Ready For It (MacAteer Brothers #2) - M.L. Nystrom Page 0,7
tongue.
“You want a few crackers? I have some saltines here. I can’t guarantee they aren’t a little stale, but it’s what I have on hand.”
I drank more of the soda and waited to see if my stomach behaved. It seemed to accept the ginger ale. Damn, if this stuff kept me from hugging the porcelain bowl all fucking day, I’d go buy a case. Two. Three. Did it come in a keg? “No crackers right now. Maybe in a little while.” Fuck, when did I get so weak sounding? Stop this now, Mel. You’re a strong woman. In control. Rough and tough.
“So how far are along are you?”
I promptly burst into tears.
“That far, eh?” Her hug made me cry even harder.
“I’mb ad leezed seven, maybe aaighd weeks I thinck.” Damnit, now my nose plugged up. I hate crying almost as much as I hate vomiting. “I toog the test this mornding. Id’z for real. I’mb knocked up. How’joo figure it oud?”
“From the faculty meeting vomitorium and the beautiful reprise a little while ago. I put two and two together and came up with two: you and baby onboard.”
I sobbed on her shoulder. She just held me and let me get it out. God, I love my BFF! She was my safe place.
When I got enough control over myself, I leaned back and picked up the glass again. I was sure my nose was red and my face blotchy. Bev plucked three tissues from a box on the nightstand and handed them to me. I took them and wiped myself off, attempting to preserve a tiny bit of dignity. “Seriously, what gave it away?”
She smiled. “I have a little experience with morning sickness, as you well know. Was it food smells or noise?”
I shuddered. “Both, I think.”
She nodded. “With Abby, it was meat. Beef, to be exact. The sight and smell drove me to the bathroom every time I was around it. I was constantly sick all day. Jacob had me craving sweets, but not a lot of morning sickness. Only for a week or two. Sarah was my easiest. No morning sickness at all, but I couldn’t go to any football or basketball games at school, because noisy crowds got to me. Mattie’s was morning sickness for three weeks and then tired, all the time. He had nothing in particular he wanted to eat, but I snacked a lot. Have you seen a doctor yet?”
I blew my nose. The wet sound bothered me, but my stomach had settled enough I didn’t have to give an encore performance. “No, I’ve been staring at the test stick all fucking day thinking about what to do.”
“I’m guessing you haven’t told… um… Peter, I guess?”
The uncertainty in her tone was warranted. I’m not exactly Miss Chastity. I dated a lot of men and slept with most of them at least once. Sometimes I strung along two simultaneously. I tried to time it so that just before they genuinely got into me, I’d break it off. Commitment-phobic? Absolutely. Plays hard to get? Definitely. Grade A bitch? Guilty at times. I let no one close enough to me to learn why. Not even Bev.
“It can only be his.”
“Are you going to tell him? I think you should.”
“Yeah, I will. I don’t want to, but you’re right, I should. I’ll think of something to say.”
My stomach gurgled. Fucking thing! It rejected everything I put in it all day, and now it wanted to be fed. Grrr!
Bev got up from the bed. “Come on, Mellie-Jellie. Let’s go downstairs before the testosterone brigade gets more worried and decides to make an appearance. I have chicken noodle soup, crackers, and bananas. All good foods for bad stomachs. Even if it comes back up, you still need to keep drinking liquids so you don’t get dehydrated. I still have the bible, and I’ll just give it to you. Not much has changed in the newer editions.”
I swallowed the last of the ginger ale and sucked a piece of ice into my mouth. “I have a Bible somewhere already.”
“Not that Bible. The mom bible, What to Expect When You’re Expecting. Read it this weekend, and on Monday, you’ll come here for breakfast and we’ll get a plan together for you. Dr. Reule is the OB-GYN I used. Terrible bedside manner, but one of the best for prenatal care. Your general practitioner may have a referral you like better. No more drinking, and stay away from smokers as much as you can.”