“Nauseous? Well, that’s odd.” Lucy’s brows rose as a smile lifted the corners of her mouth. “How long has this been happening?”
“Just the past few weeks or so.”
Lucy’s smile grew. “Anything else unusual?”
“I’m tired.” She let out a sigh. “Which is also unlike me. Some days, it feels like I can’t get enough sleep. Other days, I have so much energy, I don’t know what to do with myself. Teaching Corianna how to run Sullivan’s must be more exhausting than I thought, even though she’s catching on quickly.” She was still happy with her decision to help Corianna leave Josie’s Parlor House and come to work for her at the store.
“She’s smarter than she ever gave herself credit for. She loves the store almost as much as I do and she has some great ideas to make it better.” Tresia reached for a slice of cake then changed her mind. Just the thought of eating that sweet treat made her stomach turn. She looked at Lucy across the table. “Why are you smiling like that?”
“Oh, no reason, but I think you should see my husband—in his professional capacity.”
“It’s nothing, Lucy. I’m not sick. I don’t even have a fever.”
“No, you’re not sick. You’re just…I think…maybe….” She clamped her mouth shut, but there was a glimmer of mischief in her eyes. “I’m not going to say anything. Let’s see what Ben has to say. He’s here now. I don’t think he has any patients at the moment. Why don’t you go see him?”
“Lucy, you’re being ridiculous. I’m just tired.”
“For me? Please?” Lucy asked then rose from her chair and grabbed her hand, forcing her to rise as well. It didn’t look like she had much choice.
“All right. Just to prove to you there’s nothing wrong with me.”
A few moments later, she was ushered into Ben’s office through the separate entrance and looking at him. “I’m not even sure why I’m here. I’m not sick, but Lucy insisted.”
“That’s fine.” He laughed. “You don’t have to be sick to see me. In fact, you’re one of the healthiest people I know, but itcouldn’t hurt. You’re here. I’m here. Let’s just examine you.” He led her into the examining room and helped her up onto the table. “There’s a reason why Lucy wanted me to look at you. What did you tell her?”
Tresia shook her head and played with the strings of her drawstring purse, a little nervous. “Just that I’m tired. And the smell of coffee makes me nauseous.”
He smiled as he fitted the earpieces of his stethoscope into his ears and pressed the chest piece to her heart. He listened quietly for a few minutes. “Your heart is good, beating normally.” He moved behind her and pressed the chest piece to her back. “Breathe in.”
She did as she was told, although this seemed pretty ridiculous. She was just tired, that’s all.
“Again.”
She pulled air into her lungs and let it out slowly.
“Very good,” Ben said as he came around so he could look at her, the stethoscope now around his neck. He looked at her eyes, then felt along her jawbone with the pads of his fingers and lower still to her throat. “I detect no swelling and your eyes are clear.” His smile was reassuring, as it always was. He was a great doctor—kind, compassionate, and truly knowledgeable. “Is there anything else besides being tired and the smell of coffee making you nauseated? Is coffee the only thing? Any other changes that are different than before? Differences in your body?” He hit her with rapid fire questions, almost too fast to respond to, then took her hand and pressed two fingers to her wrist where her pulse beat. “Hmmm, nice and steady.”
Her face warmed with embarrassment as she thought about what he asked though she should be able to tell Ben anything. He was her doctor and had been treating her professionally for quite some time. “Well, my clothes have been feeling a little tight.” She gestured to her chest. “Especially here. And my breasts aretender. Tightening up my corset is sometimes…uncomfortable. Taking it off is worse.”
He said nothing, but his smile grew and his eyes danced with mischief like Lucy’s had just a short time ago. “When was your last monthly flow?” he asked, rather bluntly in her opinion.
And surprisingly, she really had to think about that. Truthfully, she hadn’t been paying attention. Married life, plus making sure Avery was happy and healthy, while teaching Corianna how to run Sullivan’s had kept her so busy, she hadn’t noticed. “I don’t know,” she admitted finally, a little embarrassed by that, too. She’d always been as regular as clockwork and knew her schedule down to within a three-day window. “It’s been at least two months.”
“You’re right. There is nothing wrong with you.” He smiled in that reassuring way he had then took her hand in his. “I believe you’re going to have a baby.”
It was the last thing she expected to hear. “What?”
“You’re going to have a baby,” he repeated. “Are you surprised?”
Surprised didn’t even begin to describe what she was feeling at the moment. “Well, yes! I never thought I would become pregnant. I didn’t think I could.”
“Why not? You’re young and healthy.”
“But Brett and I tried for a long time.”
He removed the stethoscope from around his neck and laid it on the desk in the corner then came to stand in front of her, his hands on the examining table on either side of her hips. “Did you ever think it was Brett’s condition that prevented you from becoming pregnant?”
“No, I never did. I always figured it would happen if it happened and then, when it didn’t, I just thought…that I wasn’t meant to be a mother.”
