Once again, Emily rolled her eyes. Though it took double the amount of time to make it back to her sister’s house, because she was driving as Gavin would refer to as “like his grandmother,” nonetheless they arrived. This time, less… heated than when they began their trip. After hopping from the car, Emily glanced at the tags. Sure enough, Gavin had the letters NYYLVR put on the plates.
Upon entering the foyer, after dowsing her Yankees lover with a few kisses, Emily heard Michael hooting out that the Knicks had their shit handed to them by the Lakers. Now it was her turn to bust out laughing. Gavin playfully swatted her ass and made his way into the living room. Shaking her head, she started for the kitchen and found Lisa pulling a honey glazed ham from the oven. The second the savory smell hit Emily’s nose, a lurch of nausea hit her. It coiled and simmered, stopping her dead in her tracks. Her eyes glassed over as she curled one arm around her middle, the other cupped over her mouth.
“Are you all right?” Lisa asked, placing the ham on a cooling rack. “You don’t look so good.”
Another whiff and Emily was done for. Turning on her heel, she belted through the kitchen, nearly tripping over a stool next to the island. She barely made it into the lower level bathroom, and she didn’t have time to close the door. She slid onto her knees in front of the toilet. With another twisting lurch scraping though her gut, Emily pulled back her hair, her body viciously releasing the hearty breakfast and lunch she’d enjoyed earlier. Her throat burned hot from the acrid taste. She gasped for air, choking as she heaved.
“My God, Emily!” Lisa ran into the bathroom, helping Emily hold her hair.
“The door,” Emily croaked. “Close the door.”
As Lisa closed it, Emily pulled herself from the floor, her nerves shot from her body’s sudden reaction. Hunched over the sink, she flipped on the cold water and slipped her hands under it.
“What the heck was that?” Lisa asked, her eyes wide.
Emily shook her head and sipped water from her hands. As it slid down her throat, easing the fiery burn, she shook her head again. “I have no idea,” she breathed. “I came in, and the smell of the ham made me sick.”
Lisa leaned against the wall, her arms crossed. “This isn’t the first time you’ve felt sick recently.”
Reaching for a hand towel, Emily dried her face. “Right. I’ve been under a lot of stress, Lisa.” She tossed the hand towel onto the vanity and whipped open the medicine cabinet. “Do you have an unused toothbrush?”
“Not in there. Underneath the sink.”
Ducking, Emily pulled open the cabinet. After rummaging through a small basket, she found the pack. Quickly opening it, she stood, snatched the toothpaste, and squirted some onto the bristles. She shoved it into her mouth and plowed the brush over her teeth, wanting to remove the nasty taste.
“I know you’ve been under a lot of stress, Emily, but did it ever occur to you,” Lisa paused, placing her hand on Emily’s shoulder, “that you might be pregnant?”
Staring at her sister’s reflection, Emily immediately stopped brushing. She pulled the brush from her mouth and turned around. “No. Why would I even think that? I’m on the pill.”
“Have you kept up with it?”
Emily sighed, rinsed her mouth, and shut off the water. “Yeah, I think I have.”
“You think you have?” Lisa scoffed. “The pill only works when you take it on a regular basis. When’s the last time you had your period?”
“Jesus,” she puffed out. “It’s just my nerves. Everything that happened with Dillon while we were engaged, not to mention everything with Gavin between the engagement and after. I’m not pregnant.”
Lisa’s green eyes softened with concern. “Answer the question, Emily. When’s the last time you had your period?”
Trying hard to remember the last time she did receive a visit from “Aunt Flo,” Emily rushed her hand through her hair. “I’m not sure. The second week of October, maybe.”
“Right. The second week of October.” Lisa reached past Emily and opened the medicine cabinet. She plucked out a box and handed it to her. “Michael and I are still trying for our own. There’re two tests in there. Get peeing.”
Emily opened the box and pulled out both pregnancy tests. “I can’t believe this.”
“My thoughts exactly. What can’t you believe?” Placing her hands on her hips, Lisa gaped at her. “You haven’t had a period since the middle of October. Every time I’ve spoken to you since I left New York, you told me you were fighting some kind of nausea. You pawned it off as nerves. I get it. But everything’s fine now. There’s no reason for you to be nervous. If it’s as simple as nerves, sit down and take the test. No biggie.”
On a sigh, Emily slid down her sweatpants and popped a squat over the toilet. Waiting on Mother Nature, she tore open both tests. “Can you stop watching me? You’re making me feel like a child getting a potty training lesson.”