I woke up with a start, ten minutes before my actual alarm was scheduled to go off. Before I could even realize where I was, I was in a mad dash to the bathroom. I dropped to my knees and threw up into the toilet. I felt awful. It had been so long since I’d been sick like that and I wondered what was wrong with me. I hadn’t even taken a sip from my wine, and I didn’t think the food was bad.

Maybe I was just tired from the party, but it hadn’t been that late of a night.

After throwing up, I felt a lot better and hoped that was all that was wrong with me.

I jumped into the shower to start getting ready for work. I hadn’t missed a day yet, and I wasn’t about to start. Especially because I just knew the teasing I would get if I couldn’t show up the day after my own party.

I walked into the café and it was obvious everyone was feeling a bit sluggish. I took it to mean they’d had a good time at my party. Everyone was doing their job getting ready to open, but keeping to themselves. They hadn’t even turned the music on yet. It was kind of nice to all be on the same low energy level.

Suddenly, Sandra burst out of the back cooler with her arms full of ketchup bottles, a skip in her step, and a smile on her face. I didn’t know how she did it. That woman could drink me under the table and never got a hangover. Ever. Some mornings after a night out, I wondered if she was superhuman. It was, without a doubt, one of her superpowers.

“Oh my, someone’s looking green,” she said as she walked by.

“Great, I guess I didn’t use enough makeup,” I joked.

“But you said you didn’t drink much last night,” Sandra said, trying to figure out how I was hungover.

“That’s just it, I didn’t drink. I’m starting to worry it was food poisoning. Maybe that spinach dip wasn’t as good as it tasted. I can tell you for certain, it didn’t taste very good when it came up this morning,” I said grabbing a glass of water. I still had an unpleasant taste in my mouth.

“Oh no, you were sick this morning?”

“I was, and usually I never puke.”

“But you always feel like you could puke when you’re upset.”

“Yeah sure, I feel like it, but it passes and I never do. Did you eat the spinach dip? Have you been sick? Has anyone else mentioned not feeling well? I’d be mortified if I gave the whole party food poisoning,” I said, looking around at the rest of the staff.

“Everyone’s a little slower than usual, but there’s no denying that alcohol is responsible,” Sandra said.

I hoped she was right.

I picked up a package of napkins and followed Sandra’s along the tables.

As soon as we opened, we were busy. For a while, the distraction of work helped me forget that I wasn’t feeling well. It didn’t last long though. A couple of hours in and I started to feel myself fading. I was forgetful and had to make several trips to my tables before finally leaving them with everything they needed. Twice I had to go back and ask a customer to repeat an order.

“You’re not yourself today,” Sandra said. “Usually you’re so on top of things.”

“Yeah. I’m not feeling so great. I feel nauseous, like I could puke again.”

“Sounds like you’re pregnant,” a voice said from the booth next to us.

I turned to see it was Mr. Mathers, adding his unwelcome two cents.

“Hey, Matt, over here,” someone shouted from a table at the back of the café.

Immediately, I dropped the entire tray of clean cutlery I’d been holding. It scattered all over the floor. I looked to the person who’d called Matt’s name and saw them waving their hand in the air. I braced myself and looked to the front door. Some guy I didn’t recognize was walking toward them. Some guy that wasn’t my Matt.

Thank God.

Hearing his name spooked me. I wasn’t feeling myself at all. Sandra came over to help me clean up the cutlery. She insisted that I go home. She had never seen me sick and just wanted me to rest and feel better. I felt lucky to be such close friends with her, but I knew she’d have to work doubly hard to cover for me.

“Really, I can stay,” I said.

“Go,” she insisted. “What kind of friend would I be if I made you work through this?”

I thanked her, finished a few things with my tables, and left through the back door to my bike.

Getting away from the smells and noises of the restaurant helped immediately. I took a deep breath of the fresh ocean air while I unlocked my bike. I hopped on and made for home. As I rode along the coast, all I could hear was Mr. Mathers’ voice replaying over and over in my head.

Sounds like you’re pregnant.

I took a slight detour past the pharmacy. I didn’t think he was right, but I decided to buy a pregnancy test anyway. I knew if I didn’t, I’d just be wondering if it were true. It was better to just take the dumb test so I could rule it out. The twenty dollars was worth it for instant peace of mind.

The girl at the checkout gave me a curious look when I was paying.

I shrugged back at her.

“Fingers crossed,” I joked.

“You hoping for positive or negative?” she said.

I looked at her then down at the test. For some reason I didn’t know what to say.

“It’s okay,” she said, rescuing me from my own indecision. “I shouldn’t be so nosy.”

I thanked her and hurried out.

The first thing I did when I got home was run myself a hot bath. I was going to soak and relax for a bit and then crawl into bed for a nice afternoon nap. As the tub filled, I heard my phone ringing back in the kitchen. I hurried past the living room window, totally naked, to go grab it.

It was Sandra.

“Oh no. What did I forget to do before I left?” I asked when I answered.

“Nothing. Relax. I just had to call to tell you something because it’s quicker than texting.”

“That’s a relief. Just so you know, I’m totally naked and about to take you in the bath with me,” I said and we both laughed.

“So, some guy just came into the café asking for you,” Sandra said.

“What? Really? Who?” I said, my mind racing.

“I don’t know. Greg was the one he talked to. I noticed him standing outside looking in, but I didn’t think much of it. Next thing I knew, he was at the counter talking to Greg. Then he was gone.”

“Did Greg say why he was looking for me?”

“He never asked. Apparently the guy just came in, asked if you were working, and when Greg said you weren’t, he left.”

“Totally weird. What did he look like?”

“He was a handsome man. Very handsome. Not from town. He was looking pretty classy in his navy blazer,” she said.

The image of the married guy from the bar jumped into my mind.

“Ugh, that idiot?” I said.

“You know who it was?”

“Yeah, remember I told you about that little pub I went into, the night my car was taken?”

“Oh, that asshole? The one with the tan line where his wedding band should have been?”

“Yeah, exactly. I guess he didn’t take no for an answer.”

“If I remember correctly, you gave him a lot more than a no. You gave him a knee in the nuts!”

I laughed. “Guess he didn’t get the message.”

“Poor guy. I guess he’s just under the Meadow spell. Well, I’m glad we solved the mystery. You never mentioned how hot he was, by the way.”

“He’s all yours,” I said.

Sandra laughed. “No thanks, but I better run. My order is up. Hope you’re feeling better.”

“Bye,” I said, not sure if she heard me before hanging up.

I turned the ringer off and put my phone on the bathroom floor. I rested back against the tub, plugged my nose, and slid all the way under.