“Here,” my mother said and thrust something at my face. “You need to eat.”
“I can’t eat right now,” I groaned and pushed her hand away.
“Honey, you need to try to eat something,” she insisted.
“Mom, if I try to eat anything right now, it won’t stay down for long. I’ll try to eat something in a little bit. I just want to go to sleep.”
“Okay, honey, but I’m going to stay right here with you. Your dad can handle the kids for the evening.”
“Okay,” I mumbled and drifted off to sleep.
I woke with the unmistakable feeling of impending vomit and bolted for the bathroom. I barely made it before what little was in my stomach came out followed by horrendous dry heaves. When it finally stopped, my mom helped me get cleaned up and back into bed.
For the next two days, all I did was sleep, wake up to puke, and go back to sleep. On the third day, I jumped out of bed and started for the toilet, but a wave of dizziness washed over me, and I hit the floor before I made it to the bathroom.
“Frank!” my mother screamed. I could hear the horror in her voice, but I couldn’t make myself respond. Instead, I succumbed to the darkness.
Buzzing, beeping, and whispers woke me. Opening my eyes, I glanced around the brightly lit room in confusion. “Mom?” I croaked when my eyes landed on her.
“Avery!” she gasped. “You scared the shit out of me. How are you feeling, sweetie?”
“What’s going on?” I asked.
My mother covered her mouth with one hand and shook her head while holding up one finger with the other. When she composed herself, she said, “You fainted and wouldn’t wake up. You were so cold and still. I thought—” She shook her head again. “I thought we’d lost you.”
“What? Where are the kids?” I asked and felt the panic rising. My babies would be terrified if they’d witnessed any of it.
“They’re with your dad. They didn’t see anything,” she reassured me. “We told them I was taking you to the doctor.”
Right on cue, a doctor entered my room. “Mrs. Parker, I’m Dr. Alvarez. How are you feeling?”
“Like shit,” I answered honestly.
She smiled kindly and nodded her head. “We’ll see if we can do something about that. How long have you been sick?”
“Just a few days.”
“I see,” she said and directed her attention to Mom. “Ma’am, I need to do a quick physical. Would you mind stepping outside for just a moment?”
My mother whirled around and looked at the doctor as if she’d asked her to step outside naked. “Mom, it’s fine. Go get some coffee or something,” I suggested.
“Well, if you’re sure, I could use a fresh cup of coffee.”
As soon as my mother left the room, I asked, “What did you find? I’m only twenty-six. I’m too young for cancer. Wait, is it cancer? Am I dying?”
Dr. Alvarez shook her head. “No, we didn’t find any cancer. And, technically, everyone is dying, but we didn’t find anything to indicate death in your near future. I’m sorry if I scared you, but I’ve made it a policy to only deliver test results to the patient without an audience. With that said, you’re severely dehydrated, you have a UTI that has spread to your kidneys, and you’re pregnant.”
If she’d told me aliens had landed and used magic to make pigs fly, I would’ve been less shocked. “That’s not possible,” I whispered.
She arched an eyebrow. “Do you have a uterus?”
“Yes, but—”
“Are you sexually active?”
“Fuck,” I breathed.
“Yep, that’s how it happens.”
