Mollywood (5 page)

“Baby girl. You are
so
damn beautiful.” I whispered, pushing her hair aside and planting several small kisses along the length of her neck.

She peered back at me over her naked shoulder. “You think so?”

“I know so.” I tilted my head as I raked my eyes over her porcelain curves. She turned around to face me, her blue eyes sparkling in the candlelight.

“Well? Are you just gonna stand there, or are you going to do something about it?”

THANK GOD IT’S Friday.

The lunch rush had just fizzled and I’d managed to only run out back and vomit twice. I used my water bottle to rinse my mouth out and chased that with two pieces of minty gum before I climbed back aboard the truck.

“You need to go home, Molly. I don’t have time to be sick.” Carly, Sanchez’s assistant chef, made a cross with her fingers and held it up at me like I was a vampire coming for her jugular. I didn’t hold it against her. Her kids were in high school and if anyone made me look like I wasn’t overscheduled, it was Carly.

“I’ll live.” I replied, washing my hands with extra soap. It felt good to be away from the smoldering grill, but I was still sticky from the humidity outside.

“Molly. There’s nobody here. We can handle closing the day without you.” Isaac agreed. He was truck two’s version of Stacy: cute, quick with math, and too smooth for his own good.

“You’ve been working sick all week. Didn’t you promise Joe you’d go get a checkup?” Carly placed a fist on her boxy hip and fixed me with a scolding glare.

“She sure did.” Joe’s voice carried through the food truck’s window and caused Isaac to start with surprise. I tilted my head to the side to see Joe’s jade eyes peering out from under the black bill of his ball cap.

“Look what the cat dragged in.” My eyebrow hitched skyward and I folded my arms.

His full lips twitched with a self-satisfied smile. “You’ve got an appointment in twenty minutes, so we’d better high tail it.”

I shook my head and pursed my lips, but it was impossible to hide how pleased I was to see him. He was concerned enough about me that he’d called the clinic and made an appointment for me. My ex had never done anything like that. But Draven had been a snake. The
poisonous
variety. And Joe…well Joe could be pretty swoony on occasion. “Yes, sir.”

Ditching my apron and tossing my purse over my shoulder, I descended the steps of the food truck. Joe snatched me right off the steps and swept me into his arms. I let out a surprised squeal and laughed so hard it hurt my raw throat.

“I’ve been throwing up all morning and you come along and toss me around like a sack of potatoes?
You
are one brave soul.” I wrapped my arms around his neck as he made his way to his truck with me in his arms like some defective Disney princess.

“My truck or the Mini Coop?” He asked, pausing between our two vehicles.

“Truck.” I replied, feeling a little lightheaded. When Joe drove my car, he had way too much fun, and the thought of him zipping through traffic like a stunt driver held little appeal. He turned away from the cherry red Mini Cooper and placed me on my feet beside his restored Ford.

“You’re too good to me.” I murmured. “But you don’t need to treat me like a damsel in distress.”

“I wouldn’t have to if you’d take proper care of yourself.” His retort was off the cuff and I was glad I was looking out the window when it came because it made me frown.

Just what the hell did he mean by that, exactly?

I managed to keep my lips clamped shut for the duration of the journey. We got to the clinic about three minutes before I was scheduled to be seen. When they called my name, I climbed to my feet and Joe stood right along with me. I raised my eyebrows and my expression must have been a bit withering, considering his deer in headlights reaction. He slowly sat back down and I trudged away in the direction of the nurse.

I was relieved to see I’d only gained four pounds, not five. Still, it made me cringe. The doctor had warned me it could be a side effect when she started me on the pill. That being said, I was happy that their scale had better numbers than mine. Maybe I’d just lost a pound from all the vomiting. The stomach bug had its advantages.

“So, Molly. Tell me. What brings you in today?” The nurse stuck a thermometer in my ear.

“I’m sleeping too much. I have no appetite. The smell of my own cooking makes me wretch. I think it might be the flu or an ulcer. I’ve thrown up a few times today. Oh…and my boyfriend thinks I’m depressed.”

“Oh yeah?” She smiled at my eye roll.

“Yeah. Or he thinks I have cancer.” I sighed. “He’s been on Web MD.”

She chuckled. “How long have you felt like this?”

“Three weeks, maybe?” I shrugged. “It seems to be getting worse.”

She looked at my chart. “That’s a bit long for a virus. Are you on any medications?”

“I have a prescription for Xanax, but I haven’t used it in over a month. I started taking birth control pills a few weeks ago. I can’t remember the name. It should be in my chart.”

