of the closed toilet. What was going on? My stomach was growing, and the noises! I heard a knock on the door.
"Glory? You all right?" It was Penny.
"Get in here." I unlocked the door and dragged her inside. "How are you feeling? Did you take Ian's potion?"
"Of course I did. I ate, didn't I?" She stared at my stomach. "It's moving. I need to get my notebook. Damn, I wish I had a stethoscope. I can hear the strange sounds from here." She leaned down like she wanted to press her ear to my stomach. "Gurgles and - whoa! - I think it's calling for help."
"Not funny." I popped her on the arm. "I'm making a run to my room. Can you make my excuses to your folks? Keep your fangs out of sight?"
"Sure, that's no problem." She pressed her hands to her own stomach, which had no unusual bulges. "And my tummy is quiet. Nothing going on there." She stretched out her hand. "Seriously. Are you in pain? Maybe I should get Ian over here."
I felt a lightning bolt shoot through my midriff. Power of suggestion?
"Oh, ow! Thanks a heap. Didn't hurt till you mentioned it. I'll call Ray, he can send Ian over. Just get rid of your parents. Please?" I burped what sounded like the mating call of a lonely foghorn, then clapped my hand over my mouth.
"Another symptom. I ate as much as you did. I wonder why nothing's hit me." Penny's eyes gleamed and I had a feeling she was going straight for her notebook when she left me. "Go lie down. It's not unusual for people to have digestive issues the first time they eat Mom's food. Maybe it's nothing to do with Ian's stuff." She grinned, then clapped her hand over her mouth.
"You couldn't have warned me?" I managed to gasp. "We could have saved that potion for steak at a fabulous restaurant, you know." I moaned when another pain hit.
"You're right. But, if I get this job, you can have more of the formula, all you want." Penny wasn't smiling now. "I know I should have admitted that Mom's not the greatest cook in the world. That's why I told her we were on a diet. Tried to keep her from bringing dinner in the first place, nothing to do with the vampire thing at all. Honestly, it would have been easier chewing a rubber band than that pot roast." She patted my shoulder. "But the cake was stellar, you have to admit that."
"Oh, yes. Two pieces of heaven." I gasped as agony ripped through me. "You sure you're okay?"
Penny frowned, checking herself, then shook her head. "Not an ache, not a twinge. Ian's formula worked perfectly on me."
"Great, just great." I kept my head on my knees, nausea now an extra added attraction.
"Try to relax, Glory. I'll get rid of Mom, Dad and Jenny. No worries." Penny patted my back, then closed the bathroom door.
No worries? I breathed through the nausea, held on to the wall to stand, and made a run for my bedroom. There I eased my door shut before I collapsed on the bed. I fumbled for my purse on the floor and pulled out my cell phone, barely managing to hit Ray's number before my stomach rumbled again and made me double over. I shoved my purse away and grabbed my trash can, just in case. Thank God, I didn't throw up but it was close.
I listened to the phone ring with my eyes closed. This had to be way more than a simple case of gluttony that a Tums could cure.
Chapter Seventeen
"Glory? How's it going? Isn't this the night you were having Penny's folks over for dinner?" Ray's voice sounded wonderful, not slurred. He was sober and cheerful. I was so . . . not. I could barely talk as my stomach did a bob and weave. Shapes moved under my skirt. Like a boa trying to make an escape.
"Not great. Tell Ian I'm having one of my weird reactions to his stuff." I gasped. "Pain."
"We'll be right there. Hang in, babe."
I tossed the phone aside and grabbed my middle. Skirt. Even without the button it was too tight. I managed to get the zipper down and wiggled out of it, then kicked it to the floor. I slid under the sheet and coverlet, shaking as another pain hit me. I'd been a pig and this was what I got.