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“Anything we can do?” Betty added, kindly.
Kate felt the tears welling up in her eyes. Time and again this town had saved her. They would do so again, wouldn’t they? Even if it felt like she was beyond saving.
“I’m just a little tired, that’s all.”
The women all looked at her with knowing glances. It was an obvious lie, but they let her have it. Emile’s absence was glaring, his little jokes and quips not filling the air as he flirted with the customers and with Kate. The whole place felt gray, despite the sunshine streaming in at the windows.
“Why don’t you close up shop early today?” Mrs. Lucas suggested. “Have a rest and you’ll be back on your feet tomorrow.”
A rest. It sounded heavenly. Except the apartment would feel so empty without Emile now, wouldn’t it?
But so did the cafe. And every other place in town that they had visited together, which, in a town as small as Miller Springs, was pretty much everywhere. There were memories of the two of them together haunting every corner. So, she might as well hide under the covers in her bed. It might help the dizziness and the nausea at least.
“Yes. I think I will.”
“Have a seat, sugar.”
Kate was only vaguely aware of what was happening as she sat down in a chair and was handed a cup of fresh coffee. When she went to take a sip, however, the smell only served to remind her of Emile and her stomach protested at the thought, so she merely held it in her hands, feeling the warmth through the ceramic cup.
Around her, Mrs. Lucas, Donna and Betty were shooing out the customers who were lingering over their brunches, stacking plates and wiping tables. Kate couldn’t think about it too much, or she would start weeping where she sat and she was sure that if she started, she wouldn’t be able to stop, but she felt an overwhelming feeling of gratitude for these women who had become like her extended family, showing her kindness that her own family had never been capable of showing.
“Everything’s done, dear.” Mrs. Lucas placed a gentle hand on Kate’s shoulder, and Kate looked around at a now sparkling-clean, empty cafe. “You go upstairs and rest. We’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Thank you,” Kate’s voice was small and weak when it came out, but the three women beamed at her regardless, bustling out of the door as if it were any other day.
It wasn’t any other day, though. It was the darkest day that Kate could remember. Her legs could barely carry her up the stairs to the apartment, the emptiness looming in front of her like a threat. As she unlocked the door, she felt her stomach pitch and she barely made it to the bathroom before she was vomiting.
It felt as though her body was protesting Emile’s absence; even after she’d expelled the contents of her stomach, she still felt sick. Dragging herself into bed, she spent the day fitfully napping in between throwing up and crying herself back to sleep. The sheets still smelled like him, like his expensive cologne and coffee and… Emile. It was both a torture and a comfort, and wasn’t helping settle her stomach.
Kate could hardly believe the contrast with the weeks that had come before and how happy she had been. How had it come crashing down so suddenly? They’d spent whole days in this very bed together, with no interruption, just pure bliss and pleasure.
Hang on.
It had been weeks. With no interruption.
Kate dived for her phone to check her period tracking app. She’d been so busy and distracted, she’d not even thought until this moment but, to her horror, the facts were staring her right in the face. She was two weeks late for her period. Surely not?
Her stomach pitched again, but this time it was from fear rather than sickness.
I have to find out for sure.
Kate pulled up her messages, cringing at having to reach out for help. But there was no way she was in a fit state to be seen in public and, even if she was, tongues would be wagging almost immediately if someone saw her buying a pregnancy test. The thought was too much to bear and made her already aching head throb. No, she needed reinforcements.
Kate: Laura, I need your help and I need you not to make any comment about it until I’m ready.
Laura: Of course, what do you need?
Kate: A pregnancy test.
Laura: I’ll be over in ten.
Kate would be forever grateful to her friend, who quietly let herself into the apartment and slipped a pregnancy test onto the bedside table, pressing a kiss to Kate’s feverish forehead and then excused herself again. Kate could hear her clattering about, clearing up the kitchen and, no doubt, making another batch of coffee. Kate wasn’t sure she would ever drink coffee again, but Laura’s kindness and thoughtfulness made her want to weep all over again.
Except, she was sure there were no more tears left for her to cry now, her eyes all puffy and swollen. Somehow, she stumbled back into the bathroom and took the test, but the two-minute wait for the lines to appear was the longest of her life. She had to put the test down on the side of the sink, her hands were shaking so much.
Kate closed her eyes and counted to one hundred as slowly as she could. When she gingerly opened her eyes, there was no denying it. The two little blue lines were as clear as day, giving her the answer. Kate was pregnant.
Pregnant with the baby of a prince, who had just returned to his kingdom, never to be seen again. Right now, an heir to the throne of a country that she’d never even visited was growing inside her. Kate wasn’t sure if she should laugh or cry, but when Laura eased open the bathroom door to find her sitting on the tiled floor, she found that she was somehow doing both.
