“It’s a bit different,” I admit. “I mean, I know I’ve always mentally tried to figure out what was going on with a patient, butI left the official diagnosis for the doctor. Realizing that I’ll be the one doing it is a bit of a jump.”
“Not too big of one, though, especially not after your work in the Carolinas,” she replies. “Now, while there’s a lull, go take a lunch break. I’m sure your future husband would like to put his eyes on you. Then, I’ll check your wound before you start back up.”
I grin because compared to how it looked when it first happened, it looks fantastic. I clean it daily, of course, but I know Thelma plans to take a few scrapings just to make sure everything’s still okay and an infection hasn’t set in again. All I know is I’m glad I don’t have the wound vac any longer. It was a bit of a pain in the ass, especially when the wound began to close. Because of the angle of the sponge and vacuum seal, I had frequent leaks and that alarm was heart attack inducing!
“Works for me, I’ll see you shortly,” I say. Walking back over to Emily, I hand her the prescription that Thelma wrote and remind her that as soon as we have her test results in, one of us will give her a call. After she leaves, I quickly clean the area then head over to the RV, my mind already on Cami and Eli.
“Wish I could have some caffeine,” I grumble. “I’m so tired right now it’s not funny.”
“Things have slacked off, I can cover for you so you can go take a nap,” Ella suggests. “You know that fatigue is your body’s way of saying you need sleep.”
“But other than that, I feel pretty good,” I reply. “And it hits at such random times, too!”
“Because you’re growing another human, my friend. Remember, the baby takes everything from you, so maybe you need to start eating more or see if there’s another supplement you can take besides your prenatal vitamin.”
I gag a little bit because those things are like horse pills. Normally, I don’t have a problem taking pills, not that I have to do that all that often, but there’s something about my prenatals that makes me almost physically sick. “I think I need a gummy prenatal,” I confess. “I usually end up throwing up shortly after I take it. And before you say anything, I’ve tried it in the morning, afternoon, and night. I’ve eaten before taking it, not eaten, and chased it with a protein shake.Nothinghelps, Ella, and I’m worried that I’m hurting the baby.”
“Let me put my head together with Thelma and we’ll figure something out. You go take a nap, my friend,” she says.
I don’t argue, instead, I head toward our RV, grinning when I see Eli walking around the parking lot with the stroller, Cami and Kevin safely ensconced inside. Entering our home away from home, I waste no time and strip down before taking a shower. That’s something I doubt I’ll ever change, since I don’t know what germs I might have come in contact with, and I refuse to take a chance with Cami’s health or that of my unborn baby’s. Now in comfy lounge clothes, I faceplant on our bed and before Eli makes it back, I’m out like a light.
When I wake up, I’m so disoriented, I don’t know what day it is or anything. Grunting as I roll off the bed, I head into the bathroom to relieve my overflowing bladder, then wash my hands before I head out into the main part of the RV.
“Did you have a good nap?” Eli asks as he putters around the tiny kitchen. “You were zonked out when I came back from my walk.”
“At least I didn’t sleep much longer,” I say, “but yeah, it was a good nap.” Leaning up, I kiss the underside of his chin then smile. “Ella’s gonna check with Thelma about my prenatal vitamins to see if there’s something else I can take.”
“Good. I hate that you’re so fucking sick every time you take one,” he replies. “Made you some comfort food if you’re hungry.”
“Mashed potatoes?” I ask, almost jumping up and down.
“From scratch, sweetheart,” he teases as he pulls a plate down from the cupboard. “Plus, I’ve got fried chicken in the air fryer.”
“No wonder I love you so much,” I say, grinning at him as he fills my plate and hands it to me. “At the rate I’m going, I’m going to gain too much weight.”
His smile turns into a scowl and he states, “Not likely as sick as you’ve been. What little weight you’re carrying in the bump is hardly enough to tip the scales, Phoebe. The book says you should be gaining steadily, and I think you’ve lost more than you’ve gained.”
I pat my tiny belly and grin. “That’s why Ella and Thelma are going to do a little research. We’ve tried everything, Eli. Smaller meals, eating every two hours, taking those stupid vitamins at every conceivable time and nothing has worked. Heck, not even those ginger candies you found for me do all that much. They help a little bit, but I promise you, even though not much bothers me considering what I do for a living, I’m tired of throwing up every time I turn around.”
“We’ll figure it out, Phoebe,” he promises as he comes toward me with his own plate. I look around and see that Cami is busy feeding herself and Kevin, who has quickly learned that shefrequently drops things on the floor. He may be a cat, but he’s got the appetite of a dog.
“I hope so.”
“Want to watch a movie once we clean everything up?” he asks. “Because you still look a bit tired, so I think that would be the best idea for us tonight.”
Yawning, I nod. “Thelma said we were going to be busy tomorrow. They’re bussing in a group of senior citizens from a local assisted living facility to be checked out.”
Thankfully, most of the people who were badly injured have already been sent to local hospitals for treatment and care. We’re now seeing those whose injuries were minimal enough that they could wait to be seen until we arrived and got set up.
“Then that’s our plan for tonight,” he decrees.
Surprising neither one of us, I’m asleep ten minutes into the movie, leaving Eli to lock everything down for the night.
CHAPTER
NINETEEN
Prophet
