all but run for my car. Rummaging through my purse, I find a cherry hard candy and pop it into my mouth to quell the queasiness and drive straight to the store doing math in my head the whole way. I don’t think I missed any pills or was super late taking them. I am in my sugar pill row, and even though it is later in the week than I’m used to starting, it has happened before.
Perhaps I’m just getting PMS queasy and not pregnant queasy. That’s happened before too. Well, not the pregnant queasy part… No, it’s unlikely. My last period was super light though. More like I just spotted for a few days instead of bleeding.
There’s no way, right? I timidly walk down the local pharmacy aisles a few minutes from home, trying to find the right section. I hardly come to this one. My stomach sinks again, and I blow a slow breath through my lips as I reach the test aisle and look at my choices. A double pack ends up in my basket as I round the corner and head toward the front of the store.Suddenly parched, I grab a bottle of water,hey going to have to piss on the sticks anyway, then pay through the self-checkout so that I don’t have to get a look from a cashier as my bare ring finger is eyeballed.
I know, in reality, I shouldn’t give a flying fuck what a stranger thinks, but it’s just kind of ingrained in my brain to go there. I pay, then crack the cap of my drink, taking a long swig as I walk to my SUV.
Buzz.
Jaxon: Hope you are having a great day so far. I was thinking of you while sitting here with a turkey sandwich and a bunch of charts.
Me: It is going. Heading home, actually. I think I’ve got a bug. I hope you don’t get sick.
Jaxon: What’s going on?
Me: Every bit of my graham crackers this morning decided to make an appearance…
Jaxon: I’m sorry, babe. I’ll bring you soup after work and check on you. Lots of fluids. Fever?
Me: No, Dr. Reyes.
Jaxon: Just checking… See you in a bit.
Me: If I’m a puking mess, you are not walking into my house.
Jaxon: Watch me.
Me: Sigh…
I set the phone down and chug the rest of my bottle during the short drive, eyeing the white bag in my passenger seat the whole way.
???
Jaxon
I twiddle my pen as I finally finish up the charts I started during my lunch break. A knock on the door snags my attention.
“Come in.”
“Dr. Reyes, your first afternoon appointment is in room three. Oh, and your last appointment canceled, so you have a shot at getting out of here early today.” The bubbly brunette nurse, Lindsey, smiles, opening the temporary chart in her hand to get it ready for me. She rattles off what’s going on with the patient as she hands it over. All of this stuff will need to be entered into our system, but since it’s a new patient, we start old school. I miss paper most days. It felt more personal, and you got to talk to the patient more. All the computer charts make it feel cold, but it is more efficient in the long run, I get it. At least with this position, I get to use it a little more, whereas in the ER, it was mostly just computer tapping.
“Thanks, Linz. We’re happy you got the open position. How are you liking the change so far?”
“I like that I won’t have to work any more seconds and thirds, that’s for sure. I will miss the babies, and some colleagues, but I’ll still get to see them around.”
