blinding bright orange polo. Where the fuck did he come from? The heaves are back in full force before I can ask.
“Oh, no. Hey, Nance! You’re daughter’s throwing up in the bathroom! You said she didn’t eat meat, but you didn’t say it made her upchuck!”
Jeez, who the hell is he, and what’s with the vomiting? Ugh. Josie got sick as soon as she drank the love potion. Maybe it just took a while to work its magic in me. Although, it hasn’t actually worked any magic since I’m alone, and Gage is…still married.
“She doesn’t usually throw up around meat,” I hear my mom say when she joins the bathroom party. I really don’t need an audience for this.
“Maybe she’s pregnant,” the random asshole in my mother’s house suggests, followed by a chuckle.
“Don’t be silly,” my mom quickly responds in my defense. “I told you, Reagan’s a smart girl. She wouldn’t do something so careless. Right, sweetie?”
“Oh my God,” I mutter right before another wave of retching hits. Once I can breathe again, I start counting the days backward, and then forward. No, it was just that one little time, so surely there’s no way…
“Do you want me to see if I’ve got some Phenergan or something for nausea in the medicine cabinet?” my mom asks.
I shake my head as the realization starts to really hit home because my first thought is to say no to any medicine.
“I…I’m not sure if it’s safe for the baby,” I say, the words sound so foreign, but I know they’re true.
“Baby!?!” my mom exclaims. “You are? You…you’re pregnant? Jesus, Reagan, when were you gonna tell me? Who the hell is the father?”
Grabbing tissues, I blot at the tears on my cheeks. “I dunno, Mom. When were you gonna tell me who this fucker is?” I snap back at her.
“Reagan! Watch your mouth, young lady!”
“I’m not a young lady,” I counter. “I’m gonna be a…I’m gonna be a mother.”
“Oh, sweetie,” she says when I break down into full out sobs, and then her arms are around me, comforting me.
After a few minutes, when I can finally speak again, I tell her, “I need to take a test to be sure, but…”
“Okay,” she says, getting to her feet. “Roy will go to the store and get one right now.”
“Who the hell is Roy? Is he Roy?” I ask, pointing at the strange man still standing there in a shirt brighter than the sun. “Why is he in your house so freaking early?”
“He came over so we could have breakfast and he could finally meet you,” my mom says as she walks over and stands next to him. “We’ve been seeing each other for a few weeks.”
“Like dating?” I ask in confusion.
“Um, well, yeah,” she answers.
“Sorry to meet you under these circumstances,” Roy says softly.
This is all too much to comprehend. My mom is dating another man? I want to be happy for her, but it makes me feel like a traitor to my dad. Deep down I know this is good for her and makes me feel…hopeful, like maybe you can find love more than once in a lifetime.
First things first, I need to be certain that I’m not overreacting on the baby issue. And if I am pregnant…oh fuck. How do I tell Gage? And what is he gonna tell his wife?
…
A few hours later, I leave the doctor’s office with a piece of paper that not only says I’m pregnant, verified from a blood test after a positive home test, but it also says the baby’s due February fourth. That’s right, in less than a year, I’m gonna be a mother, and that is…mind blowing.
Getting in my car, my entire body is shaking with nervousness, so bad that my teeth are chattering. I’m on my way to campus to tell Gage the news. No more Professor Daughton. I think being his future baby’s mama means we’re on a first-name basis.
Honestly, trying to figure out how to deal with him is scarier than the thought of having a baby. I think I’ll be a great mother, and I’m certain Gage will be a wonderful father. It’ll just be...excruciating to have him in our life but not be with him in the way I desperately want.
The drive to campus passes in a blur, and then I’m standing in front of his dark office. Fuck, he’s not here. I wander around the mostly empty building since it’s summer break until I find another woman who works