Past Forward- A Serial Novel: Episode 16 (3 page)

As they watched her exit the room, the reporter, the lawyer, and the D.A. all said in unison,
“
Wow
.”

Willow overheard them and rolled her eyes.

Wednesday, Willow woke up vomiting.
She barely reached the bathroom floor before she retched uncontrollably.
Unable to remember exactly when the last time she
’
d vomited was, and feeling exceptionally weak, her heart sank.
By the time she
’
d decided to call Marianne for ideas of what to do, another wave of nausea sent her racing for the toilet again.

Ditto
cried
for relief
before Willow crawled downstairs
.
She
made it to the barn just in time for her to heave into the milk pail.
A glance at the phone charger told her Chad had left
the phone
beside her bed before he went to work.
She didn
’
t know how she
’
d get back up those stairs
,
but she had to try.

Another wave of nausea hit in the middle of the yard.
She curled into fetal position on the ground, her arms wrapped around the milk pail for dear life and prayed that the Lord would either kill her now or send someone to help.
To her utter disgust, she not only lived but no one came
. Still, she kept up the running prayer
until she managed to crawl back upstairs and into bed.

Keeping the milk pail close, and berating her
self for not grabbing a clothes
pin
to block out the smell
while in the barn, Willow collapsed on the bed and hit the button to dial Chad.
His voicemail irritated her enough that had she had the strength, she
’
d have thrown the phone through the window.
“
How did mother handle illness all alone?
”
she wailed miserably.

The phone rang and Chad
’
s name flashed across the screen.
Just as she clicked it open to answer it, another attack hit her.
“
You ok?
”

“
Do I
—”
she retched once more,
“
sound ok to you?
”

“
Oh
,
lass, I
’
ll get someone to come in for me and be right there
.”

“
Can you do that?
”
Willow
’
s voice sounded doubtful.

“
I can do that.
Hang in there until I get home
.”

Only the sounds of Willow
’
s illness crossed the airwaves until she finally whimpered,
“
Hurry
—
please?
”

Chad immediately dialed the Chief.
“
Sir, I
’
ve got a problem
.”

“
Waverly call in sick?
”
The new officer had called in twice in the past month.

“
No.
It
’
s Willow.
She
’
s vomiting and she called for help.
I
’
m sorry sir
,
but she wouldn
’
t call unless she couldn
’
t function
.”

“
Forget that
,
son,
”
the Chief contradicted,
“
t
hat woman wouldn
’
t call unless she was at death
’
s door.
I
’
ll come in early.
You get home
.”

Chad was already walking as briskly as possible toward the
s
tation.
Aiden Cox stared slack-jawed as Chad passed him, sans helmet, on the scooter
—
again.
It registered somewhere in the back of his mind that he should do something about that boy, but he couldn’t remember what.
He tossed the keys at Judith and raced back out the door
,
ignoring her indignant retort.

Chad
heard her before he saw her.
How one body could continue to retch the way hers did both amazed and terrified him.
“
How many times do you think you
’
ve gotten sick?
”

Between dry heaves, Willow gasped,
“
About five or six when I first got up
—
it
’
s all over the bathroom floor.
I couldn
’
t clean
—
”

“
I
’
ll get it,
”
he reassured her sounding much more confident than he felt.
“
Just rest
.”
Then he saw the milk pail.
“
If you only got sick five or six times
—”

“
No, that was just when I got up.
Then a half a dozen times in the kitchen, a few times in the barn, and a dozen times or so since I got back upstairs
,
but there
’
s nothing left.
It just keeps trying
—”
Another wave hit her.

Chad held her head, smoothed her hair, and tried not to lose his own breakfast as he watched her body fight to rid itself of nothing.
There was just nothing left.
Another whimper escaped.
“
I begged to die
,
but God rejected my application
.”

A low chuckle rumbled over her.
“
I
’
m glad He did.
I
’
m very glad He did
.”

They talked between waves of nausea.
Time passed with aching slowness.
Chad didn
’
t know how he managed to hold back his own gag reflex as she grew sicker and sicker.
“
What did you eat last?
”

“
The grilled chicken we had last night, salad, milk, etc
.”

“
In other words,
”
he sighed frustrated.
“
Everything I ate
.”

“
You don
’
t feel sick?
”
She prayed he wouldn
’
t get it.

“
Nope… only when you toss your cookies
.”

“
But I didn
’
t eat any cookies
.”
Confusion in her face was so comical, Chad burst out laughing.

“
It isn
’
t funny
—”
she began before another wave of dry heaves attacked.
As she fought to gain control, an idea hit Chad.

“
When was your last period?
”

“
What?
”
she gasped between heaves.

“
Your
‘
monthly
.
’
When was your last
—”

“
I
—”
she took deep breaths trying to control the deep urge to hurl once more.
“
I can
’
t remember for sure.
I think I was due last week though
.”

A grin split his face.
Torn between guilt and excitement,
he said,
“
I think you
’
re pregnant.
Morning sickness.
I
’
ll get you some water and then drive into town for some crackers.
I think that
’
s what women eat.
I
’
ll call M
om
.”