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“Oh, my gracious, Dean…what are you wearing.” His scent smothered me like a wet blanket on a humid summer day. “If that’s a new cologne, trash it.” I pinched my nose, trying to get the smell away, but it wasn’t working. “Oh, no!”
The last week's experience taught me that I had mere seconds before everything came up. I made a mad dash toward my bathroom and prayed I got there in time. I didn’t want to spend the evening sanitizing my floor of vomit. And my best friend wasn’t the ‘I deal well with sick people’ type.
“Hmm, this reminds me of fall semester junior year of college the night you turned twenty-two.” When Dean entered the bathroom sometime later, he found me curled up on the cold tile floor.
I didn’t have the energy to comment, let alone laugh.
“Soooo…I texted the group and canceled this week's game night.”
“Yeah. That’s probably for the best.” I was staring at him from slits in my lids. At this point, even opening my eyes made me nauseous. “Sorry.”
“Next time, check the date of your bacon packages.” Dean was smiling, but even through my thick lashes, I could see the worry on his face.
“Definitely. You don’t have to stay. We can do brunch tomorrow at The Asbury.” I returned his smile with a weak one of my own.
“Look. I’m going to drive to the drug store and pick you up some medicine for an upset stomach. Enough home remedies.”
“If you want. But I’ll be okay in a few hours like always. Trust me.” Another round of nausea hit me, and I curled myself in a tighter ball, trying to control it.
“Right.” Dean was gone.
I didn’t move the whole time he was away. When he returned, I wasn’t sure if I’d been in that spot for a half hour or more.
“So, I spoke to the pharmacist about your symptoms and grabbed some recommended things.” The bag rattled as he pulled each item out.
When I looked up, I saw him putting one thing after another on the counter, a line of soldiers waiting to be called upon for duty. “So, much stuff.”
“One of them is bound to work. Can you sit up, or do you need my help?” He took a step forward.
“No. Stay back.” I couldn’t risk another cologne attack. Cautiously, I pushed myself up from the floor to the tub's edge. When my stomach remained still, I got to my feet. When I stepped to the counter, I frowned. Not because there was everything from Pepto to hard ginger candy, but the last box threw me.
“You got me a pregnancy test?” I shot a glance at my friend.
“I’ve been wearing the same cologne you bought me four years ago for Christmas.” He grabbed the box from the counter and held it toward me. “Even the pharmacist said it sounded like morning sickness.”
“I’m not even dating anyone, so there’s no way—” The words got locked in my throat. “It’s not even morning.” I snatched the box out of his hand.
He shrugged. “Supposedly, it can happen any time of the day, but always around the same time.”
I shoved him out of the bathroom and slammed the door. Leaning against the door, I took several deep breaths. Amazingly, my stomach was no longer rolling…because it was sinking. I moved away from the door toward the toilet and told myself the test would be negative. As promised, Dean had stopped at the convenience store by the ski resort, and I’d been able to get a morning after pill. That was over a month ago.
At the toilet, my hands shook as I undid my slacks that I hadn’t even been well enough to get out of when I rushed home to puke. With all the throwing up, I wasn’t sure if I had enough liquid in my body to take the stupid test.
Once seated, I opened the package, removed the stick, and stared at it. “Here goes nothing.”
Seven minutes later, I stepped out of the bathroom.
Dean popped up from the couch, now wearing one of my old pink t-shirts with our college mascot. “What did it—”
My face must have given him the answer because he just opened his arms up. “It’s safe. I used your dish detergent to scrub off all the cologne.”
Knowing he’d done that for me and the gravity of my situation, I ran the few steps across my small condo into my best friend's arms right as the tears fell.
