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Tell him already.
Could my conscience please shut up? I’ll get to it.
At the hospital, I’m ushered into a portioned-off room while Gary stays back to take care of the paperwork. I’m so grateful to him. I don’t think I could remember all my new details right now; my head is still foggy.
When the doctor arrives, he asks me for a rundown of what happened, and I tell him about the baby, that I had a stressful few weeks and hadn’t eaten much for a day. In my mind, it explains the fainting spell perfectly. All the while, Doctor Raymond prods my head, shines a torch in my eyes, and does whatever else it is they do when determining if someone has a concussion.
“Have you had a checkup since you found out you’re pregnant?”
“No, I’ve only just arrived in Atlanta. I was on a cruise when I found out.”
“Well, let’s run a few tests to see how far along you are.” He makes some notes on a board before instructing a nurse what to do next.
“I don’t think you have a concussion, though, your dad mentioned you hit your head pretty hard on the pavement.”
My dad?
Oh, he must be talking about Gary.
“He’s not my dad. He’s my boss who I met in person for the first time today. Great way to impress my new employer, isn’t it?” I joke.
The good doctor winces on my behalf. “Yep, way to go.” We both laugh.
“The lump on the back of my head hurts, but honestly, I don’t even have a headache.”
“Good. We won’t have to keep you in overnight, but if you start to feel unwell, you need to come back right away. Let’s run those tests first, though.”
“Try to relax while you wait for the results,” Doctor Raymond suggests.
Yeah, great. How exactly am I meant to accomplish that with everything that’s going on?
A nurse comes in to take my blood, and I look away. Giving blood has always made me queasy, yet I can see the guts hanging out of a baby bird and not get fazed. Someone figure that one out. Maybe it’s seeing my own blood that’s the problem.
I doze off after that, too tired to keep my eyes open for one more second; I’m more exhausted than I thought.
Doctor Raymond wakes me a little while later. Actually, I don’t know how much time has passed. Is Gary still waiting for me or has he gone home? This is not how he would have imagined today to go… sitting in a cold hospital waiting room for someone he doesn’t even know. He probably has a mountain of work to do. Guilt and shame swamp me.
The doctor studies the printouts that were handed to him, looking puzzled. His forehead creases, making my stomach tumble with nerves.
What’s wrong?
He flips through the pages again before his eyes find mine.
“You said you took a home pregnancy test?”
“Yes, that’s right. Why, what’s wrong?” I stammer, trying to finger the necklace that Tiero gave me, but of course, it’s not there… I threw it into the lake. My hands fly to my stomach instead, holding it protectively.
“Well, your bloods don’t indicate a pregnancy, or even a recent one.”
What???
“What do you mean?” I ask dumbly, a lump the size of a boulder forming in my throat.
“I’m really sorry, Miss James,” Doctor Raymond says. “But there is no baby. You are not pregnant. There never was a baby.”
Chapter Thirteen
Ella
