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Harry briefly glanced at me and then focused on Ainslee. “I see. How late was your period?”
“A day. I started bleeding this morning.”
“And you’re usually very regular with your cycle?”
“Yep, I’m one of those unicorns who is regular as clockwork with her period.”
“Unicorn is about right.” Dr Harry smiled. “A regular cycle is rarer than the sex ed books suggest.”
I sat up straighter. “Wait, it’s rare if a woman has a regular period?”
Harry smiled kindly. “It’s quite common for a woman’s period to vary by one or two days, or more. Many factors can affect periods, including stress and dieting.”
“Huh, I have been dieting for the university’s promotional photo shoot coming up,” Ainslee said.
Harry nodded. “And stress with university?”
Ainslee frowned. “No, not as such.” She paused and then mumbled, “maybe some stress with my family.”
While Ainslee and I had been friends with benefits, we’d rarely talked about our private lives and families. I’d certainly never shared about the looming bankruptcy. I’d briefly talked about Stacey when Ainslee had found Stacey’s viral photo for the firefighting calendar online, but she’d mostly asked if Stacey dieted and what workouts she did. Of which I had no clue.
In that moment, I realised I knew very little about Ainslee’s life.
Harry asked a few questions about Ainslee’s dieting, which flew over my head about kilojoules and caloric intake. I had a daily biscuit intake and was not about to give it up.
“And you haven’t done a pregnancy test?”
Ainslee shook her head. “We got in to see you so quickly that I haven’t had a chance to buy one.”
I grimaced but remained silent.
“And when was the last time you both had sex?”
Harry ended the question by looking straight at me.
“Ah, my birthday. Night of the T Party. We used a condom, though.”
“Not that that’s any guarantee,” Ainslee added.
Harry weighed up our answers and then leant forward, his face earnest.
“I don’t think you were pregnant, Ainslee, given the timeframes between the last time you had sex and now it seems you’ve got your period and that you used a condom. If your period was two weeks late and you had nausea, tender breasts and other symptoms, I’d be ordering blood tests and even an ultrasound to check if you were pregnant. But it’s my medical opinion that you’ve got a heavy period that could be related to recent stress and current dieting. Upping your caloric intake to the recommended amount for an adult will also help.”
Ainslee sniffed but said nothing.
“How do you feel that you are most likely not pregnant?”
“If I was pregnant, I would love to be the mother of his child.” She placed her hand on my knee and I jerked up. “Tom said he loved me the last time we had sex.”
I had to sort this out. “We—I … We’re not dating. Not even a couple.”
Ainslee looked away, refusing to meet my gaze, her face sad.
Harry nodded slowly. “Are you okay aboutnotbeing pregnant, Ainslee?”
“Yeah, I guess. I mean, we could always try again if we want to.”
“No, we will not,” I blurted. They both looked my way. “While I’d love to be a father one day, I do not want to get you pregnant. We arenottogether, Ainslee.”