She took my vitals and said my pulse was a bit fast but that my blood pressure was very good. Then she asked if I felt like I could give her a urine sample.

“I’ll try. I haven’t been keeping much down...”

“It doesn’t have to be much. When you’re done just leave it in the window.” The nurse instructed. “Then go back and change into the gown, alright?”

“Okay.”

After the loveliness of struggling to catch urine midstream was done and I was in my ugly plaid gown, she came back into the room and informed me that the doctor wanted her to draw some blood. It was over before I knew it, but I got a little lightheaded afterward and she made me lie down. I started to heave, and as if on instinct, she grabbed a small plastic basin and shoved it in front of me just before I vomited. Somehow I managed not to get any on myself or her, which was something, I guess. When I got myself under control, she asked if I wanted glass of water. I nodded, swiping at my streaming eyes.

“Can you send my boyfriend back here, please?” I asked her on her way out the door. She nodded.

“Which one is he?”

I managed a smirk, but it was a weak one. “He’s the super good looking one. You’ll find him.”

I took several slow deep breaths, but I could feel my heart racing in my chest. Having my blood drawn had never bothered me before and I started to worry that maybe something
really was
wrong with me. There was a rap on the door and the nurse reappeared with Joe, who wore a look that was both surprised and concerned.

He closed the door and looked at me over his shoulder. “I thought you wanted me to stay in the waiting room.”

“What if I
do
have cancer?” I blurted. With a heavy sigh, he scooted the chair close to the examine table I was lying on and took a seat.

“Molly, you don’t have cancer.” He sounded mildly amused and I looked down at my lap. He tipped my chin up to face him, his expression loving and confident. “They’ll figure this out.”

I nodded. He leaned in, but I turned my face away. I could smell his spicy cologne and thankfully it was the only smell today that didn’t make me sick. “Trust me. You don’t want to kiss me right now.”

Joe gave me a crooked smile and pecked my forehead just as the doctor tapped on the door as she entered.

“Well, hello, Molly. Long time no see.” She quipped, giving Joe the same head to toe perusal all straight, red-blooded woman did.

“Yeah.” I huffed. “Right.”

“I’ve got good news. I know why you’re sick.”

“That was fast. I thought you had to send the labs off somewhere.” I replied with a frown.

“The urine test was plenty. It’s your birth control.” She replied, and relief washed over me.

“Okay. So I should stop taking them?” I asked.

“Yep. Pregnant women shouldn’t take the pill.” She responded dryly, and I recoiled as if she’d struck me.

“What?” Joe’s tone was flat and his face expressionless. The doctor cocked an eyebrow at him and took a seat, plugging in her computer.

“There must be some mistake.” I stammered, turning from Joe to the doctor.

“HCG in the urine doesn’t lie.” She tapped at her keys without looking at me. “Remember when I said you needed a backup method for the first month on the pill?”

My stomach dropped like I’d just crested the top of a roller coaster. “Yes.”

“That wasn’t a suggestion.” She scolded. I turned to Joe, whose eyes were wide.

“But…we did.” He took the words right out of my mouth. His eyes narrowed and then darted from left to right, as if he were replaying every time we’d ever had sex.

“Every time? For the full four weeks?” The doctor stopped typing and turned to us. She looked doubtful.

“Yes…” I nodded. “Religiously.”

“Hmm…” She crossed to me and started pushing on the area below my belly button. “Any condom malfunctions?’

“Not since she’s been on the pill.” Joe’s serious face left no margin for error.

I remembered the broken condom a couple of weeks before I started the pill and when Joe’s eyes met mine I could see he did, too.

“Well…we did a urine pregnancy test the day I wrote you the prescription. It’s possible that you might have been too early for it to detect the HCG.”

“Wait.” Joe sat forward, his sharp eyes fixed on her. “Are you saying she’s been pregnant since before she started the pill?”

“Based on the size of her uterus, yes.” Something on the doctor’s face disturbed me. “When was your last period?”

“Umm… June? I’ve had a little spotting since I started taking the pills, but when I called the office the nurse said it was normal to have some breakthrough bleeding.” Thinking about these details stripped the gears of my mind. All I could think was ‘baby’.

“I really want you to see an OB/Gyn.” She now wore a poker face that made me miss her smart ass comments. “Let me see if they can work you in today.”

“Is something wrong?” Joe demanded, and my eyes shot to him. His face looked pale. “Can taking the pill hurt the baby?”

“That’s very unlikely. But based on my exam, she really should have seen an OB already. Let me make a call. You can go ahead and get dressed, Molly.”