I walked over to the coffee maker and brewed a cup of coffee, the smell making my stomach churn.
“Morning.” Wes came into the kitchen and fist-bumped Zoey. It was a ritual they started the day we moved in. “I have to run, babe. I have an early breakfast meeting.” He kissed my lips. “I love you.”
“I love you too.” I smiled.
“Zoe, good luck on your math exam today,” he said, grabbing his briefcase.
“Nothing, I can’t handle,” she said, still scrolling on her phone.
“Please do me a favor,” I said to her.
“What?” She looked up at me.
“Don’t include any notes to Mr. Pipps on your exam.”
She sighed and rolled her eyes. “You like to ruin all the fun, don’t you?”
I opened the door to my classroom and stepped inside, setting my purse and coffee on the desk. The first-period bell rang, and the students started to filter in.
“Good morning, my lovely students.” I smiled. “Let’s do a review. What is the biggest problem in Romeo and Juliet?”
“Teenagers,” Devon said, raising his hand, and the class laughed.
“You’re not wrong.” I breathed out a laugh.
“No communication,” Emma said.
“Good, Emma.” I pointed at her.
“Bad decision-making skills,” Delilah said.
“Also correct.” I turned to the board and wrote MISCOMMUNICATION across it. A wave of nausea hit me, and I needed a moment.
“Are you okay?” Gina asked.
“I’m fine.” I turned, grabbed my coffee, and took a sip. Instantly, I regretted it. “I need you all to start the discussion questions on page 214. I’ll be right back.” I hurried out of the room, cupping my hand over my mouth, and hitting the nearest bathroom. Once I was finished, I washed my hands and looked at myself in the mirror. My cheeks were flushed, and my stomach still didn’t feel right. I took a deep breath and went back to my classroom.
“You look sick,” Gina said.
“I have a question!” Devon raised his hand.
“No,” I said.
“Oh, come on. Are you pregnant?”
“Absolutely not!” I said. “Dinner last night didn’t agree with me.”
“I bet if you were, Wes would have the nursery done by lunch.” Devon laughed.
“You’re right. He probably would. Now, back to Romeo and Juliet.”
After class was over, I sat down at my desk. Looking at my coffee cup, I reached for it and pulled back. Not a good idea if I wanted to make it through the day. The possibility of being pregnant didn’t enter my mind until Devon asked the question. Pulling out my phone, I brought up my calendar and scrolled back to last month. Every month, on the first day of my period, I always put it in my calendar, but there was no entry for last month. Shit. I either forgot or it never came. I couldn’t remember either way, for the past month had been crazy.
I stopped on the way home and picked up a pregnancy test just to ease my mind. I ran up the five flights of stairs. Ishould have taken the elevator. After peeing on the stick, I set it on the counter. The box said three minutes. Three minutes until I found out if my life would be forever changed. I paced around the bathroom. This was ridiculous. I was overreacting. I was nauseous a couple of times today. Okay. I threw up once, but only once. If I hadn’t forgotten to write in my calendar last month, I wouldn’t be doing this.
“Mom?” Zoey knocked on the door.
Shit.
