Glancing back up at the night sky, I think maybe she’s right. Maybe that is why I always hear mommy and daddy fighting all the time. Mommy likes to have it her way, and Daddy doesn’t want to let her. I think about it for a minute and decide I think I do want to meet someone like Belle said she’d meet one day, too. Maybe you do know when you meet the one you’re supposed to be with. Maybe mommy and daddy didn’t know, and that is why they are always fighting.
“I want to meet someone like that,” I whisper as I lay on the ground next to my sister.
“If you find him, never let him go. Pinky swear,” she says, sticking her finger out at me.
I take it with my pinky and curl my finger around hers. “I promise.”
“Want to play another game,” she says with a smile, even though the street lamps overhead just started to glow.
I smile back at her. “Race you to the park across the street.”
Jumping up, I run as fast as I can. My sister’s yell fills the night sky as she chases me down the sidewalk to the swing set.
* * *
“Gwen, Gwen,” I hear Eva say. “Gwen, can you hear me?”
“She looks like she’s coming out of it now,” a male voice says.
“Gwen!” Eva demands.
I open my eyes and see a bright light. Oh dear God, don’t let me be dead.
“Oh my God, Gwen,” Eva sighs as my eyes focus on her.
Where am I? What happened? Why am I lying on a cold bed? I look to my right and see a doctor. Oh shit. The last thing I remember is hitting the floor. How did I get here?
I try to sit up, but the man stops me. “Take it easy, Ms. Coppola. Get dressed, and we can review a few things before I discharge you.”
I look around and see that we are in the ER. Worried, Eva grabs my hand.
“Discharge? Am I okay?” I ask the man.
“You’re fine,” he responds, scribbling something on his pad of paper and never looking up my way. “Just low on fluids. I’ll just go and process your paperwork. I won’t be long.”
He steps around the curtain, and I sit up slowly. Flinging my legs over the side of the bed, I notice an IV in my arm just as a nurse comes in to remove it. She takes off the tape, and removes the needle, which earns her a gasp from the slight pain of it slipping out of my vein. She discards the trash and turns to leave, never saying a word and never even looking up at me.
That’s odd.
I grab my shirt and shimmy out of the hospital gown. Throwing it over my head, I grimace slightly. The arm the IV was just in hurts a little. Glancing down, I notice that luckily they didn’t undress me entirely. Once I get my shoes, we are out of here, and I can actually try to process how and why this happened. Maybe the doctor can shed some light on it for me when he comes back.
“Oh my God, Gwen,” Eva says, reminding me she’s here. “You had me so scared. I mean, you just like hit the floor, like, whoosh! I thought about calling the boys, but figured they would be God only knows where. So I called an ambulance. I didn’t know what to do. You were out cold. I couldn’t wake you.”
I nod, trying to take it all in just as the doctor comes back through the curtain. I think he’s about to hand me some papers to sign and walk out, so it surprises me when he pulls up a chair.
“Ok, Ms. Coppola, a few things,” I glance up at Eva, who looks perplexed as we wait for him to continue. “Your iron is a little low, and you need to make sure you are drinking plenty of fluids. This time of year can cause a lot of people to get dehydrated, but you want to be especially careful.”
I look at him a little funny, wondering what that is supposed to mean. “Ok, and why is that?”
He laughs at me and then continues. “Here is some information on dehydration, fainting, and heat poisoning. We checked you out and ran some blood work. I’m sure there is nothing to worry about. But you will need to rest, put your feet up, stay in cool air, and don’t over-exert yourself exercising. I wrote down the name of a few prenatal vitamins that I suggest you start taking, and here is the name of an ob-gyn if you haven’t already found one.”
My head spins. What in the actual hell is this man talking about? I look up at Eva, and she looks just as shocked as me as we stare back at the man with wide eyes.
“Excuse me?” I ask. “You must have the wrong paperwork,” I laugh, pointing at the papers in his hands. “Gwendolyn Coppola,” I question him. When he doesn’t respond, I laugh, “I’m not pregnant.”
He looks at the paperwork and shakes his head. “It says right here, Gwendolyn Coppola. And from the levels in your blood, I would say you’re a few months at least. You should get hooked up with an OB immediately since this is obviously news to you.” He stands and hands me the paperwork. “Just sign right here. The test results are on the second page if you still don’t believe me.” I sign the paperwork with shaky hands. He takes the top copy and hands me the rest. “You ladies have a good night,” he says with raised eyebrows as he turns and exits the way he came.
I look over at Eva. She’s staring at me with wide eyes.
