Nicole didn’t want to be showing very much at her wedding. Already, she could imagine the various headlines that would appear in the tabloids when the story broke that she was pregnant.
But she was learning to let go of her need to control the story, to let go of caring what a bunch of random people she didn’t even know thought about her life and her relationship with Red. In fact, Nicole wasn’t sure she even cared what her own mother thought, let alone the readers of a tabloid newspaper.
She was pregnant and she was engaged, and very soon, she would also be married. And being married sooner rather than later was about taking that final step with one another. Nicole couldn’t wait to declare her love for Red and to watch his eyes as he said the words back to her.
Invite the tabloids in! She wanted to shout. Who cares what they write anymore?
Nicole was certain that she and Red were forever, and the last thing she’d spend time worrying about from now on was whether the stupid Internet had published some new rumor about their relationship status.
But how quickly an amazing, perfect day could suddenly turn on a dime. Because as Nicole sat on the veranda perusing wedding venues, she became aware that something was troubling her.
It was strange how she subtly had become aware that her stomach was upset. At first, she’d barely even noticed the discomfort, but then she’d gotten a few cramps that came and went.
Still fixated on her laptop screen and trying to figure out what kind of locale she wanted for her wedding day—Nicole could hardly be bothered to think about the growing unease in her belly.
When it got bad enough for her to put the laptop aside, Nicole wondered if maybe she’d eaten a bad crepe. Or maybe she’d had a bad reaction to it. They said that sometimes when you were pregnant, you craved certain foods but other foods could suddenly make you feel sick, too.
Another bout of cramps wracked her stomach and she grimaced. It was really starting to hurt.
Nicole got up and went to the bathroom to see if she needed to move her bowels. When she sat down, nothing much happened. She had broken out into a light sweat and her breathing was coming faster.
She almost felt feverish.
After a time, she peed and gave up on anything else happening. Nicole took a few squares of toilet paper and wiped, then looked at the toilet paper.
There was blood on the toilet paper.
It was as though the wind had been knocked out of her.
Maybe I’m just spotting, she thought, her heart hammering out a quickened pace in her chest now.
She sat for a little while longer and wiped again and again. There was more blood. Her cramps were coming back again, redoubling in force, almost making her want to curl up into a ball on the floor.
Calm down, relax. Don’t get yourself worked up, she told herself. The worst thing she could do now was to get overanxious and make whatever was happening worse.
The blood coming out of her now was beyond spotting, she knew that. It was as if she were getting her period.
Nicole found a pad under the sink and put it in her panties, left the bathroom and tried Red’s cell phone. He didn’t pick up. Of course not, he was playing tennis.
Yet another cramp ran through her guts.
She forced back a sob and tried his phone again. The courts were far enough away that she didn’t want to try and walk there. Instead, Nicole went to the security phone and called the front gate.
A man answered. “Jeremy Lyons, sir. How can I be of service?”
“Jeremy, this is Nicole Masters, Red’s fiancé.”
“Yes ma’am.”
“Red’s at the tennis courts and I need you to go and tell him to come back to the house immediately, okay?”
“Yes, ma’am. Is everything all right? Are you hurt?”
Am I hurt? She wondered. She didn’t know how to answer that. “Just tell him to come back immediately, it’s important.”
Nicole got off the line and went out front to wait. She could feel herself dripping down there, knew that she was still bleeding. Her forehead was slick with sweat, and she was terribly frightened now.
After what seemed like hours—but in truth had probably been just a few minutes—Red came driving up the private way and pulled up next to her.
His face was stricken, she’d never seen him look as afraid as he did when he saw her. “Nicole! What happened?” he climbed out of the car and ran to where she was sitting, her legs pulled up against her as she tried to will the cramps away.
“I’m—something’s wrong. I need to go to the hospital.”
“What is it?”
“I started having cramps and now I’m bleeding. It’s like I’m having my period but it’s different. Something’s wrong.”
“Come on, I’ll start driving us to the hospital now and make a few calls. I know a top OB/GYN who should be able to see us immediately.”
He helped Nicole to the passenger side of the car and then he ran and got in the driver’s side. The car screeched as he pulled away from the house and shot off towards the main road.