Page 59 of Love By The Falls

“Oh no. Do you think I caught some sort of tropical virus?”

Sage closes her eyes and sighs. “No. That’s not what I’m thinking.”

Her eyes soften, and she grabs my hand.

“What is it?” I ask. Sage majored in science in college and loves researching ways to heal the body in non-traditional ways. Perhaps these symptoms are part of a bigger health issue. “Just tell me, Sage. What do you think is wrong with me?”

“I don’t think anything is wrong with you, Charlotte.”

“Then what is it? Why are you looking at me like that?”

She inhales slowly and asks, “When’s the last time you got your period?”

15

Charlotte

I hear Sage’s question, but I don’t understand why she’s asking me that. “I can’t remember.”

“Did you write it down somewhere?”

“No. It just comes when it comes.”

“Seriously, Charlotte? You don’t plan around it?”

“It only lasts three days.”

“Wow, you’re lucky.” She shakes her head. “That’s not the point. Did you have your period while you were on vacation?”

“No.”

“Have you had it since?”

“No.”

Sage stares at me, and when I say nothing, she claps her hands and her bracelets jangle. “Charlotte, I think you’re pregnant!”

“What?! No. That’s impossible. I can’t get pregnant, not after Charlie. It was a difficult birth. The doctor told me I would have less than a ten percent chance of getting pregnant again, and not without fertility treatments.”

“So, you’re saying there’s a chance?”

“No. Those odds are almost impossible to beat.”

“Improbable, yes. Impossible?” She shrugs. “I think you should take a test.”

“Right now?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t have—”

“I’ve got one. Let me grab it for you.”

Sage jumps off the couch and jogs toward her bedroom. Since she owns the house and I pay rent, it was only fair for her to take the ensuite while Charlie and I share a bathroom.

While I understand Sage’s concern, I think she’s completely wrong. Just because I’ve been feeling sick and tired doesn’t mean I’m pregnant. I’ve been stressed about Jason and that could have caused me to miss my last period. But pregnant? No.

Sage returns with a pink box. “Here. It’ll only take five minutes.”

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