Page 247 of The Baby Twist
“The nanny of a client?” Olivia’s brows furrowed.
“Yeah. I thought that was weird, too.” I grabbed my purse and hooked it over my shoulder. “I’ll talk to you girls later. Love you.”
“We love you too!” They both shouted as I walked out of the café.
I knocked on the door of the Bradshaw home, and an older woman answered.
“You must be Marley.” She smiled. “I’m Dora. Please come in.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Dora.” I grinned.
“You can have a seat in the living room, and I’ll let Stella know you’re here.”
“Thank you.” I stepped into the living room and looked around.
“Marley. Hi, I’m Stella. It’s nice to meet you finally.” She walked into the room holding a newborn baby and extended her hand.
“Hi, Stella. The pleasure is mine. Aw, your baby is adorable.” I smiled. “He looks brand new.”
“He is.” She laughed. “He’s four weeks old. I have another son as well. Our nanny, Melissa, took him to the park.”
“How old is he?”
“Not quite two years old yet.”
Suddenly, a wave of nausea fell over me. Placing my hand on my belly, I prayed it would pass. It didn’t, and I placed my hand over my mouth.
“Marley, are you okay?”
“Bathroom?”
“Down the hall. First door on the left.”
I ran down the hall to the bathroom, shut the door, and vomited. I had never been so humiliated as I was at that moment. Who throws up at a client’s home? Shit. This wasn’t the impression I wanted to give. After I finished, I washed my hands and returned to the living room, where Stella was sitting on the couch with her baby.
“Are you okay? Do you need to reschedule?” she asked.
“I’m fine, just pregnant.”
“Oh! Come sit down. Morning sickness sucks. I’m all too familiar with that. I had it with both of my children. Dora?” she shouted.
“Yes, Stella?” Dora walked into the room.
“Can you please make Marley some peppermint tea?”
“I sure will.” She smiled.
“Peppermint tea helped me.” She placed her hand on mine. “How far along are you?”
“Seven weeks.”
“Wow. You’re newly pregnant. Congratulations. You and your husband must be happy.”
“This pregnancy happened by accident with too much alcohol involved. I’m not married.” I bit down on my bottom lip. “And my babies’ daddy is pissed off and doesn’t want kids.”
“I’m sorry. Did you say ‘babies?’”
“I’m having twins.”
