Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 79553 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 398(@200wpm)___ 318(@250wpm)___ 265(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79553 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 398(@200wpm)___ 318(@250wpm)___ 265(@300wpm)
“Perfect. Thanks.” I undress quickly and then grab the dress from my mom, unzipping the back and sliding it on over my head. “Zip me up?” I ask, giving her my back.
She attempts to do so, but when she gets to the top, it’s too tight, and I wince at the way it adds pressure to my breasts.
“Dammit. I really should’ve been finding a gym while we were away.”
“Let’s try another dress,” Mom offers as I take this one off.
After three dresses, we finally find one that fits me. I’ve just finished getting dressed when Bailey comes strolling in. “Hey, sis!”
She pulls me into a tight hug, and I gasp at my breasts' sensitivity. “Ow.”
“What’s wrong?”
“That hurt.”
“Your breasts?” Mom asks.
“Yeah, I guess… a couple of months of eating whatever I want and not going to the gym, and I feel like I’m falling apart. Nothing fits, and my body is beyond sore. And I think I might be coming down with something because I threw up last night. We almost canceled today, but I woke up feeling a little better.”
“Hey, Ken,” Bailey says slowly. “When’s the last time you had your period?”
“What?” I give her a confused look. “What does that have to do with anything?”
“Just humor me,” she says with a tight smile.
I think for a second, but I can’t recall. I never had one while we were away… and before that… Shit! “Not since the hospital.”
“You had one while you were in the hospital?” Mom clarifies.
“No, I mean, not since before then. I can’t remember.” I think some more, and then it hits me. “In December. I had it the weekend of the Christmas parade.”
“Sunshine,” Mom says softly. “That was five months ago. Could you be pregnant?”
“No,” I scoff. “I get the shot. You know this.” I’ve been on it for years.
“When’s the last time you got it?” Bailey asks. “It’s every three months, right?”
I try to remember, but I can’t because it would’ve been during the time I have no memory. But I had to have gotten it, right? I grab my phone and scroll through my calendar, finding where I input my last appointment: November 19th. Three months later would be… “Fuck! I should’ve gotten it in February.”
“Do you know for sure you didn’t?” Mom asks, taking my hand in hers and guiding us over to the loveseat. Bailey sits in the reading chair next to us.
“I would’ve put it in the calendar. I put everything in there.” Oh my God. This can’t be happening. It has to be some kind of a coincidence. The weight gain, sore breasts, feeling sick… It could be something else. Anything else. Right?
I dart my eyes back and forth between my sister and mom. “Between the accident and the non-wedding and then taking off, I didn’t even think about it.” Tears prick my eyes. “There has to be another explanation.”
“There’s only one way to find out,” Mom says. “You need to take a test.”
“Oh, jeez,” I groan. “This is so crazy. Wouldn’t I know if I were pregnant?”
“Everybody’s body is different,” Bailey says. “Cynthia didn’t—” She slaps her hand over her mouth, her eyes going wide.
“Cynthia what?” Mom gasps. “Is Cynthia pregnant?” She and Bailey talked about using a surrogate. Bailey has no desire to carry a baby, but Cynthia wants to, so they were considering going to the sperm bank, but they haven’t said anything.
“She is.” Bailey’s entire face lights up. “On the first try.” Tears fill her eyes. “She’s only eleven weeks, so we were waiting another week before we told anyone.”
“Oh my God!” I leap into her arms. “I’m so happy for you guys.”
“I’m going to be a grandma again?” Mom sobs, hugging Bailey next. “Congratulations, sweetie.”
“What’s going on?” Cynthia asks. “Why are you guys crying?” She walks into the room and closes the door.
“I slipped,” Bailey admits sheepishly, making Cynthia laugh. “They know.”
“Congratulations,” Mom and I say, each giving Cynthia a hug.
“Sorry,” Bailey adds, pulling Cynthia onto her lap. “Kendall was asking if she could be pregnant and—”
“What?” Cynthia gasps, her head swinging my way. “You’re pregnant?”
“I don’t know. They think I could be, but I feel like I would know if I were.”
“Maybe not,” Cynthia says. “I haven’t had a single day of morning sickness.” She reaches over and knocks three times on the wood. “Aside from my clothes not fitting, I haven’t had any symptoms.”
“You need to take a pregnancy test,” Mom says again, giving me a sympathetic smile.
“Oh! I have one.” Cynthia pops up. “I had a couple with us when we were traveling to test, and I never removed them. I’ll go grab my purse.” She scurries out of the room.
While she’s gone, I scroll through my calendar. It’s been roughly six weeks since the first time Declan and I had sex. It’s enough time for me to have gotten pregnant, especially since we’ve never once used protection because I thought I was protected.