"I never called her fat in the first place." I step closer to him. "She is healthy. I never starved her."
"Then why did she faint? Why was she so distressed? Why is it that when she saw food she was gobbling it up like she's hungry?"
"She didn't eat this morning because she was nervous to come here. That is probably why she fainted because she wanted your approval so bad that she couldn't eat or sleep because of it." I'm in his face now. "In fact, we never should have come here in the first place."
"How dare you—"
"Can everybody just calm down?" Tessa stands up from her chair. "Iris has fainted and we don't know the cause. We need to work together even if we don't like each other. And that goes for you especially, Ilay."
"Don't look at me." I point at Radimir. "Look at the old man."
The doctor clears his throat. "I need to ask you some questions, Mr. Ivanovich."
I turn to him. "Alright. Ask me anything."
"Has she been having any weird cravings?"
"Well, she likes to eat weird food." I pause. "Yes. She particularly has been craving a lot of potato chips and ice cream."
"Alright. And do you monitor her cycle?"
"Yes. She did tell me that her cycle didn't come last month."
"And has she been throwing up? Is she queasy? Exhausted? Dizzy spells?"
"Yes."
"Headaches? Mood swings? Tender breasts?"
"Yes. All of it."
The doctor nods slowly, writing something down on his notepad.
My chest tightens. "Doctor, what is it? Is she terminally ill? Tell me now so that we can find a solution. I cannot lose her."
The doctor chuckles.
"This is nothing to be laughing about. Nothing is funny here, doctor."
"I'm sorry, sir." He looks up at me with a smile. "It's just you're such a good husband to her."
"He's not a husband yet," Radimir cuts in. "He's only a boyfriend. And that is a placeholder boyfriend."
I look at him, then back to the doctor. "What did you find? Say it quickly."
"She's pregnant."
The whole room goes quiet.
I grab him by the collar and pull him toward me. "Wait. You are telling me my beautiful wife is pregnant?"
"Yes, sir." He tries to pull away. "Now if you please could let go of me so I can tell you what needs to be done. Firstly, we still need to confirm with a pregnancy test but if all the symptoms are correct, then your wife is definitely pregnant. At least a month or a month and a few weeks. But we need to do the test first."
I let him go.
Oh my god. She's pregnant.
I cross to where she's lying on the couch and drop to my knees beside her. I pull her into my arms carefully, pressing my face against her hair.
