If Eli had a conference or an important phone call, she took Katie to school and picked her up. She even dealt with lunch as well.
Eli came to the law office or the DIY store to eat with her. He’d even allowed Mr. Graves to scan him with a device to check for an antenna or something.
They walked Elizabeth’s dogs every single day. The older woman had really grown on her. She had even gotten a phone call from Eli to say that he was eating dinner at her house, and to bring Katie along. She’d had dinner with his parents and she adored them.
From his mother, she did get the motherly warning, again, another surprise to her.
Everything seemed to be moving fast but rather than panic, she felt at peace, until now. She was happy going at a steady pace. They didn’t talk about previous couples or the house curse. Elizabeth tried to talk about it, but Eli always changed the topic. Neither of them had said the I love you. Nothing.
Eli kissed her. It wasn’t a soft kiss. Another of his deep, possessive kisses that threatened to make her go weak at the knees. She was totally gone on him.
Just because she hadn’t told him with words that she loved him, Ann knew without a doubt her feelings for him were strong. In fact, she truly believed she loved him, only it scared her.
What if he laughed at her?
“I need you to stop worrying,” he said. “We’re good together, aren’t we?”
“Yes, I know we’re good together.”
“I don’t mind Katie getting attached to you. I’m very much attached to you.” He cupped her ass, squeezing the cheeks.
She also didn’t have it in her heart to tell him she’d skipped a period. She was due another one next week. She had counted her cycle and hidden away her notes when she should have started.
Her last cycle may not have happened because of stress. She’d checked out all possible signs for no menstruals. Stress was a big one. Of course, pregnancy was the number one cause, but they had been careful, and she was on the pill.
She hadn’t lied to him. What might have been a tiny problem, with her stress and worry about money, she’d forgotten to take it a couple of times, but that surely wouldn’t have been a reason for her to catch.
She wasn’t pregnant. No way.
“Then I’ll go to the mommy Halloween lunch,” she said. She had already seen all the advertisements for it on the billboards outside of the school. He kissed her again and they pulled apart as Katie laughed.
Whenever they kissed, Katie always giggled. There was no reason to worry him, not when she didn’t know what it meant. For all she knew, this was just a little hiccup.
“Are you okay?” Eli asked when Katie ran off into the sitting room to set up a movie.
“Yeah, of course. Why wouldn’t I be?”
“I don’t know, you seem distracted.”
Ann wanted to tell him but why worry what they had? If he was still only looking for a good time, then this conversation wouldn’t matter.
“I’m fine. Honestly. Nothing to worry about.” She kissed him hard. “I’ve got it all taken care of.”
****
The mommy Halloween lunch went really well, so did Halloween. They all went trick or treating and Katie got sick on way too much chocolate. After that, everyone was planning for Thanksgiving.
The DIY store wasn’t overly busy but Mr. Graves used it as the time to make sure no aliens were watching his shop.
She’d grown rather attached to her boss’s ways. There were times she even helped him with these devices he’d made. He was sure he heard a lot of people talking, but for her, it was always static.
Still, she helped as much as she could.
Her hours were reduced even more at the law firm, and she picked more up at the DIY store. Then, of course, she kept on walking Elizabeth’s dogs. She’d yet to go and adopt one for herself, but in time. Her life was doing wonders. She seemed more in control now than ever before.
She didn’t see a reason to cause any kind of upheaval until one morning, with Eli’s arms wrapped around her, she woke up with the overwhelming need to vomit.
Without being quiet about it, she shoved Eli back, rushed to the toilet, and threw everything up she ate the previous day. She didn’t hold back or keep anything down.
Eli came to her rescue, holding her hair back as she did this. Tears filled her eyes and she knew without a doubt she had to find out the truth.
“It’s a nasty bug going around. Don’t worry about it. I’ll call Mr. Graves and let him know you’re not coming in today.”
“I’ve got to work. I’ll be fine.”
“No, you’re going to brush your teeth, rest, and I’ll take care of everything.”
“You’ve got to head into the city,” she said. “You’ve got that meeting.” She didn’t know what it was about, but he’d asked her to take care of Katie while he was away for a couple of days.
“I’m not going to leave you while you’re throwing up everywhere.”
She brushed her teeth. Staring at her reflection in the mirror, she saw how pale she looked. “I’m fine. Really.”
“Not happening.” Eli was already on his cell. “I’ll arrange the meeting for me to be in my office. You don’t need to worry yourself about anything.” He stood in the doorway, arranging with his assistant to organize communication via video. It didn’t take long for him to get the job done. Not after he barked orders at everyone, and so like him, all of them obeyed. Not a single person disputed him.
She was put back to bed, and Eli left the house thirty minutes later with Katie to drop her off at school.
She had to know the answer now. She’d been putting it off for too long now, and she was scared.
What if he didn’t want to have anything to do with her?
Seeing no end in sight to her worries, she threw the covers off, grabbed some clothes, and quickly pulled them on. In a matter of minutes, she was out of the house.
She’d finally been able to afford a full tank of gas, and so she used her car to drive into town toward the local pharmacy. She went in the opposite direction to make sure she didn’t bump into Eli. The last thing she needed right now was to bump into him and let him know her concerns.
Parking the car outside, she looked at the building. No one was inside, apart from the cashier. She could do this.
Hands clammy, she walked into the pharmacy and right up to the pregnancy tests. Even though the cost was shocking, she picked the one that appeared to be the most reliable, and she didn’t have a clue which one really was.
This was just a tester. After grabbing one box with two tests inside, she then grabbed a couple of different ones. She quickly calculated the price into her budget and winced.
No, she needed these tests to know for sure.
With her hands shaking, she put them down on the counter and paid for them.
There wasn’t a moment to lose, not now. Not when her life and future were at stake. The woman looked at her as if she was mocking her or something.
She ignored her and paid for her tests. The woman bagged them up and Ann, with shaking hands, took off back to her car.
There, she sat behind the wheel and wondered where she should take them. The only suitable place was her own home. If Eli was back from dropping off Katie, which he should be, he was going to want to know what was going up. If not, she didn’t know how she was going to explain this to him.