“I got the job.”

Carol stood in front of my desk, twisting her fingers, looking stunned.

“Congratulations.” I came out from behind the desk and hugged her, keeping it light and easy so she could break away. She was doing so much better than when she first came here, but I knew physical touch was hard for her. She nodded nervously, her eyes bouncing all over the place. “I got the job, Ms. Van Allan. They hired me.”

“I know. Congratulations.”

Carol pushed her hair back from her face with shaking hands, then tucked them in her lap, staring at them. “I just don’t understand. Why would they hire me? I haven’t worked in years.”

“Apparently, they saw something in you that they liked. Now it’s time for you to look in the mirror and see the same thing they saw.” I settled in the chair next to hers and took her nervous hands, squeezed gently. “It’s the same thing I see when you play with your daughter or the other kids here. It’s the same thing that gave you the courage to leave. You’re tougher than you think. You’re going to do fine.”

A few minutes later, I walked into the small break room at the shelter and a wave of clapping broke out.

I gave a small bow and then laughed as they continued.

“Stop it. Or go applaud for Carol. She did the hard part.” One of the girls who handled the new intakes opened the microwave, pulling out her typical lunch – a microwave burrito.

The smell of it hit me hard, even as I wondered how she could eat them.

She was talking, saying something to Carol – she wouldn’t even talk to people at first.

I think.

Maybe.

But nothing more than the first few words really connected because as that smell grew stronger, my stomach rebelled.

Oh, shit.

Lurching toward the bathroom, I almost bowled over the woman coming out, and I rushed in, skidding to my knees in front of the nearest toilet.

I barely made it, emptying out my stomach with near violence while my heart hammered in my ears.

“Oh, honey…are you okay?”

That was when I realized I had an audience.

Another wave hit me.

A few more seconds passed before I thought it might be over.

“Oh for the love of my great aunt Bessie,” a familiar voice boomed. “Somebody might think you’d never seen a woman get sick before. You people, give her some room.”

I cringed at the sound of that voice. It was Felicia Winke, my boss.

Her words sent people scurrying, and before long, I was alone in the bathroom with just her. I thought maybe I was done.

Maybe.

She stared at me hard. “How long have you been sick?”

I passed my hand over the back of my mouth. “Just this once.”

“Unlike some people, I know that throwing up can come from a variety of reasons. Do you think you’re contagious?”

I was feeling better, so I didn’t think so. I shook my head. “Maybe something I ate just didn’t settle well.”

She narrowed her eyes and slowly turned away. “Okay. If it gets worse, go home. We don’t need an epidemic. And try toast and ginger ale. We always keep some around.”

I started to refuse, but a ginger ale actually sounded nice. As I sat at the table a few minutes later sipping one, I took out my phone and read through my emails.

“Are you feeling better?” Felisha sat down across from me, eyeing me critically.

“Yeah.” I shrugged. “I feel fine.”

She looked at her nails, then glanced back up at me. “Are you seeing anybody?” There was a deliberate casualness behind the question that worried me.

I hadn’t wanted to tell anyone about the marriage and the subsequent annulment, so I had taken to wearing my wedding ring on my right hand when I was at work. Nobody here knew about Kaleb, and since it wasn’t likely they would ever meet anybody in my family, explanations weren’t necessary, or so I thought.

“Why?” I asked

“I’m just wondering.” She began to examine her nails again. “What I’m thinking is that it’s kind of funny that those nasty microwave burritos have never bothered you before. But today, you turn green and are puking your guts out, then five minutes later, you’re right as rain.”

I opened my mouth to say something, but she pointed to my glass and continued. “Ginger ale seems to be settling just fine. You look great. Nobody would believe that you were on your knees just a couple minutes ago, puking for all your worth. And Piety, you’re worth a lot.”

“What are you trying to say?”

Felisha looked at me with sympathy dripping from her expression. “Piety, I’ve had this sort of…stomach issue a few times myself. The last time was ten years ago.”

I stared at her, her meaning beginning to sink in. “Oh, shit!” A cold sweat broke out on the back of my neck.

“So…it’s possible?” she asked.

I exhaled a long breath and covered my face with my hands.

She came and sat next to me, patting my shoulder. “Honey, it’s okay. You just need to find out for sure.”

I thought about the wine I’d drunk last night. The sip of scotch I’d had the other day. Hell yes, I needed to find out. If I was pregnant… I groaned. Could I be?

I thought about the dream. “Oh, man.”

“Well, you’ve gone from oh shit to oh man. I’d say this might not be such a bad thing.”

I dropped my head down onto the table. I needed to go to the store. I needed to… I didn’t even know what I needed to do.

“Take a few more minutes.” She got up and headed out of the room. “But on your way home tonight, you might want to think about buying a pregnancy test.”

I took the extra minutes she’d advised and sent Astra a text. Astra’s response came back a couple minutes later, but those minutes felt like hours.

What’s going on?

I just threw up. I responded.

Her response was an emoji, one with the guy and a giant open mouth. Yeah, that’s about as surprised as I felt.