The Year of What If by Phaedra Patrick

Author:Phaedra Patrick [Patrick, Phaedra]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-04-04T18:12:55+00:00

Twenty

Flamingo

“Carla. Carla?” The woman’s voice sounded far away, as if in a dream.

Carla’s eyes were closed and she could hear someone moving around her, a comforting noise that made her feel like she was being taken care of. She opened one eye in a squint, and the shape of a figure, a man, then a woman, came into view. Her surroundings were all white.

“Am I in heaven?” she asked, trying to sit up. The blur of her vision became clearer.

“Stay where you are. You fainted at the olive grove, next to the car,” Babs said. “I’ve brought you a banana and some water.”

“How are you feeling?” Diego’s voice followed next.

Carla made a visor with her hand against the daylight flooding into the room. She saw whitewashed walls and linen curtains billowing in a breeze from the patio doors. They were open, so she could see the beautiful countryside before her.

A memory trickled back of her body growing heavier, as if filled with potatoes. “Sorry, yes. I remember now,” she said. “I suddenly felt too hot, and too light. I think I must be dehydrated.”

Diego passed her a bottle of water. He had his doctor’s bag at his side and reached into it. “I will take your blood pressure,” he said.

“There’s no need, honestly.” Carla drank the water in one go.

“Let’s check things out anyway,” he offered. After kneeling down beside her, he slipped a band over her arm. “Do you still have any dizziness?” he asked as the band inflated. “You didn’t eat very much at lunchtime.”

“I’m not always hungry in the heat.”

Diego observed her results. “Your blood pressure is a little low.” He unfastened the band and helped Carla to sit up. “Perhaps we should run a few tests...”

She casually peeled the banana and took a bite. “What kind of tests?”

“You’ve been tired and dizzy, you fainted, and you said your appetite has been sporadic.” Diego paused and cautiously glanced at Babs for her support. “Could you possibly be pregnant?”

Carla swallowed a chunk of banana and began to choke. She held a fist to her mouth with tears streaming down her face. “Of course not. I’m forty-two.”

She and Tom were always careful. But then she thought how she had been out of sorts for the last couple of months, lethargic and picky about her food. She’d been making some very strange choices, like deciding to meet men from her past, and had also gained a few pounds. Her periods had been random and light for a while, which she’d presumed was due to perimenopause. (A few of her friends had early symptoms, too.) But surely, she couldn’t be pregnant?

“I can arrange for you to go to the hospital,” Diego said, his eyes full of concern.

“Better to get checked out, petal,” Babs added.

Carla was about to insist she was absolutely fine, but she knew worry would take root in her brain. “Is there a supermarket or pharmacy nearby? Are store-bought pregnancy tests accurate?”

Diego nodded. “Around ninety-eight to ninety-nine percent. I can drive to buy a test now, if you wish to check.

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