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There was no need for the order not to move—I certainly didn’t feel like going anywhere. In just a few minutes, he returned upstairs carrying a tray that held water, electrolyte replenishers, painkillers, a heating pad, ice packs, and crackers.

“Don’t you think that’s overkill?” I said, eyeing the wide assortment of offerings.

“I didn’t know exactly what you might need, so I brought a little of everything,” he admitted. “I called Walter to let him know you won’t be coming in, and I’m staying home from work to take care of you.”

I opened my eyes wide enough that I could roll them in his direction.

“Again, overkill,” I said simply.

“Maybe, but that’s what’s happening, so you better get used to it, honey,” he said gently.

I smiled slightly and closed my eyes again. Nile left the room to take care of Penny, and I drifted back asleep. In what felt like seconds later, I woke up to someone pulling a cover over me. When I opened my eyes, I saw that it was Penny. She had crawled into bed next to me and was cozying up under my blanket.

“Aren’t you supposed to be at school?” I asked her teasingly. “I’m the one who’s sick, not you.”

“I told Daddy that you need me here to take care of you,” she replied.

“Like father, like daughter,” I said, pulling her in close.

She sighed and settled into my side. After a few minutes of cuddling, she became restless. Her tossing and turning wasn’t helping my nausea, so I suggested she go make me a card to help me feel better. Her eyes brightened, and she rushed from theroom, clearly planning to make the best get-well-soon card that had ever been made.

As I watched her leave the room, I had a sudden suspicion about my symptoms. The drinks and snacks Nile had brought me would have been helpful if I had the flu or another viral illness, but I didn’t think that was what was going on.

There was only one way to be sure, though, and I didn’t feel like causing any more upset in the household than was necessary. I’d have to go and get the test myself.

I dressed as quickly as I could and sneaked down the stairs. Luckily, Nile wasn’t in the kitchen, and I made it out the back door without being stopped. He thought I was taking a nap, so I should have about an hour to get what I needed and return home without him being any the wiser.

Once I left the back garden, I walked down the street. My goal was the pharmacy just around the block, and I managed to only need to stop once on the way there. The nausea had returned with a vengeance once I had started moving, but taking a few deep breaths seemed to help it abate. I focused on the cool wind hitting my face to distract myself from the feeling that I was going to throw up again.

I hurried inside the shop doors when I spotted the sign for Pinedale Drug and made a beeline for the family planning aisle. I grabbed the first box of pregnancy tests I found, not caring about the brand. All I needed was confirmation of what was going on inside of my body so that I could stop freaking out about whether I was about to become a mom or not.

I was in such a hurry to get to the checkout that I bumped into a woman coming out of another aisle, knocking the box from my hands.

“I’m so sorry!” I exclaimed, bending down to retrieve the fallen test.

“Violet?” a familiar voice asked.

I stood up and saw that the woman I had accosted was none other than Diana. My immediate reaction was one of embarrassment and, I hated to admit it, fear. But I remembered my conversation with Nile just a few days ago and realized that Diana had lost much more than I could imagine. Her husband and daughter had both died within a short period of time. That trauma alone was enough to cause even the sweetest of souls to struggle.

“Diana, I’m sorry for bumping into you. I was in a hurry, and I didn’t see you there,” I said, trying to be kind. “How are you doing?”

“Don’t act like you care,” Diana replied haughtily.

“I assure you that I do,” I said. “You’re Penny’s grandmother, which makes us family.”

“Ha!” Diana laughed sarcastically. “I don’t think so.”

I saw her look down at the box in my hands, and her eyes widened before they narrowed suspiciously. A sudden urge to hide the box overcame me, but it was no use. She had already seen what I was buying.

“Got yourself knocked up, then,” she spat. “I’d say more, but my son-in-law has threatened me with expulsion from the pack if I speak my mind again.”

I wished there was something I could do or say to improve Diana’s opinion of me, but it seemed like it was a lost cause. And right now, I had bigger fish to fry.

Without saying goodbye, I went to pay for my purchase at the counter and then walked to the in-store bathroom. I couldn’twait until I got home to find out if it was positive. I doubted I would have any privacy from Nile and Penny to take it without an audience, anyway.

I sat in the restroom and capped my used test, turning it face-down as I waited the allotted amount of time. The minutes it took for the results to appear seemed to take a lifetime, but once enough time had passed, I gathered my courage and looked at the reading.

Positive.