Page 71 of Thursdays at Orange Blossom House
‘What if they don’t want to open?’ Grace Maud mutters, and Dorothy titters.
‘Mine don’t either!’ she whispers.
‘I can hear you ladies in the back,’ Sandrine calls. ‘I am coming to you.’
Patricia groans.
Within seconds, Sandrine has her knees on Dorothy’s thighs while Dorothy presses the soles of her feet together, her face screwed up.
‘I want you, Doro-tee, to do thisbaddha konasanaat home with a bag of rice on each thigh. Two kilograms each bag. Hold for as many breaths as you can. Okay? It will help you when you give birth.’
The sudden stillness around them can only be caused, Grace Maud thinks, by her, Patricia and Dorothy holding their breath at the same time. Dorothy’s most recent trip to Brisbane was only three weeks ago, and Grace Maud knows that she hasn’t gone to her doctor yet for a blood test because she’s scared it will show she’s pregnant, and then she’ll have to start her vigil all over again, waiting for the end.
‘What makes you think there’s a baby?’ Dorothy says softly. She lets out an ‘ah!’ as Sandrine lifts her knees off her thighs.
‘I can see it,’ Sandrine says, and as she smiles her eyes disappear. ‘In your body. In your face.’
‘See what?’
‘You are pregnant, no?’
‘I, uh …’ Dorothy inhales sharply and sits up.
Sandrine – always good at reading cues, Grace Maud has noticed – says nothing more and walks over to another student.
‘She can’t know,’ Dorothy says.
‘So you don’t think you’re pregnant?’ Patricia asks as she pulls herself into the twist Sandrine has asked for.
A woman in front of them turns around and glares. Dorothy looks chastened. Patricia looks away. Grace Maud glares back, and the woman quickly turns her head.
‘A trip to the doctor and a blood test are in order,’ Grace Maud says, smiling. ‘Then perhaps we’ll have a celebration.’
Dorothy looks uncertain, but says nothing more.
For the rest of the class they all remain silent, and as they leave they don’t mention the subject again.
But once Grace Maud is back in Patricia’s car, she buckles her seatbelt and makes a noise of satisfaction. ‘It’s good to have some good news.’
‘If it is good news.’ Patricia turns the key in the ignition.
‘I have a feeling it is. That it will continue to be.’
‘Do you have many feelings, Grace Maud?’ Patricia says cheekily.
‘Too many to count,’ Grace Maud replies as she looks out the window.
‘I know what you mean.’
They look at each other briefly, then Patricia focuses on the road ahead.
The rest of the short drive is spent talking about Patricia’s work, and by the time Grace Maud walks in her front door, the feelings she can count are the ones in her body telling her she’s worked hard and needs to rest.
After a quick shower, she takes herself to bed and sleeps longer and more deeply than she has in weeks.
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
It takes Dorothy one more week to crack and go to the doctor for a blood test. One week of waking up every morning feeling like she’s had far too much cheap wine even though she’s had no alcohol at all. One week of the smell of the blue cheese that Frederick likes to eat after dinner making her want to vomit when previously she loved it. One week of Frederick looking at her curiously each time he leaves for work, not asking what she knows he wants to ask:Are you pregnant?
